Planning a Fiji Holiday? Here's a few Nadi Restaurants

Everyone who's planning a Fiji Holiday is going to end up in Nadi at one time or another. Here's a selection of restaurants to consider...

Bonefish Seafood Restaurant, located on the in Denarau Marina is one of the best new places I’ve experienced in Nadi. You can dine al fresco right on the water. Founded by the same people who created Chefs and Saffron in Nadi, it’s got the best seafood in town. The local prawns (at left), seasoned wih salt and pepper were to die for. (Evidently they come from Labasa). The seafood platter with lobster, tuna, pawns, walu, squid, chips and salad is undoubtedly more than one person can handle. Try the dalo (taro) fries and Wash everything down with a Vonu beer. It's moderately priced.
Say hello to onwer Ritesh Patel and tell him Rob sent you.

Saffron Tandoori Restaurant is located in downtown Nadi a stone’s throw from Jack’s, tourist bauble department store. It’s owned by the same people who run the Jack’s chain but don’t let that cloud your judgment. This is no chain restaurant. If it’s not the best Indian Restaurant in Fiji, it’s certainly on the top deck.

Modern, air conditioned full of polished surfaces, it’s run by Chef Negi, a native of India. It’s not that local Indian Chefs don’t know their Fiji Indian cuisine but this is not really a local Indian Restaurant. As the name implies, fare is Tandoor style from northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. Chef Negi’s menu is four pages long and in it you’ll find lamb, chicken and beef and seafood cooked a hundred ways. I’m 

talking crab masala , chicken tikka, lam chettinad, duck curry, chicken byriani or lobster hussaini. At the beginning of the meal you get a basket of papadam chips with exotic dipping sauces. One of my fav’s is Tandoori Chicken which is marinated overnight in spicy yoghurt and cooked in a clay over. Definitely bring your appetite with you. (I’ve head the Mudcrab is great too). You’re just not going to get these kinds of local delicacies outside of Fiji so scarf up while you’re in town. It's expensive by Fijian standards but shouldn't break your western bank account.

Sitar, another Indian restaurant is in the Martintar district right on Nadi's main drag. What I like about is the indoor outdoor setting. Service is good and food is decent but not comparable to Saffron Tandoori. In the evenings they insist in having loud rock bands play for your dining pleasure. Call me an old fart but I like it relatively serene when I dine.

One afternoon I walked into Small Plates Restaurant and Bar in the Martinar District (opposite the Capricorn Hotel) and immediately dug the vibe. It's cozy and you have a choice of indoor tables near the bar, verandah tables, or garden settings. The waitress was friendly and from what I experienced the food was good and very inexpensive--average of about $6-8 per dish. Meals were mostly Chinese-influenced, stir fry's and the like, with local and imported wine and beer by the glass. You won't go wrong here.