Best Dining Bets

You won't be stuck eating island-style food cooked in an earth oven, nor will you be limited to the rather bland tastes of New Zealanders and Australians, which predominate at many restaurants. Wherever the French go, fine food and wine are sure to follow, and French Polynesia is no exception. The East Indians brought curries to Fiji, and chefs trained there have spread those spicy offerings to the other islands. Many chefs in Tonga are from Germany and Italy and specialize in their own "native" food. Chinese cuisine of varying quality can be found everywhere.

Wine connoisseurs will have ample opportunity to sample the vintages from nearby Australia, where abundant sunshine produces renowned full-bodied, fruit-driven varieties, such as chardonnay, semillon, Riesling, shiraz, Hermitage, cabernet sauvignon, and merlot. New Zealand wines are also widely available, including distinctive whites, such as chenin blanc, sauvignon blanc, and soft merlot. Freight and import duties drive up the cost of wine, so expect higher prices than at home.

Chefs The Restaurant (Nadi, Fiji): Chef Eugeme Gomes's establishment has gourmet cuisine, excellent service, and lots of little touches that make for Fiji's finest dining experience. There's a branch in Suva, too.

Vilisite's Seafood Restaurant (The Coral Coast, Fiji): This seaside restaurant, owned and operated by a friendly Fijian woman named Vilisite, doesn't look like much from the outside, but it offers a handful of excellent seafood meals to augment a terrific view along Fiji's Coral Coast from the veranda.

Old Mill Cottage (Suva, Fiji): Diplomats and government workers pack this old colonial cottage at breakfast and lunch for some of the region's best and least expensive local fare. Offerings range from English-style roast chicken with mashed potatoes and peas to Fijian-style palusami (fresh fish wrapped in taro leaves and steamed in coconut milk).

Auberge du Pacifique (Papeete, Tahiti): Award-winning chef Jean Galopin has been blending French and Polynesian cuisines at his lagoonside restaurant -- with a removable roof to let in starlight -- since 1974. He's even written a cookbook about Tahitian cooking.

Le Lotus (Papeete, Tahiti): The most romantic setting of any South Pacific restaurant is in this overwater dining room at the Tahiti Beachcomber Inter-Continental Resort. Even if the food weren't gourmet French and the service highly efficient and unobtrusive, the view of Moorea on a moonlit night makes an evening here special.

Linareva Floating Restaurant and Bar (Moorea, French Polynesia): With luck you won't get queasy while dining at chef Eric Lussiez's charming restaurant, which occupies the original ferry that plied between Tahiti and Moorea. His menu highlights fresh seafood excellently prepared in the classic French fashion.

Bloody Mary's Restaurant & Bar (Bora Bora, French Polynesia): A fun evening at the South Pacific's most famous restaurant is a must-do experience when on Bora Bora. That's because Bloody's offers the most unique and charming dining experience in the islands. Come early for a drink at the friendly bar, then pick your fresh seafood from atop a huge tray of ice. After eating heavy French fare elsewhere for a few days, the sauceless fish from the grill will seem downright refreshing.

La Villa Mahana (Bora Bora, French Polynesia): Corsican chef Damien Rinaldi Devio also offers relief from traditional French sauces at his little restaurant, where he uses "exotic" spices to enliven fresh fish and beef dishes.

Tamarind House Restaurant & Bar (Rarotonga, Cook Islands): Noted restaurateur and cookbook author Sue Carruthers brings the seasonings of her native Kenya to this charmer in a seaside colonial house.

Sails Restaurant and Bar (Apia, Samoa): Ian and Lyvia Black have turned Robert Louis Stevenson's first Samoan home into one of the South Pacific's best casual restaurants, complete with tables on an upstairs veranda overlooking historic Beach Road and Apia Harbour. You'll never forget the Commodore Sashimi.

Seaview Restaurant (Nuku'alofa, Tonga): In a country where restaurants come and go, this German-owned establishment in an old waterfront home has provided Nuku'alofa's best cuisine for years. Tonga is the last island nation with a reliable supply of spiny tropical lobsters, so go for one here.