The 19 Best Restaurants in Seychelles

Unlike some tropical escapes that pander to tourists with phoned-in continental cuisine or sad buffets, the majority of restaurants in Seychelles, both independent venues and hotel properties, ensure diners actually taste the local food. It’s a refreshing feat; one championed by chefs who boast a justified sense of pride in the 115-island archipelago’s unique Creole cuisine — not to mention its world-renowned beaches, other-worldly granite boulders, jungly mountain trails, and luxury resorts.

Traditional Seychellois Creole food is dynamic and distinctive. It fuses culinary influences from France, India, Madagascar, China, and East Africa (especially Mozambique). Laced into the DNA of every dish is a spice, sauce, cooking method, or ingredient that can be traced back to the islands’ waves of immigrants, enslaved people, laborers, and other settlers. These multicultural fingerprints can be seen and tasted in popular Creole dishes, including kari koko (coconut curry that’s applied to a range of proteins), fish grilled in banana leaves and served with lasos piman (hot chile sauce), bouyan blan (fish soup), rougail saucisse (tomato and sausage stew), a variety of chutneys, eggplant fritters, and many more. There are also restaurants that pay homage to other world cuisines through subtle applications of Seychellois chile sauces — which you should try at every opportunity — and other local ingredients. Whether you prefer five-star dining or street food, local cuisine spans a vast spectrum.

To get to the soul of Seychellois cuisine, though, make a couple pit-stops at roadside takeaways, food trucks, and semi-permanent fixtures fitted with tiny, yet charismatic kitchens; they’re the most likely to serve delicacies such as fruit bat curry and shark chutney. Most are on Mahé, the largest island in Seychelles, including popular haunts such as Jules Takeaway and Any’s Snack & Takeaway. Just make sure to bring cash.

Seychelles isn’t just a place to put your feet up for a week on the beach. The slow pace of life belies the energy teeming in the people, pristine beaches, music, and — most vividly — the food of the islands. Eat liberally.

Steven Rioux, a native Seychellois, has years of experience in the hospitality industry, particularly in the food and beverage sector. He currently works as master blender for Takamaka, the only rum distillery in the Seychelles archipelago. You’ll often find him experimenting with new recipes, attending spirit and wine tastings, and exploring local markets.
Tyler Zielinski is a London-based food and drink writer with a passion for cocktail culture, bartending technique, and as a proud New Jersey native, Italian American cuisine. In addition to his writing, he is the founder of Zest, a U.K.-based social media and marketing company designed to service the drinks industry, and is the author of the forthcoming book Tiny Cocktails (Clarkson Potter, 2025).

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