Nadi eats in three places. Nadi town holds the Indian, Chinese, Korean and Japanese restaurants that serve the local population and reward anyone who leaves the resort strip. Wailoaloa Beach has the sand-and-sunset places. The Denarau Road corridor in between has the cafes and sit-down restaurants that catch both markets.
Choose by which of those three you want, not by a ranking. Nadi is not a town where the best restaurant is a settled question, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling a tour.
What are the main cuisines in Nadi?
This is Nadi's real strength and the thing most visitors miss. Fiji's Indo-Fijian community gives Nadi a depth of Indian cooking few Pacific towns can match, and the Asian restaurants serving the airport and port trade are serious rather than token.
| Cuisine | In the directory | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| North Indian and tandoori | Indiana Tandoori Restaurant & Bar, Saffron Tandoori Restaurant | Nadi's signature category |
| Japanese | Daikoku Japanese Restaurant Nadi | Teppanyaki-style dining |
| Korean | Arirang Korean BBQ Restaurant | Table-grill barbecue |
| Chinese and seafood | Bo Hai Seafood, Sentai Seafood Restaurant, Little Ocean Seafood Restaurant | Large tables, good for groups |
| French | Atmosphere French Restaurant | The town's most formal option |
| Italian and pizza | Flavio's, Mama's Pizza | Reliable with children |
| Modern Fijian and Pacific | Vasaqa, Small Plates Garden Restaurant | Local produce, contemporary plates |
| Home-style Fijian | Sweet Laisa's Kitchen, Tu's Place | Where to try the everyday food |
If you want to know what you are ordering, our guide to Fijian food explained covers kokoda, lovo, palusami and rourou - the four dishes worth seeking out rather than waiting for a resort buffet to serve a version of.
Where should you eat for breakfast or coffee?
Nadi's cafe scene sits along and off Denarau Road, and it is better than the town's reputation suggests.
- Corner Cafe - the long-standing all-rounder, with its own site at cornercafefiji.com where the menu can be checked.
- Bulaccino Cafe - a Nadi institution for coffee and a quick plate.
- Coffee Outback - roaster-cafe, worth it if coffee is the point rather than the accompaniment.
- The Coffee Hub and The Hive - smaller, more local, good for a working breakfast.
- Grace Road Kitchen - bakery-cafe with a following.
For a pre-flight meal, the cafes along Denarau Road beat anything inside the terminal, and the drive from the airport is short.
Where do you eat on the beach in Nadi?
Wailoaloa is the answer, and the reason is geography: Nadi faces west, so the sunset lands in front of you rather than behind.
- The Beach Club Wailoaloa - on the sand, casual, the default sundowner.
- Sailor's Beach Restaurant & Bar - beachfront dining with its own bar and grill.
- Ghost Ship Bar & Grill - part of the Smugglers Cove operation, and a reliable mid-range feed.
Wailoaloa is a twenty-minute-ish drive from Nadi town and closer still from the airport. It is flat, unglamorous sand rather than a postcard beach, and that is rather the charm - this is where Nadi actually goes.
Where do you go for a drink or a late night?
Nadi's bar scene is small and concentrated.
| Venue | What it is |
|---|---|
| Ice Bar | Novelty cold room and cocktail bar in town |
| Legends Sports Bar & Restaurant | Screens, food, long hours |
| Ed's Bar | Long-running town local |
| Bar One Fiji | Town bar |
| Hemisphere Bar | Bar and lounge |
| Loafers Bar | Casual, informal |
| Bounty Restaurant & Bar | Bar and restaurant in town |
| LC's Restaurant and Bar | Restaurant with a bar side |
| Red Pepper Restaurant & Bar | Restaurant and bar |
| White House Night Club & Live Karaoke | Late, loud, karaoke |
Two practical notes. Taxis thin out late, so agree a return fare or ask the venue to call one rather than assuming you will find one at 1am. And if you are staying on Denarau, the drive back is short but the gate and resort security add time - factor it in.
Why are there no prices in this guide?
Because almost no Nadi restaurant publishes a current menu with prices online, and we are not going to invent price bands or dollar signs to make a guide look more complete than it is.
What we can tell you is where to look. The venues with their own websites - Corner Cafe, Coffee Outback, Vasaqa, Ice Bar, Legends, Sailor's Beach and Ghost Ship among those listed above - are the ones where you can check a menu before you go. For the rest, the honest advice is to call. Nadi restaurants answer the phone, and a two-minute call will tell you the price, the hours and whether they can take your group, which is more than any guide can promise.
If you are booking for a group, that call matters more. Our group dining in Nadi guide covers which venues handle 20, 50 and 100 covers and what to ask for.
How does Nadi compare with Denarau?
They are different markets and it is worth knowing which you are in.
| Nadi town and Wailoaloa | Denarau | |
|---|---|---|
| Price level | Lower | Higher |
| Cuisine range | Broader - Indian, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Fijian | Narrower, more international |
| Atmosphere | Working town, local trade | Resort and marina |
| Walkability | Patchy; you will need a taxi | Marina precinct is walkable |
| Best for | Eating well cheaply, trying something local | A guaranteed pleasant evening |
Our where to eat in Denarau Island guide covers the other side of that table. The short version: if you are in Fiji for a week and eating every meal on Denarau, you are missing the better food.
The decision aid
- One good dinner in Nadi, no constraints: Indian in town. It is what Nadi does best and what you cannot easily get at home.
- Sunset and a casual meal: Wailoaloa - The Beach Club or Sailor's.
- A group of twelve or more: one of the Chinese seafood restaurants, which are built for round tables, after a phone call to confirm.
- Breakfast before a flight: the Denarau Road cafes.
- Something formal: Atmosphere French Restaurant, or cross to Denarau.
- Food you will remember as Fijian: Sweet Laisa's Kitchen or Tu's Place, and read the Fijian food guide first.
Next step
Pick the precinct before the restaurant - town, beach or Denarau Road - and the list shortens to something manageable.
Start with Fiji restaurants and bars for the national picture, compare with the best restaurants in Fiji, or browse the restaurants category and the Nadi directory for everything we hold.
