When oneself think about the Seychelles - deep down in its wildest dreams - awaken almost instantly in the mind, a flow of bluish and verdant tones. After several flight hours, it is finally time to reach the other side of the world, at the heart of the Indian Ocean.

The beautiful archipelago of 115 islands is nestled among Africa and Asia and has - for a very long time - been the home of pirates, before belonging to the French, then to the British, and finally obtaining its independence in 1976. The first person to ever mention the Seychelles in some writings was Vasco de Gamma, the great Portuguese navigator.

As 98% of the Seychellois are descended from Europeans who settled there from the 16th century onwards, the local population is mixed and speaks Seychelles Creole, English and French. Its rich past can also be felt in its cuisine - a great mix of European, Indian and African flavours seasoned with exotic spices. Talking about the Seychelles without tackling its culinary culture? Impossible.

The Islandian Experts have uncovered the best local addresses, bars and tables for you to enjoy a gourmet stay in the tropics. Throughout our blog article below, we invite you to enjoy a glimpse of the best Seychellois cuisine, according to our Experts.

Embrace your inner adventure

Linked to Africa, the Seychellois cuisine is a great mix of spicy, sweet and sour flavours. Here is a selection of our favourite main local dishes:

• Bat meat: similar to a tropical rabbit stew, bat meat is cooked as a yummy curry.

• Zourite curry (octopus): based on small diced octopus and cooked with shredded coconut, onion, garlic cloves, tomato paste, spices and fresh herbs.

• Fish rougail: a delicious Creole dish combining white fish such as scorpionfish, and a “rougail” sauce mainly made with small pieces of tomatoes, a few teaspoons of oil, onions, minced garlic and ginger.

• Coconut curry: in Mahé, Praslin, or La Digue, coconut curry is a must!

• The vegetable pie: the mix of eggplants, tomatoes and pumpkins create the perfect and colourful garniture to cook a delicious vegetable pie.

• The Palm Leaf Salad: a tasteful salad mainly made of palm hearts, lemons, oil, salt and pepper.

• The tec-tec soup: a popular soup made of roasted limpets or bourgeois (snapper), seasoned with a squeeze of lemon.

If ever you are wondering where to enjoy these delicious meals, don't ask yourself where to find them anymore. Located near the Constance Lemuria Golf Club, Diva is a special restaurant! Hidden behind a sumptuous decor with urban chic touches, is a simple but tasty cuisine with modern and Mediterranean influences.

Rendezvous for dinner time, between 19:00 and 22:30 (upon reservation).

A warm stay

A blend of many exotic spices forms the basis of nearly all the lovingly concocted Seychellois dishes. These spices are mainly cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, cumin, cloves, coriander, turmeric, paprika, rosemary, mustard, celery, aniseed, salt and pepper.

In the Seychelles, the dosage and roasting as well as the origin of the seeds and spices, condition the taste and colour of all the local culinary preparations, to surprise and satisfy the taste buds.

The same goes for Le Marmit restaurant of La Digue Island Lodge. Nestled on the waterfront, the main hotel restaurant offers a variety of cuisines with different themed buffets and delicious "table d'hôtes" menus. On La Digue Island, La Digue Island Lodge is situated both on the edge of a beautiful and private white sand beach, at the heart of a lush environment. This charming island-style address provides an authentic and vintage experience to travellers looking for a unique change of scenery! From the sea to your plate





During your holiday in the gigantic rocks island, you will have the opportunity to taste many fresh fish preparations, coming just right out of the water. Some 800 species of fish and shellfish are caught in abundance in the surrounding waters.

Barracuda, bourgeois, stingray, captain, grouper, red snapper, tuna, lobster, marlin, tec-tec, parrotfish, carangue, squid or octopus are the main seafood and shellfish used to prepare the main local cuisine.

In a restaurant as well as in your kitchen, grilled or prepared as an exquisite curry, take advantage of your Seychelles’ trip to opt for creole dishes made with some succulent fishes. Pirogue Lodge is a charming little address on the edge of Praslin. Here, the six standard wooden rooms are made by local craftsmen and are facing the sea. During the day, you can sunbath on the beautiful white sandy beach of “Côte d'Or” and at dinner time, you can settle down at the Pirogue Restaurant & Bar to enjoy Seychelles culinary delights.

The ultimate freshness of local ingredients

Sea resources, as well as tropical fruits and vegetables, play an important role in Seychelles cuisine. Here, most of the foods and condiments are extremely fresh, as Seychellois people are pickers, fishermen and vendors at the same time! At the market or at the corner of a muddy alley, you won't have any trouble finding the right food to prepare some delicious creole meals.

Auberge Chez Plume is a charming Anse Boileau guest house. Chez Plume restaurant, named after the former owner who created the concept over 25 years ago, serves imaginative local and international cuisine. The restaurant is known, both by residents and travellers, for its typical food such as eggplant fritters, Combava sauce with some slices of shark, crab curry and passion fruit or coconut soufflé.

In the Seychelles, everyone lives from their own food production and cultivates a vegetable garden and a plot of land, trading vegetables for fish with neighbours around... This lifestyle is a thousand miles away from intensive agriculture! The Seychelles is simple, spicy and sunny gastronomy, with dishes to share placed in the middle of a large family table. A generous and gourmet cuisine that will surely please the finest gourmets.

You know it all now! Here, no meal is eaten without some white rice in the middle of the bowl, to accompany some cooked vegetables and fresh fish. We hope you have been won over by our selection of local specialities, and look forward to welcoming you soon at the heart of the Indian Ocean.

To plan your next tailor-made experience, we invite you to get in touch with our local Experts for some tips!

See you soon, the Islandian Experts.