Article about dining on the islands, discover restaurants in Seychelles, cafes, and local eateries. I’ll show you menus, prices, talk about tips, and taxes in eateries. There will be lots of advice, and you can decide where you want to eat. I won’t talk about restaurants in package hotels, as that’s already understood. The article is specifically about Seychellois dining outside of hotels.

Restaurants in Seychelles: General Information

All dining in Seychelles is represented by only two types of establishments:

  • Tourist restaurants – classic restaurants as we know them. Waiters, glassware, metal utensils.
  • Take Away’s – local eateries. I’ll refer to them as takeaways from now on, it will be clearer for everyone.

Important note:

Budget restaurants in Seychelles for locals are non-existent as a class. Locals don’t go to restaurants. Any restaurant is immediately expensive, even if it’s just a bamboo shelter on the beach.
beach restaurants in seychelles
Even these beach restaurants in Seychelles, where everything needs repair, it won’t be budget-friendly to eat there. But more on prices below.

I recommend reading two useful articles right away, which will give you a proper understanding of Seychellois dining:

In short:

This is a government program to protect the environment and local culture. The government’s stance: it’s better to earn a million from a thousand tourists than from a hundred thousand. If it’s expensive for you here, you can go vacation in resorts in Thailand and Vietnam; we don’t need penny-pinchers. That’s more or less it, these are not my words but the president’s 🙂

Restaurants in Seychelles: Menus, Prices, Taxes, Tips

What you need to know about classic restaurants in Seychelles:

  • Everything is similar to our home experience. Good service. You won’t have to wait three hours for a dish like in neighboring Zanzibar.
  • In Seychelles, restaurant menus feature both European and local Creole cuisine. Almost any menu will include:
    • French fries, burgers, and nuggets.
    • Pizza and pasta.
    • Lots of rice, Asian noodles with chicken.
    • Grilled dishes (fish and seafood).
    • Curry, various Creole dishes.
  • There are no restrictions on meat in local cuisine; they eat everything: pork, beef, chicken, lamb.
dining in seychelles
A typical restaurant on any beach. But Seychelles has many beaches where there is no infrastructure at all. Prices in Seychelles beach restaurants are among the highest; here, you pay for the view as well. A modest dinner can easily cost 100 euros.

About cleanliness:

This applies to both restaurants and takeaways. Locals are clean. Of course, tourists vary in cleanliness, but it’s not as extreme as in India, for example. Although Seychelles is considered part of Africa.

Let me tell you about average prices for dishes and dinner in restaurants in Seychelles, so you can have an idea of how much money to bring (spoiler alert: if you plan to eat only in restaurants, bring a lot of money):

  • Salad: 20 euros
  • Soup: 10 euros
  • Main course (grilled fish with a side dish): 40 euros
  • Glass of beer: 7 euros
  • Prices are approximately the same everywhere, some places may be slightly cheaper. But I took the average to make you well-prepared.
  • Total dinner for two: 2 salads, 1 main course (if you order grilled fish, ask, it will be a large portion, you can share one for two, but not always), 2 beers = 100 euros. And you might still leave the table feeling slightly hungry.
prices in restaurants seychelles
The menu of a typical Seychelles restaurant, some are more expensive, some slightly cheaper, but not much. I took photos with an exchange rate of 1 euro = 15 rupees. Any main course here is 500 rupees, which is more than 30 euros. And there are dishes for 700 rupees. Pizza is 20 euros, pasta is 30+ euros.

Prices in Seychelles restaurants:

Be mentally prepared that the bill for dinner for two can be 200-250 euros. That’s how it was for us, and we didn’t order anything extravagant. Well, we had a bottle of wine for 30 euros, everything else was regular food. Read a separate article about alcohol in Seychelles; there’s a lot to learn about prices and what people drink here.

Don’t forget about taxes and tips:

  • There are restaurants that list prices in the menu without VAT.
  • And there are those that add 5-10% for service to the bill.
  • Usually, this information is at the bottom of the menu page. Just know that the final bill may increase by 20-25%.
  • If the bill doesn’t include a service charge, it’s recommended to leave tips. 5-10%, at your discretion. It’s up to you; no one will curse you if you don’t leave a tip, but they will appreciate it. It’s just like in our restaurants 🙂
cafe in seychelles menu
In one of the beach restaurants, we had 1 beer, 1 cocktail, 2 barracudas grilled in Creole sauce (usually rice is included as a side dish with grilled fish). We paid 80 euros for all of this. In the photo, it’s my wife’s dish; I had the same. Remember this photo; here, you’re also paying for the beautiful view and service. Below, there will be a photo from a local takeaway with the same dish.
menu seychelles restaurant
Carefully check the menu. It’s clearly visible here (highlighted in red rectangles at the bottom). It says that 5% service charge and 15% VAT will be added to the dish prices. So, the total will be +20%. In such restaurants, pay strictly according to the bill, and don’t leave tips. Prices are also at an exchange rate of 15 rupees = 1 euro.

About Take Away‘s

These are stalls or food trucks that prepare simple food, which locals buy for themselves. There are takeaways where every dish is cooked in front of you, and there are those with pre-prepared food like in a canteen. The menu is always modest, usually consisting of 5-7 dishes. Here’s what you need to know about it:

  • If it’s a family-run takeaway, there’s no fixed schedule. It can open and close whenever.
  • They are abundant on any island, present in every village. Remember that these are eateries primarily for locals, not tourists.
  • Usually, they open for lunch, around 12 or 1 pm, and close no later than 8 pm, often closing even earlier. They work until sunset.
best take away seychelles
This is what Take Away or restaurants in Seychelles for locals look like. If you suspect that a place prepares food, feel free to enter; chances are high that it’s a takeaway. Often, there are no signs or indicators. The menu is displayed on a board outside.

Sometimes there are tables, and you can eat on the spot, but more often there aren’t. All food is packed in cardboard containers, and they always provide a napkin and a plastic spoon. We usually go to the beach to eat. Portions are quite large, and the food is simple and tasty.

Let me tell you about the menu and prices at takeaways:

  • Prices are the same everywhere; a portion of food costs from 5 to 8 euros, depending on the dish. So, for 10-15 euros (excluding drinks), you can have a good meal for two. Needless to say, this is a popular way to eat, even among tourists.
  • The menu usually includes: French fries with nuggets, rice with chicken curry, fish in Creole sauce, noodles with vegetables and some meat, popular “dal” – a sauce-soup made from red lentils. This food resembles Indian cuisine but is almost not spicy. Some places also make burgers and pizzas, but those are more for tourists.
menu take away seychelles
Two photos from completely different takeaways, even from different islands. In such “canteens,” dishes are more or less the same.

There are no taxes here, and nobody leaves tips. Everything is delicious and freshly prepared. Although there are tourists who don’t eat; they find it unappetizing. But it’s an individual preference. By the way, even here, they accept credit cards.

Travel Tips

In conclusion, I’ll add some general points and tips that you need to know about Seychelles restaurants and dining in general. I’ll share how my wife and I usually handle it.

  • In most villas and apartments on the islands, there is a fully-equipped kitchen. There’s nothing wrong with cooking your own familiar food. There’s always a stove, microwave, pans, pots, and often a rice cooker. A useful article: about accommodation in Seychelles, what’s available, where to find places with a kitchen.
  • Remember, dining establishments, both restaurants in Seychelles and takeaways, are not everywhere. If you don’t stay on a popular beach, a car is essential, just to go to the store for groceries or to a restaurant.
eat on budget seychelles
Sometimes takeaways also grill fish. We often buy such dishes, but you need to know the right places. In the photo, the fish weighs about 700 grams, with rice and salad. It’s enough for two. The price is 10 euros. In a restaurant with a beautiful view and service, you’d pay 60-80 euros, or even 100+. A photo of such a dish from a beach restaurant was at the beginning of the article.

Useful tip:

I won’t recommend any specific restaurants in Seychelles, let alone takeaways. Everything is delicious and fantastic everywhere. Takeaways operate as they please. Today they work, then they remain closed for a week, and after that, they might work for three days again. In my neighborhood, two takeaways closed in three months, apparently for good, and three new ones opened. They can’t even appear on maps quickly. Look for them nearby when you arrive.

How my wife and I usually eat when staying in a villa, not a hotel:

  • We always prepare breakfast ourselves because in the morning, neither restaurants in Seychelles nor takeaways are open. It can be anything from oatmeal with tuna to eggs or sandwiches. Everything is available in any store. Canned tuna is quite common.
  • Lunch is usually from a takeaway. We find the nearest one to the beach and eat between swimming and snorkeling. Check out the rating of the best beaches in Seychelles.
  • In the evening, we go to a restaurant. And if we’ve been fishing and caught fish, I clean it on the beach and return home to cook it. The key is to stop in time and not catch too much. Everything about fishing in Seychelles: from the shore with a fishing rod, from a yacht for bluefin tuna.
where to dine in seychelles
One more piece of advice: villas often have grills, and you can use them for free. You just need to buy charcoal, available in almost any store, and fish from the market or catch it yourself. You might not even need to go to restaurants in Seychelles.

For those who, by the end of this article, began to worry about their budget and find it challenging to dine in a restaurant for less than 100 euros, here’s a useful article: travel budget for Seychelles or how much money to bring.

In conclusion: dining expenses in restaurants in Seychelles hit the pocket even for wealthy people, let alone us ordinary folks. However, you won’t starve here for sure. There’s a vast number of takeaways in any village, and they are in high demand not only among locals but also among tourists. And those who brought a fishing rod can survive on just fish; it even bites on a bare hook.

Delicious dining in Seychelles is possible on any budget!

IMPORTANT: essential links to organize your dream trip to the Seychelles:

  • FLIGHTS: Aviasales – direct flights and best deals.

  • CAR RENTAL: Mahe and Praslin, no deposit required – DiscoverCars.

  • TOURS and EXCURSIONS:
    • GetYourGuide – 75+ activities on land and water in the Seychelles.

    • Viator – 150 + activities in Seychelles.

  • TRAVEL INSURANCE: EKTA.

  • HOTELS, VILLAS, APARTMENTS:
    • Hotellook compares prices among a dozen other services and platforms and offers to choose the best one.

    • Booking – the most popular service for booking accommodation.

    • Agoda – the main competitor of Booking.

  • PACKAGES: from budget to luxury – Expedia.

  • AIRPORT TRANSFER: Intui.

  • INTERNET: eSIM of local telecom operator – Airalo.