Seychelles Food and Creole Cuisine: What to Eat

Seychelles food is one of the quiet highlights of a trip, and it is more interesting than the resort buffet suggests. Creole cooking here is the product of everyone who ever settled the islands, African, French, Indian and Chinese, all built on what the sea and the land provide. Fresh fish, rice, coconut, tropical fruit and a generous hand with spice and chilli are the backbone.

The dishes to try

• Grilled fish, the everyday star, often red snapper or job fish, marinated and cooked over coals.
• Fish and octopus curries in coconut milk, fragrant rather than fiery, served with rice.
• Chutneys made from green mango, papaya or golden apple, fresh and sharp alongside the main plate.
• Bat curry, a traditional Creole dish for the adventurous.
• Ladob, a sweet dish of plantain and sweet potato in coconut milk, eaten as dessert or breakfast.

Fish and seafood

Fish is everything here. Tuna, snapper, job fish, bourgeois and grouper come straight off the boats, and octopus, or zourit, is a local favourite cooked in curry or salad. The freshness is the point, so order what was landed that day and you rarely go wrong.

Street food and the markets

The easiest, friendliest and cheapest way to eat Creole is at a market. The Wednesday evening Bazar Labrin on Beau Vallon beach sells grilled fish, curries, samosas and cakes from stalls, and the Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke market in Victoria is the place for fish, fruit, spices and snacks. Takeaway Creole plates from small local shops are excellent value.

Fruit, snacks and sweets

Tropical fruit is everywhere, mango, papaya, breadfruit, banana, golden apple, jackfruit and coconut. Try breadfruit chips, fresh coconut water from the husk, and small Creole cakes and nougat sold at markets. The fruit alone is worth grazing your way through.

Drinks

The local beer is SeyBrew, easy and cold. The Takamaka rum distillery on Mahe makes the islands’ best-known spirit, used in cocktails everywhere. Fresh juices and coconut water are widely available, and the tap water in the main islands is generally treated, though many visitors stick to bottled.

Where to eat well

You will find everything from beach shacks to polished restaurants. The best Creole meals are often in small, family-run places rather than hotels, and a takeaway from a local kitchen can beat a fancy plate. Our guide to the best restaurants in Seychelles points you to tried-and-tested tables across Mahe, Praslin and La Digue.

How to plan

Eat at least one market meal, order the daily fish, and try a proper Creole curry away from your hotel. A hire car makes it easy to reach the small local restaurants that locals rate. Browse our best-restaurants guide for where to go, and verified places to stay in our directory, many with kitchens if you want to cook the day’s catch yourself.