Heading to Rarotonga for a tropical holiday and wondering where – and what – to eat? Never fear. The Cook Islands’ capital offers a huge range of dining options including deep-sea fish, tropical fruit and vegetables, and there’s a seemingly endless array of places where you can sample the local delicacies. You’re in for quite the culinary adventure.
Fresh fish, unsurprisingly, is a Rarotongan staple. Most of what you’ll see on a plate is game fish such as marlin, wahoo, tuna and broadbill. Plenty of shops around Avarua, Rarotonga’s main town, sell fresh fish; any local will be able to give you directions. You won’t be disappointed. Ika Mata – raw fish marinated in coconut, chilli and lime or lemon juice – is a popular local dish on offer at Avarua’s Punanga Nui Market. You can also find it at various restaurants around the island.
Further afield, on the island of Aitutaki, you can’t go past the sandy-floored Café Tupuna’s coconut crab. The fish curry here is also said to be memorable.]
Avarua has plenty of cafes serving tempting pastries, cakes and coffee. Several restaurants – many of them overlooking the ocean or nestled in tropical gardens – offer fine dining experiences, while bars and cafes all over the island have more casual options.
One of the most popular of these is Trader Jacks, perched on Avarua’s waterfront.
Trader Jacks is renowned among travellers and locals. Its wood-fired pizzas and cocktails are unbeatable, and you can enjoy both while you dangle your feet over the edge of the balcony and enjoy panoramic ocean views.
Rarotonga also boasts loads of takeaway spots and market stalls selling modern and traditional delights. The night market in Muri is a loosely kept local secret.
Stalls jostle for position and delectable smells waft through the air. Like everything served here, the chilli marlin salad is divine, and there’s even entertainment in the form of cultural dancing.
Local favourite ingredients include banana, mango, guava, star fruit, passion fruit, pineapple and kumara. You’ll find a mixture of these on many menus.
Cook Islanders do the best burgers. For a casual night of dining head to the Palace for one of its famous burgers. These are big burgers and it pays to pace yourself.
For a truly gastronomic experience, keep an evening free to enjoy fine dining with a Polynesian twist at Plantation House. If you’re lucky, you might be treated to a pre-dinner guided stroll around the gardens of this colonial homestead, during which you’ll learn about the local vegetation and culinary traditions. Plantation House has been described as the ultimate paddock-to-plate experience.
Most of Rarotonga’s resorts also offer island nights, where local delicacies are served alongside roast meat and veges. The food on offer at these nights is usually cooked in a traditional Umu or earth oven.
Everything’s so good it’s impossible to choose a favourite dining spot.
(Feature image: Robert Young)
