Cocobeach

The restaurant was built in 2002 on family land and has been handed down within the family since. It is entirely outdoors, so it opens when the sun is out and closes when it rains. The family supports local environmental work, from beach clean-ups to the protection of turtle nests.

Start with poisson cru au lait de coco: raw red tuna with tomato, cucumber, ginger, red onion, lime and fresh coconut milk. Tuna also comes as a tartare, a sashimi with turmeric and coconut sauce, or a carpaccio. Local shrimps are cooked in a coconut curry or flambéed with whisky.

From the grill there are pork ribs, chicken or fish skewers, grilled octopus and Angus entrecôte, and local lobster is offered in season. Burgers and a children’s menu suit younger guests, and the cocktail list is long.

Yachts visiting this side of Moorea usually stay in Opunohu Bay, where vessels of 20 to 90 metres have a designated area in the middle of the bay and smaller boats can find a few places in the marina at its head. The tourism service’s guide for sailors suggests a good dinghy for the run to the west of the pass, where Cocobeach sits on Motu Tiahura. Guests arriving in their own boat are welcome: book the option without the shuttle. Otherwise the restaurant’s shuttle runs every 30 minutes from its dock at PK 24, Tiahura, on the main island.

The kitchen serves lunch only, from 11am to 2pm, Wednesday to Sunday. Reservations are essential, online, with the phone kept for same-day changes. Shuttles leave from 10am to 1pm and come back until 3pm on weekdays and 4pm at weekends, for a small fee paid at the restaurant. There is no lifeguard, and stingrays and reef fish gather in the clear water nearby.