Restaurant St James

Tahiti Tourisme counts it among Bora Bora’s essential restaurants and describes the cooking as refined, mixing French gastronomy with local products. Air Tahiti Nui’s guide to the island calls it bistronomic, with a good wine cellar and a waterfront terrace close to the village centre and its marina. Guides have also long described a sand-floored bar at the water’s edge.

The restaurant’s Polynesian plate has brought together several ways with tuna: raw in coconut milk, seared, as a tartare and as a carpaccio. Set dinners served to sunset-cruise guests have included red tuna tartare, roast mahi-mahi with vanilla sauce and grilled beef tenderloin, with tarte tatin or passion fruit cheesecake to finish. Ask for the current menu when you book.

Anchoring is not allowed in much of Bora Bora’s lagoon, so visiting yachts pick up moorings run by the island’s mooring service. One field lies off the Bora Bora Yacht Club, about 1.3 km north of the restaurant. From there it is a short tender ride or taxi into Vaitape, where the restaurant is near the main quay and the shops.

Tahiti Tourisme lists the restaurant as open from Monday to Saturday and closed on Sunday. Book a terrace table for sunset by phone. The restaurant has offered guests a free taxi from elsewhere on the main island when they book dinner, so ask when you call.