Scott and I recently went on our honeymoon to French Polynesia (Moorea and Bora Bora). It was beautiful, but food there was also rather expensive compared to most places. We did eat a lot of good food, but found it hard to have dinner for less than $40/person.

Rudy’s was the highest rated restaurant in Moorea on TripAdvisor, so our hotel concierge called and made a reservation for us. They offer free pickup/dropoff from hotels in Moorea, and came exactly on time. The owner’s father came to greet us at the door, which was a nice touch. The interior décor was pretty minimal.

Poisson cru – This was by far the best poisson cru that I had the entire trip (and I had poisson cru at 6 or 7 different restaurants!). Poisson cru is similar to poke, except that the tuna is marinated in coconut milk instead of other sauces or oils. Their poisson cru was a mixture of tuna, coconut milk, onion and cucumber. I found the taste here superior to others because it tasted as though they used coconut cream, which really balanced the leanness of the tuna. The coconut here was also sweeter than at other restaurants, which I found enhanced the flavor of the tuna more.

Parrotfish stuffed with crab with tarragon & balsamic butter sauce (~$29)– This was the first time I have ever tried parrotfish and it was absolutely delicious. It’s a pretty mild white fish but I think it leans a bit oily (or maybe it was the buttery sauce…). The sauce was very rich but complemented the fish well. I found that the amount of rice given on the side was a little bit small, and that the green beans were a pretty random addition to the plate (however, I ate at several other restaurants in Moorea that also had green beans on the entrée plate). This was one of my favorite fish dishes ever, and I still think about it even now! One of my regrets from this trip was not going back to Rudy’s for a second time.

Lamb curry with fresh coconut ($28.50) – Scott ordered this dish for his entrée and it was pretty good, but I really preferred my dish! The coconut milk used bolstered the taste of lamb (which was from New Zealand). I didn’t try much of this since I liked my fish so much!

Upside down papaya & pineapple tart with vanilla ice cream ($12.50) – I only found this dessert to be okay. I’ve never had papaya in a cooked preparation before, and it tasted almost like it was from a can. I expected a much more vibrant dessert, perhaps it could be improved by topping the tart with some raw papaya/pineapple? It wasn’t bad but I wouldn’t get it again.

 

The prices here were consistent with other sit-down restaurants in Moorea. Overall, two of my favorite dishes from the entire trip came from Rudy’s so I would definitely recommend a visit there! Service was friendly but a bit slow as the restaurant was packed. Make sure you get the poisson cru and parrotfish.

Taste – 9.5

Service – 8

Ambiance – 7

Value – 8 (relatively to other places on the island)

Overall – 9