At the St. Regis Bora Bora, we started each day with a yummy breakfast that at mostly filled up the adults until dinner. But the kids pressured us into lunch.

View other posts in this series:

• Trip Introduction: Summer in a Bora Bora Paradise
• United Polaris SFO Lounge: Is It The Best?
• Quick Hit: Pocket That Airline Meal Voucher for Later
• Review: United Airlines 787-9 Polaris Business Class SFO-PPT
• Review: Boutique Kon Tiki Tahiti
• Air Moana: An Enjoyable But Brief Experience
• St. Regis Bora Bora Review: A Beautiful Hard Product
• St. Regis Bora Bora Review: Paradise with Service Flaws
• Delicious Breakfast and Lunch at St. Regis Bora Bora (this post)
• St. Regis Bora Bora: Unforgettable Gourmet Dinners in Paradise
• La Villa Mahana: A Special Treat in Bora Bora
• Saint James Bora Bora Review – Great Food, Slow Service
• Fabulous Activities and Amenities at the St. Regis Bora Bora
• Kids at St. Regis Bora Bora: A Good Idea?
• Bora Bora Snorkeling: Loving the Big 5 on the Loveboat
• Perfect for Younger Kids: Underwater Scooter in Bora Bora
• Tupuna Safari Bora Bora: An Awesome Off-Roading Adventure
• Air Tahiti: The Popular Way to Explore French Polynesia
• Intercontinental Tahiti Review: One of the Best Resorts on the Island
• Delightful Dining at the Intercontinental Tahiti
• Fabulous Dinners Await at the Intercontinental Tahiti
• Activities and Relaxation at the Intercontinental Tahiti
• Tahiti with Kids: Basking in Island Love
• Air Tahiti Nui Lounge Review: Can Be Too Crowded
• Comfort in the Sky: Air France A350-900 Business Class PPT-LAX

Breakfast at Te Pahu

Breakfast at the St. Regis Bora Bora is at their Te Pahu restaurant, served between the hours of 6:30AM and 10:30AM. The normal cost for breakfast is 5,500 XPF (~$53.50 US), but thankfully we didn’t have to pay because:

• Marriott Platinum, Titanium, and Ambassadors can choose free daily breakfast for two.
• Children under 12 also get free daily breakfast.

The crew working Te Pahu did a great job remembering us each morning and after the first visit, we never had to provide our room number. They addressed us by name and continued stories from the previous day.

Te Pahu is a beautiful outdoor restaurant with plenty of seating for guests.

Sometimes we showed up a little later (8AM) and received a table inside the restaurant. Many of the tables are designed for parties of two, but it’s easy enough to combine two of the tables to fit us four.

And other times, we showed up early and got a nice table by the edge. It’s a nice benefit for early risers.

If you don’t have kids that get hungry first thing in the morning, you could dine here late (around 10AM) and skip lunch. That’s something Jenn and I did frequently before kids. It’s harder to convince the kids to follow that approach, but maybe we’ll be able to do it when they become teenagers.

Breakfast buffet

One of the first things we like to do is take a look at the breakfast buffet. It’s located in the center of the restaurant and is one of the larger buffets we’ve been to.

For the most part, I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves, but I’ll call out anything particularly noteworthy.

Can I just say that I’m a fan of them putting the fresh fruit in a cooling enclosure? Not only does it keep the fruit cool in a warm environment, but it also protects them from flies. I wish all hotels did this with their buffet.

The enclosures don’t have to just be cooling; they also have warming versions for a couple of items. Normally hotels put their hash browns in a warming pot, but that tends to dry them out. When in this enclosure, we didn’t notice any excessive drying and remained crispy.

One thing that I want to call out is that if you’re a fan of sushi, you can get all the delicious sashimi you can eat at breakfast. It’s in the enclosure with the cold cuts and fish. Once we discovered that, Jenn and I ate plenty of fish each morning. This is one of the best items at the buffet.

The menu

All guests dining can additionally choose drinks and hot dishes off the menu. Some drinks (alcohol, bottled water, and soda) cost money. But aside from that, everything is included.

Drinks

We always started with the fresh juice of the day. The rotation varied by day, including options like a passion fruit-orange-pineapple mix, a pear-papaya-banana-apple mix, and a grapefruit-papaya-banana mix. Each of our five mornings had a different combination, which kept things fresh,

The first morning, I also ordered an iced hot chocolate, which was tasty. The wait staff insisted I get two drinks. I think the last time I had that was at Serendipity 3 back when it was at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas before it closed in 2016. So it’s been a while!

Other mornings, I chose a biologic latte instead. I think it paired better with the meal and it’s small enough to where it didn’t feel overwhelming. To confirm any doubts, you can get drink refills if it’s not enough.

Dishes ordered at the table

We enjoyed each of the hot dishes we ordered. Such as this avocado toast with local fish on top. I actually didn’t order it, but they caught their error and still let us try it anyways. This was the only mix up at breakfast (or at any restaurant here).

What I tried to order was the eggs benedict with local fish, which is shown below. It’s delicious and the fish adds some extra texture to break up the sauce.

Char loved the peanut butter toast with bananas, which she has continued to eat at home after this trip ended.

Plenty of mornings we ordered the usual two fried eggs. Sometimes sunny side up, sometimes over easy. Pair this with a flaky croissant and it’s the quintessential breakfast.

We also ordered some soft boiled eggs. Those egg cups are always cute but we never have them in our house because they’re perhaps one of the biggest uni-taskers out there.

Getting breakfast to go

If you’re in a hurry, I’ll point out two observations from our stay.

Our first morning, Char had some pancakes on her plate that she didn’t get around to eating. The staff proactively brought a to-go container for her to bring it back to the room. We found it surprising that they would allow us to bring back items from the buffet. Each other morning, we ate everything on our plates. But staff seems willing to provide a container if you need it.

We also overheard someone else mentioning that his departure from the resort was mid-morning. He didn’t have enough time to enjoy breakfast before leaving, so the staff gave him some to-go containers. Apparently, they have both smaller and larger boxes, so the recommendation from the other guest is to get the large one. I’m guessing it’s also possible to get a to-go container if you have an early activity, so ask the staff and I’m sure they can help.

Meet Regis the cat

Regis is the only cat on the island, owned by the general manager of the restaurant. While we saw him at some other restaurants throughout the day, we most reliably saw him each morning. In particular, Char is a big fan and loved when he visited.

If he bothers you, the restaurant staff just asked to let them know so they can move him away. While I am allergic to cats, I know how to control my allergy and so I don’t mind. How can I force him away when he brings so much joy to Char?

We did give him some table scraps (as did other tables), and he is certainly not afraid to get up close and personal with those who show him some love. But we did shoo him off the chair immediately after this picture was taken.

Lunch at Aparima Bar

Aparima Bar is immediately next to Te Pahu, connected under the same roof. What was nice was that the same staff serving us at breakfast also works this area for lunch. If you want to eat at the pool or beach, the food also comes from this restaurant.

Aparima Bar is open daily from 11AM to 9:30PM. While it’s open for dinner, we only stopped by here during lunch time.

The menu

Once seated, you’ll get a chance to review the rather large menu.

There’s also a kids menu, which has some cheaper-priced options. While it might seem expensive to get a ham and cheese sandwich for ~$17.50, at least it comes with a drink and a dessert.

Drinks

We started with some drinks. I ordered a Tabu Lemon beer. It has a lighter complexion but a nice lemony taste to it. If you think of it less as a beer and more as a shandy, you won’t be disappointed.

The food

The meal started with some tasty fresh bread.

Alex ordered the kids spaghetti bolognese, which had good flavor to it. Given the large breakfast we had, I think this is a good portion size for him. On top of that, the bread is excellent for dipping to clean up the last bits of sauce.

Char ordered the ham and cheese sandwich. It did come with fries, so this was a pretty filling meal for her. The drink she ordered was a mango smoothie. Awesome that it’s included in the potential options for them to drink (and doesn’t count as a dessert).

I ordered the ahi tuna tartare, mostly because I wasn’t feeling too hungry. It’s a very light dish and probably best works as an appetizer for most. But when you eat such a filling breakfast, it’s nice to give the stomach a break. That said, this wasn’t the best tartare I’ve had, but it was still good and I wouldn’t be opposed to getting it again.

Jenn ordered the BBQ seafood skewer, which was very filling. While Jenn did like the seafood, she felt the vegetables were actually better than the fish. It could just speak to the fact that we were still full from breakfast and we wanted something more refreshing.

The kids each got dessert, which was ice cream with whatever toppings they wanted. It’s a nice way to finish the meal for them.

The bill for us was 13,420 XPF (~$130 US). If you find that prohibitively too much for lunch on a nice resort on an island in the middle of the Pacific, you might want to stay somewhere else.

Room service

As I mentioned in the previous installment, the first time we attempted to order room service, the resort dropped the ball. They took the order from us and then it never arrived. When we called to inquire about 90 minutes later, they realized they never fired it up. They offered to comp the meal if we ordered it again that day, but we declined the offer as it was too late for lunch at that time.

Well, the next day, we decided to order substantially the same order. It arrived roughly 45 minutes after ordering.

As with lunch at at Aparima Bar, they brough some bread to share.

Alex once again got the kids spaghetti, which was identical to the one he had at Aparima.

Char ordered a alfredo penne pasta, which is an adult dish as there is no kid version. Comparing the sizes and prices of the pasta dishes, I’d say the kids meal is by far the better deal at half the price. The size of the adult and kid pasta is fairly comparable.

Jenn and I shared the St. Regis burger. It’s a good burger and we’re glad to have shared it to avoid overeating. Sometimes you just need to eat a burger away from home and this one hits the spot.

The burger at least comes with some fries.

This lunch cost us 11,120 XPF (~$108 US).

In the next installment, we’ll discuss the dinner options at the St. Regis Bora Bora

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