La Villa Mahana: A Special Treat in Bora Bora

~ Chris Wada

Our family dined at the impressive La Villa Mahana, which was just as delicious as advertised. Be sure you get your reservations made far in advance.

First Friday Feast is a monthly series debuting on the first Friday of each month and elaborates on a recent dining experience.

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We’ve been trying to have a date night each month this year (and post about it on the first Friday of every month). Sometimes we bring the kids along for date night and sometimes they stay at home. But that’s fine by us–the kids are more than welcome to tag along if they want. This time we hit up one of the more in-demand spots on Bora Bora.

Arrival to La Villa Mahana

Dining at La Villa Mahana requires reservations in advance. I’ve heard from others who said six months is necessary, but we were able to secure reservations only two months in advance. Either way, I’d recommend you making the reservation as early as possible. There is no online reservation system, but I received email confirmation of our dinner within a day. Dinner is at a set time (6:30PM for our evening).

As we were staying at the St. Regis Bora Bora, we needed to take a water shuttle over to the main island. Once the dinner reservation is confirmed, I relayed the details over to the St. Regis so they could coordinate with La Villa Mahana. The boat ride was a separate charge we paid to the St. Regis.

Dining at La Villa Mahana is apparently a popular thing to do. Our butlers Chloé and Marion at the St. Regis remarked how they just dined there a few nights before us.

It was a simple ride across the water, and the kids loved the boat ride.

Once on the island, we quickly found our taxi ride over to La Villa Mahana. The shuttle had signage to indicate it’s with the restaurant. You might be surprised to know that the roundtrip ride to the restaurant is included in the dinner price.

After picking up a few other guests, we arrived at the restaurant, which felt very homely and intimate. I counted only seven two-top tables downstairs.

In the small courtyard just outside the dining room, the kids enjoyed sitting on a swing on a tree.

I think because we had a party of four, we were given a private room upstairs. I didn’t request it and didn’t know it existed, but that was nice of them. Having a private area with the kids would let them relax a bit. Plus there was a couch here in case they needed to lay down.

The La Villa Mahana menu

There’s one thing to know about the menu before proceeding further. This experience is very much has old world values. What I mean by that is that there is a subtle difference between the menus that Jenn and I received. My menu (which is shown below) has the prices listed for each. Her menu offered no insight on any prices.

It didn’t bother us much because we both ordered based on what we wanted to eat and not the price.

La Villa Mahana menu cover
Welcome note
Two set menus
A la carte options
Vegetarian menu, cheese, and dessert

The Food at La Villa Mahana

Both Jenn and I ordered set meals, but we got different options. I chose the Exotique while she chose the Epicurien. We both got the wine pairing. To make the post more cohesive, I’ll discuss the options based on courses rather than each menu individually.

Our meal started with two different kinds of cheese. One is a smoky cheddar. The other is a bit stronger of a cheese–a little too strong for the kids but Jenn and I were fine with it.

We also received some olives for the table.

On top of those appetizers, we also received two different types of bread for the table. The kids enjoyed the fresh sourdough bread.

The other bread was a coconut bread–a bit softer but still tasty.

Course 1 – Salad

The Exotique menu came with a seared ahi tuna salad with a mixed green salad. This is a delicious slab of tuna. Some salt is added on top but I don’t think it’s necessary–we like tuna as-is.

The Epicurien meal comes with a seafood salad with caviar. The seafood is very fresh, and though we like caviar, we didn’t feel it added much to the dish itself. Between the two dishes, personally, I preferred the ahi tuna.

The accompanying glass of wine was a glass of champagne for both. Yum! (Sorry, this is the best picture I have of both glasses of wine.)

Course 2 – First dinner course

For the Exotique set, the next course was the mahi-mahi with curry on a bed of mashed potatoes. It’s nice and creamy, making this a great starter (or I guess it can count as a dinner course too).

Jenn’s Epicurien set had foie gras next up. There is a thick slab of duck liver, which works for the liver fanatics. Personally, I can only handle a bite of the duck liver given how rich in fat it is. So it was good for Jenn to enjoy most of it–and she certainly did.

The Exotique set came with a glass of sauvignon blanc while the Epicurien came with a glass of sauternes. While I’m not typically a fan of sauvignon blanc, this one wasn’t too bad at all.

Course 3 – Second dinner course

Consider this course the main course if you got the Exotique meal. That’s because the restaurant’s signature meal (beef tenderloin with gnocchi) is served. It’s quite delicious and I’d be fine if this is all I ordered. The tenderloin is good very well and the sauce on top compliments it. The gnocchi that comes alongside the dish has a truffle oil taste to it, which Jenn and I find typically a bit off-putting because it overwhelms the rest of the flavors. It was tolerable in this dish, but we both far preferred the beef than the gnocchi.

Jenn’s next course with the Epicurien set was the king rock lobster and black tiger prawns in a risotto. If you’re a fan of seafood, this entire course has plenty to go for it and is more of the way to go.

My dish came with a glass of cabernet souvignon while Jenn’s came with chablis grand cru.

Course 4 – First dessert course (Exotique) or third dinner course (Epicurien)

That last course was the limit of what to expect for savory foods with the Exotique meal, as I received a cup of mango sorbet. The mango sorbet tasted like pure mango that was turned into ice, which was Char’s favorite meal of the evening. Why did I let her sample my meal? The glass of wine was actually from the next course (because the server provided both dessert courses to me at the same time).

Jenn then received her own meal of the beef tenderloin. She was completely stuff at this point. As tasty as it was, she just couldn’t find the willpower to eat it.

Jenn’s course came with a glass of bordeaux grand vin. If there’s one thing to say about the wine pairings, she got an extra drink compared to me. Not that you should base your food decisions off the alcohol selection, but this one was much better than the cabernet souvignon.

Course 5 – Dessert

The last course for each of us was the dessert course. The Exotique menu received the delicious banana flambee. No, it’s not flambeed at the table, but it tastes just as sweet as if it was.

Jenn’s Epicurien course received a warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. The chocolate cake is pretty much a lava cake. Which dessert you find more appealing is going to just be based on your own personal preferences. I will say that both were exquisite.

The final wine pairing was the sauternes for the Exotique and the porto tawny for the Epicurien. Between the two, I far preferred Jenn’s porto tawny. So sweet and such a perfect way to cap the meal.

Kids meals

When we placed our order, there were three standard options offered as a kids meal:

  • Beef tenderloin and gnocchi
  • Mahi-mahi
  • A kids version of risotto

The kids both ordered the same beef tenderloin that we got as part of our main course. The real difference was that theirs came out quite early in the coursing. That’s great–having them fed early on meant that Jenn and I didn’t have to feel rushed. In fact, it came out so soon that it arrived when Jenn and I received our very first course. No idea how they cooked it that quickly already but I’m all for it.

The portion of beef they received was fairly comparable to what the adults received. In fact, Char’s meal was free (I think because she was only five years old). Alex’s meal cost the same as an a la cart piece of steak. The kids enjoyed the beef but weren’t all that amused by the strong truffle flavor of the gnocchi. I didn’t ask if we could have the gnocchi without the truffle oil, but the beef was more than enough for them.

The kids were offered a dessert, but we declined. I think Jenn and I both knew that we would have enough trouble finishing our own meals. Of course, it was indeed awesome that the kids could lie down on the couch in our private dining quarters when they needed to.

Recommendation: Yes

The evening bus came to pick us up at 8:45PM, and we arrived back at our dock 20 minutes later. It was ultimately a fun and unique experience to come dine at La Villa Mahana. The service throughout dinner was excellent, and this was by far our favorite experience on the main island. There was a little bit of a minor debate between Jenn and I between whether this or Lagoon Restaurant was better. But we absolutely have no doubts on coming here. This place is a treat and you should also come if you are in Bora Bora.

Come hungry!

What is your favorite restaurant in Bora Bora?

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