Madagascar — Diana Region

Nosy Be

The perfume island off northwest Madagascar — ylang-ylang distilleries, whale shark seasons, and Franco-Malagasy seafood on beaches that most of the world has yet to find.

6Restaurants Listed
$$–$$$Average Price Range
7Avg Food Score
9Avg Ambience Score

Best Restaurants in Nosy Be

Five essential tables, ranked by occasion.

$ Under 20,000 MGA  |  $$ 20,000–60,000 MGA  |  $$$ 60,000–150,000 MGA  |  $$$$ Over 150,000 MGA

L'Heure Bleue Restaurant Nosy Be
#1 in Nosy Be
L'Heure Bleue Restaurant
French / Malagasy$$$
ProposalImpress Clients
The blue hour on Nosy Be — a French kitchen in a tropical garden where the Indian Ocean is always visible and the zebu tenderloin is the finest in the Indian Ocean.
Food 8Ambience 9Value 7
Le Rendez-Vous Nosy Be
#2 in Nosy Be
Le Rendez-Vous
French / Malagasy$$
First DateBirthday
The island's social crossroads — where every expat, every traveller, and every fishing guide eventually appears for a cold THB and a plate of prawns.
Food 7Ambience 8Value 8
Restaurant Madagascar Nosy Be
#3 in Nosy Be
Restaurant Madagascar
Malagasy / Seafood$$
BirthdayFirst Date
The beach institution for crayfish — Nosy Be's Indian Ocean harvest served at a table where the sand provides the floor and the reef provides the menu.
Food 8Ambience 9Value 8
Nosy Be Beach Bar Nosy Be
#4 in Nosy Be
Nosy Be Beach Bar
Beach Bar / Malagasy$
Solo DiningBirthday
Cold THB, fresh prawns, and Nosy Be's most unadorned beach — the island stripped to its essential pleasures.
Food 7Ambience 9Value 9
Chez Angelique Nosy Be
#5 in Nosy Be
Chez Angelique
Malagasy / Home Cooking$
Solo DiningFirst Date
The grandmother's kitchen that feeds the island's own — romazava, vary amin'anana, and the Madagascar home table that tourism has not yet found.
Food 7Ambience 7Value 9
Ylang-Ylang Beach Resort Restaurant Nosy Be
#6 in Nosy Be
Ylang-Ylang Beach Resort Restaurant
French / Malagasy$$$
ProposalBirthday
Named for the flower that perfumes the entire island — this beachfront resort restaurant earns the ylang-ylang standard with serious Malagasy seafood and French technique.
Food 7Ambience 9Value 7

Nosy Be’s Top 5

01

L'Heure Bleue Restaurant

L'Heure Bleue is Nosy Be's most accomplished restaurant — a French kitchen operating in a tropical garden in Hell-Ville (the island's main town, named after the French admiral who established it) with the commitment to q...

02

Le Rendez-Vous

Le Rendez-Vous occupies the Hell-Ville waterfront — the small harbour from which the inter-island ferries and fishing boats depart — and has been the island's gathering point for French expats, international travellers, ...

03

Restaurant Madagascar

Restaurant Madagascar occupies Ambatoloaka beach — Nosy Be's most popular beach on the island's west coast — its thatched-roof tables positioned on the sand with the Indian Ocean directly ahead. The reef that protects th...

04

Nosy Be Beach Bar

The Nosy Be Beach Bar is the simplest expression of the island's dining culture — a thatched structure on Madirokely beach with plastic tables, cold beer, and fresh seafood cooked over coals in full view. It represents t...

05

Chez Angelique

Chez Angélique is the Malagasy home kitchen that the island's growing tourism infrastructure has yet to absorb — a family restaurant in Djamanjary village that serves the local Malagasy community with the traditional coo...

06

Ylang-Ylang Beach Resort Restaurant

Ylang-Ylang Beach Resort takes its name from the island's most culturally significant crop — the flower whose essential oil is used in Chanel No. 5 and produced on Nosy Be in greater quantity than anywhere else in the wo...

Dining on Nosy Be

Nosy Be — 'Big Island' in Malagasy — is the largest island off Madagascar's northwest coast, separated from the mainland by the Mozambique Channel. It is Madagascar's most developed tourist destination: accessible by direct international flights, well-supplied with resorts and restaurants, and endowed with the natural features that have made it famous — coral reefs with whale sharks and manta rays, white sand beaches, ylang-ylang distilleries, and the specific quality of Indian Ocean island light.

Malagasy Cuisine

Malagasy cuisine is shaped by the island's unique geography and history — a synthesis of the Austronesian culinary tradition brought by the island's first inhabitants from southeast Asia, the Bantu African tradition from the mainland, the Arab trading influence that shaped the coastal ports, and the French colonial inheritance. Vary (rice) is the foundation of every meal; romazava (zebu beef broth with leafy greens) is the national dish; crayfish and prawns from the surrounding waters are the coastal luxury.

The Ylang-Ylang Culture

Nosy Be produces more ylang-ylang than any other single location on earth — the flower whose essential oil is the base note of some of the world's most famous perfumes. The distilleries operating in the island's hills produce a fragrance that pervades the island, particularly in the evening when the temperature drops and the oil vaporises more freely. Dining on Nosy Be is a multisensory experience in which the kitchen's efforts compete with and are enriched by the permanent ambient fragrance.

Practical Notes

Nosy Be is reached by direct flights from Paris, Réunion, and various African hubs to Fascene Airport. Madagascar uses the Malagasy Ariary. Most tourist-facing restaurants accept cards; local establishments require cash. The best weather is May to November (dry season); January to March is cyclone season. The whale shark season (September to December) brings significant numbers of visitors.

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