Seafood is the reason to eat in Vilanculos. The town's restaurants live off the daily catch — prawns, crab, lobster, and fish are all genuinely fresh. The prawns here are particularly good: large, sweet, and prepared simply with garlic and butter in most kitchens, or grilled over charcoal at the smaller beach spots. Standards vary considerably, and the best places are often the quieter ones away from the main tourist strip.