Fijian food reflects the island's cultural mix. Indigenous Fijian cooking is built around root vegetables — dalo (taro), cassava, yam — cooked in coconut cream and often prepared in a lovo, an underground earth oven heated with hot stones. The lovo is used for feasts and ceremonies: meat, fish, and vegetables are wrapped in banana leaves and slow-cooked over several hours, producing food that is smoky, tender, and genuinely good.
The national dish is kokoda — raw fish (typically walu or mahi-mahi) marinated in lime juice until it turns opaque, then mixed with coconut cream, chili, and onion. It is Fiji's version of ceviche, and it's excellent when made fresh at the coast. Order it wherever you see it.
Indo-Fijian food is the other essential strand. Curry houses are scattered across every town, and the curries here — made with local produce and adapted over five generations — are distinctive from both Indian and other diaspora cooking. Roti, dhal, and fish curry are the staples. In Suva's market, Indian women sell fresh roti and curry from the early morning, which makes for one of the better cheap breakfasts in the Pacific.
Seafood is abundant and cheap by most standards: crab, prawns, lobster, and fresh reef fish appear on menus at all price points. In resort areas, menus often skew international. Venture into town markets and small restaurants for more interesting eating.
The drink of choice is kava (see Practical Information), but Fiji also produces Fiji Bitter, a light lager that is perfectly suited to the climate.