The local diet centres on what the ocean and the land provide: fresh fish, coconut, taro, breadfruit, and pandanus fruit. Restaurants are scarce outside Tarawa and Kiritimati — on the outer islands, meals come from whoever you are staying with.
Palusami is the dish most associated with Kiribati. Taro leaves are layered with coconut cream and sometimes canned fish or meat, wrapped in banana leaves, and cooked in an earth oven (umu). It is rich, soft, and filling. You will eat it at any communal feast — the botaki — and it is the measure by which celebration meals are judged.
Fresh fish is everywhere and excellent. Raw fish prepared sashimi-style — sliced thin, caught the same day — is common and about as fresh as it gets anywhere. Canned fish and canned meat (usually corned beef) feature heavily in everyday meals alongside rice or breadfruit. Fruit and vegetables are relatively scarce and expensive; most of what is available beyond coconut is imported.
In Tarawa, there are Chinese restaurants, a few local diners, and hotel restaurants serving familiar international food at prices that reflect how remote the supply chain is. On Kiritimati, the fishing lodges feed their guests well. Elsewhere, bring your own provisions if you are picky.
Tap water is not safe to drink. Stick to bottled water.