Ilha Grande eats well. Almost all of the restaurants are in Abraão, clustered along the waterfront and on the inland sand streets behind it, with a handful of beach kiosks elsewhere on the island.
The local speciality is fish moqueca — a Bahian-style stew of white fish, coconut milk, palm oil, tomato, and coriander, served bubbling in a clay pot with rice and pirão (a manioc-flour porridge). Almost every restaurant in town does its own version; one pot easily feeds two. Grilled shrimp and caldeirada de peixe (a brothier fish stew) are also widely available.
For a budget meal, the simple per-kilo buffets a block back from the waterfront are excellent value — pick what you want, pay by weight, get a plate of grilled fish, rice, beans, salads, and fried banana for around R$45-65 a head. Several bakeries sell pastries and good coffee from early morning. Reserve at the better restaurants in summer; queues can be long.