Vegetarian Food in Seychelles
Finding Indian vegetarian food in Seychelles: the land of azure waters and white powdery sands is a bit of a task. As Seychelles, surreal in its beauty and untouched in its landscape, remains less touristy than some of its counterparts. Driving around Seychelles gave me a feeling of being one with nature and an experience like no other.
One can’t survive just with beauty though, and food for thought cannot be food for body. Its a task to find Indian vegetarian food in Seychelles (Although me and my family are quite alright with just vegetarian too). So 5 ways of surviving in Seychelles (across all islands):
- Where will you find Indian vegetarian food in Seychelles?: First thing to note is vegetarian and Indian is not the same. You will find restaurants offering vegetarian food largely in Mahe but Indian restaurants only in Mahe. Praslin and La Digue are not your best bets. We stayed in a villa in Praslin and did a day trip to La Digue. In case, you’re staying in a resort in Praslin, you shouldn’t have an issue. The villas in La Digue could also help you out with some vegetarian food if needed.
- Mahe:
- We tried out Thai food in our hotel Avani Seychelles Barbarons Resort. Pad thai was fine, their summer rolls were quite good too. We didn’t like their Thai green curry preparation but atleast it was healthy and vegetarian.
- The other places we frequented were Maharajas (Eden Island, Indian restaurant) and Sam’s pizzeria (in Victoria).
- Sam’s pizzeria was very close to our parking place in Victoria and thus our choice for vegetarian pizzas.
- We had quite a spread during breakfast, at our resort. We especially relished the tropical fruits like papayas, melons and the small bananas that were all locally grown and sourced.
- Praslin: The first day we reached, it was a downpour with an overcast sky the whole day. There were very limited restaurants open and even less so offering vegetarian.
- Since ours was a self catering place, we bought a few things from the grocery store next door and made ourselves fritters (aloo and pyaz pakora) complimenting the weather.
- The next day was our day trip to La Digue. We made some sandwiches and carried ourselves a picnic. For the morning, we had just got packets of cereal to be had with milk/ yogurt and fruits (which we again picked up from the grocery store)
- We also carried a bunch of snacks (check out the ideas here) which would suffice in case the kids got hungry. Goldfish and fruit loops (cereal) are my younger one’s favorite. Chocolate milk and even regular milk in these small tetra packs is a life saver if kids don’t feel like eating anything else.
Other than the above, a pack of chips or cookies is easily available at the ferry jetty, grocery stores and other such public places
Praslin is dotted with these small grocery stores which stock absolutely everything you would need for a self catering holiday, probably due to the economy being run on and for tourists.
La Digue: Beautiful beaches with giant tortoise that you can spot on the streets. Some good locations for snorkelling. Vegetarian food is a rarity. Best to pack a picnic that you can enjoy at the beach of your choice.
Inter Island Travel: The catamaran ride from Mahe to Praslin is an hour long. Its also quite bumpy (a lot bumpy if the weather and sea is rough). That morning/ day, it will be best to have a light meal before the ride to avoid any sea sickness.
Traveller Notes:
- Seychelles has a whole host of self catering places, especially in Praslin and LaDigue. Hence its easy to stock on stuff from the grocery stores that dot the area and fresh produce (both fruits and vegetables) from the local street vendors too
- Its a lazy place so no restaurants (unless they are cafes or serve breakfast) are open before 11 and may be closed during heavy rains. The chefs at some of these places may leave after busy hours (like 2 in the afternoon) so you may find limited options available.
- Authentic creole cuisine is largely non-vegetarian, and before going to a restaurant, it would be best to check if they serve vegetarian
- As an alternative to processed packed food, fresh Banana chips are available on the streets and Victoria Market in Mahe, on sunny days.
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