I spent months researching Bora Bora and planning our itinerary. When searching dining options and places to visit, I kept seeing La Villa Mahanna. What could be so special about a restaurant half way around the world? Given how amazing the reviews are and how small (intimate) La Villa Mahanna is, I was fearful of being able to obtain a reservation at this exclusive restaurant. So I sent off an email eight months in advance! The chef and owner Damien Rinaldi-Dovio responded and booked us in. My mouth was watering and we were still many months out! The week we arrived at the St Regis in Bora Bora, I was surprised to see that the restaurant and hotel had already coordinated for our visit. We were provided through our daily itinerary from the St Regis information for our transfers to and from the restaurant, which included a boat, transfer and taxi ride. The day had finally come to visit this amazing restaurant and our journey there and back was all planned out.
La Villa Mahanna has fewer than 10 tables and is situated close to Vaitape. The restaurant is inside a Mediterranean-style house with plenty of beautiful Polynesian artwork. The romantic ambience is further enhanced by the vocals of Bocelli and other romantic classics. Overall, we were pleased with the setting and noticed it was a popular dining location for couples on holiday.
Our waitresses were dressed in traditional Polynesian attire and ushered us to our table. We were given coconut bread wrapped in a banana leaf and French bread. The coconut bread was dense and very rich. I devoured the coconut bread as I perused the menu.
We both selected a pre-set meal, I chose the Epicurien Experience, which consisted of five rich courses from foie gras to chocolate cake, whereas Nicole went for the Exotique menu, which was four courses and included more local ingredients in the courses such as tuna and mahi mahi. I must have had the masculine menu because I had the prices printed in mine while Nicole was surprised to see no prices in her menu. The different colored tassels on the two menus also gave this secret away. Based on the prices, there was no doubt this was a splurge for us and I was hoping the restaurant was not over hyped from all the reviews I read previously.
The Epicurien menu was €150 per person plus an optional wine pairing for €75, for a grand total of €225. The Exotique menu was €100 per person plus an optional wine pairing for €45, for a grand total of €145.
The meal was spectacular! It was a true culinary delight that we would definitely like to experience again and will be hard to surpass with future dining experiences. The foie gras, risotto and beef tenderloin with gnocchi were superb. You can taste the thought that went into each of the five courses along with the combinations and wine pairings. Nicole similarly loved every bite! You can tell that the food was fresh and of the highest quality. The steak was perfect, tender and juicy. I was absolutely stuffed but ate every dish; I wonder if they do take away?? This was one of my all time favorite meals; it lived up to expectations and was worthy of the $400.
Just as we finished our meal basking in the glow/un-comfortableness after being over sated our taxi arrived to take us back to the boat and to our villa.
Unfortunately my photos were not quite up to par, so I have no choice but to go back to take better photos...
I will be back!