Ayada Maldives restaurant over the water: Ocean Breeze

At Ocean Breeze, the tables stand over the water. The menu centres on modern European cooking: grilled seafood, homemade pasta and steaks. Lunch runs from noon to 3pm and dinner from 7pm to 10pm. It is the option for a full lunch away from the poolside menu.

Mizu seats you at a teppanyaki grill while the chef cooks fish, meat or vegetables in front of you. It requires a booking and smart-casual dress. Kai instead serves sushi, sashimi and dishes from China, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, among tropical planting; dinner is from 7pm to 10pm.

Magu serves breakfast from 7am to 10.30am and dinner from 7pm to 10pm, with changing buffet themes. For an evening on the sand, Sea Salt holds its meat-and-seafood barbecue on Zero Degree Beach every Tuesday and Friday. Ile de Joie is a different proposition again: an open-air wine-and-cheese bar 100 metres out over the lagoon.

For lunch near the pool, Zero Degree adds an option that is different from Ocean Breeze’s overwater tables. Its international menu ranges from salads to European, Asian and Middle Eastern dishes. You can choose a place under the thatched roof, in a poolside cabana or by the pool; ask which seating is available when you arrive. It suits a lunch organised around swimming, while Ocean Breeze gives you a restaurant meal over the lagoon. Choosing between them is as much about where you want to spend the afternoon as the cuisine.

For a smaller pause between meals, the Ottoman Lounge serves Turkish tea and coffee in traditional silver service, with low seating. Ile de Joie is the wine-and-cheese option out over the water. When you ask the team to arrange the evening, name the place and the kind of visit you want: coffee, wine and cheese, or a meal. Check the current opening time and any meal-plan allowance for that particular order.

Magu’s published weekly menu ranges from International and Italian evenings to Maldivian, Turkish & Middle Eastern, Latino, Asian and Roast themes. Ask for the week’s sequence before deciding which night to reserve Mizu. If you want both a Maldivian buffet and the beach barbecue, first put the relevant Magu night and Sea Salt’s Tuesday or Friday into your plan, then choose another evening for the teppanyaki grill. Mizu’s fish, meat and vegetarian dishes are cooked in front of you, with sake and wine choices; tell the restaurant about dietary requirements when you request seats.

At Kai, the Japanese-inspired architecture and reflecting pools sit among the greenery. Its sushi and sashimi list makes it an alternative to watching a chef at Mizu’s hotplate, even though both menus include Japanese food. Kai serves dinner from 7pm to 10pm and requires smart-casual dress. If you prefer to stay outside with your feet on the sand, check the Sea Salt date instead of assuming the barbecue happens every night.

These restaurants belong to different resorts; choosing one also means planning the stay and transfer for that island.