Orchid Island Food Guide: 13 Best Restaurants & Must-Try Dishes Across the Island

Orchid Island might be small, but there are actually quite a few good eats hiding around the island. In this Orchid Island food guide, I will show you the best Orchid Island restaurants and local food you should know about, from must-try flying fish dishes, taro ice cream, refreshing green bean smoothies, and more. Plus a bar with the cool local vibes on the island. So no matter which part of Orchid Island you are exploring, you will always find good food to eat.

Best Orchid Island restaurants and food in each village

There are 6 villages on Orchid Island, starting from the east side and going counterclockwise, you have Ivalino (east), Iranmeylek (east), Iraraley (north), Yayo (north west), Imaorod (south west), and Iratay Village (south), each has its unique attractions and great food to eat.

Below, I will share the best food spots I’ve personally tried in each village, so you can eat well while travelling around the island, and avoid the bad food!

Restaurant in Ivalino Village (野銀部落)

Although Ivalino Village doesn’t have too many restaurant options, we managed to find one that offers amazing food, see below!

1. Lanyu Woo Ju Fai Restaurant (海廢食堂)

We found this restaurant unexpectedly and it turned out to be one of our top 3 favourite restaurants on the whole island!

We had cold udon noodles with spicy Korean sauce & chicken breast, as well as fried udon noodles with grilled pork neck. Both dishes are delicious, and we were very satisfied.

They are really thoughtful to make cold udon noodles as an option as summer is super hot on Orchid Island, so eating cold udon for lunch is a perfect idea.

This restaurant is actually decorated with art pieces that made by wastes from the sea, so they also sell some pieces & Orchid Island postcard here. It’s really unique.

They even give a stone with a local aboriginal language (Tao people) as a pickup number. It’s such a cute, artistic restaurant. Definitely one of my top recommendations on Orchid Island!

Lanyu Woo Ju Fai Restaurant location: 🔗click here
Opening hours: 11am-9pm
Contact info for reservation: 🔗Instagram, or call +886965417935

Food in Iranmeylek Village (東清部落)

Located at the east side of the island, Iranmeylek Village is the liveliest place on Orchid Island.
One of the only two 7-Eleven convenience stores is located in Iranmeylek Village, if you pass by it, don’t forget to grab some snacks & water.

1. Iranmeylek Night Market (東清夜市)

There is a little night market in Iranmeylek Village at night, where you can find BBQ, drinks, donuts, fried flying fish, flying fish fried rice, and more. You can also find Orchid Island souvenirs there.

My favourite food stalls were 小米甜甜圈 for their millet donut (crispy on the outside, mochi-like on the inside) & a BBQ stall 聊天不用錢 where I had a delicious BBQ fried flying fish (their rice sausage and chicken was just soso though, you can skip those).

I went to both food stalls every time I visited Orchid Island and my foreign friend loved that millet donut so much that we bought 3 to start with and still needed to buy more after we had all the food. Yes it’s that good!

Seating at the night market is pretty limited, but there is a pavilion right across from it where you can sit, eat your food, and watch the moon rise over the sea. Don’t forget to bring mosquito spray if you are planning to hang out there though!

Iranmeylek Night Market location: 🔗click here

Iranmeylek Night Market opening hours: 18:30 to 22:00 from Monday to Sunday during peak season.

2. Mermaid & Cat restaurant (人魚和貓餐廳)

This restaurant serves set meals with plenty of options to choose from, and their spicy stir-fried wild boar is really good and authentic! Every set meal is with enough portions and is delicious, no wonder the place was packed when we went!

Their signature drink is rice wine milk tea, but it was sold out when we went there, too popular! If you get to try it, let me know if it’s good!

Mermaid & Cat restaurant location: click 🔗here
Opening hours: 11:00 – 14:30 & 17:30 – 21:00

3. Inaorod restaurant (小院)

Inaorod restaurant (小院) is the kind of place that only locals know about, it was recommended by a local girl we met when we went snorkelling.

The owner is incredibly hospitable, and you can really taste the love and care she puts into every dish, and she is really proud of them.

Following the recommendation, we had dried noodles with pan-fried flying fish, Taiwanese burger Gua Bao, very refreshing green bean soup and roselle plum juice.

The dried noodles dish is really special, because I’ve never tried pan fried flying fish, and the owner uses only the fish meat, no bones, so we could just enjoy every bite without picking bones. Plus, the sauce and fish just went so well together, it’s so good! And I didn’t see other restaurants on Orchid Island provide the exact same dish as this one, so if you pass by Iranmeylek Village, give it a try!

Inaorod restaurant (小院) location: 🔗here. (go to the alley between 7-Eleven and the night market, walk up to the slope and turn right into the little alley then you will see it)

Opening hours: 週二到週日 17:00- 20:00 on Tuesday to Sunday.

Food in Iraraley Village (朗島部落)

Iraraley Village might not have a lot of food options, but there are 2 spots worth checking out, a cool ruined bar I really love and a spot serving really tasty braised dishes.

1. Single Mata P Brasied Food (單眼皮鴨頭滷味)

The braised dishes here are so flavorful and tasty, my friend and I literally could not stop eating! What’s really cool is that when I first visited, they were just a little food stall on the street, and now they’ve got a proper store.

Location of Single Mata P Brasied Food: 🔗here
Contact information:🔗 Instagram & 🔗Facebook

2. Lanyu House Bar (私宅停院)

This ruined bar is my favourite find on Orchid Island, I was so happy a place like this even exists here.

The vibe is amazing, you can see fairy lights everywhere, cats wandering around, banyan tree roots taking over the old walls, and cozy, vintage seating areas.

For drinks, I tried an aboriginal styled rice wine cocktail, it’s really interesting and refreshing!
Oh, and they serve food and ice cream too!

I’d say this is a must-visit on Orchid Island if you like vintage style and good vibes.

Lanyu House Bar location: 🔗here

Opening hours: around 20:00-24:00, but hours may vary daily, you can check their 🔗Instagram for daily announcements.

Restaurant in Yayo Village (椰油部落)

Yayo tribe is an important part of Orchid Island as the main ferry port (Lanyu Kaiyuan Fishing Port Wharf), the only gas station and another 7-Eleven (convenience store) on Orchid Island is located here. So if you need fuel, food and water don’t forget to get it when you pass by here.

As for food, I’ve tried one simple eatery that’s worth sharing.

1. Lanyu Noodle Xiao Mei (蘭嶼麵小妹)

We found this eatery because we got hungry at an odd hour and basically everything else was pretty much closed. And it’s surprisingly a good find!

The stir-fried noodles, dried noodles and braised food were just simple traditional food, but exactly what we needed, not too salty, not too heavy, and tasted authentically good.

If you are on the island craving Taiwanese traditional food or just need a good meal outside of regular dining hours, this little noodle shop is a great option!

Lanyu Noodle Xiao Mei location: 🔗here
Opening hours: 11:00-19:00 Wednesday to Sunday

Food in Imorod Village (紅頭部落)

Imaorod Village is one of the most convenient spots on Orchid Island! There is a Post Office (for you to send postcards or withdraw money if you have a Taiwanese account), Health Centre, famous Orchid Island attractions and many popular, tasty eateries.

I stayed in Imaorod Village twice, both oceanfront stays 🔗Jimmy Explorer’s Campsite & Blue Sea Blue Sky Guesthouse (碧海藍天民宿) are all located here, and are nearby many delicious food spots. You can stay in this area too if you want to find food easily.

1. A Li Gei Breakfast & Brunch Restaurant (阿力給早餐店)

This is the most famous breakfast spot on Orchid Island. I love that it faces the ocean so we got to enjoy the breakfast with an amazing ocean view!

But if you want to try their signature and popular flying fish rice ball/sandwitch, you need to get there right when they open, it sells out fast. We showed up around 7:30 am and it was already gone! We ended up getting other sandwiches instead, which were still really good.

They are also pretty cool, from a little breakfast spot for many years to even opened their own guesthouse in 2024!

A Li Gei Breakfast & Brunch Restaurant location: 🔗here
Opening hours: you can send them messages via🔗 Instagram to ask for the update.

2. Lanyu Rover (蘭嶼旅人Rover)

This is another popular oceanfront restaurant with stunning panoramic ocean views, serving western-style dishes with generous portions.

I ordered panini and it was really good, for me the portion was pretty generous, I was absolutely full afterwards. The fries were crispy on the outside but still had that perfect softness inside, just how I like them!

If you can grab a front row seat by the ocean, do it! It’s a perfect spot to eat, enjoy the view and chill.

Location of Lanyu Rover: 🔗here
Opening hours: 10:30-21:30 Monday to Sunday

3. Wen Wen Taro Ice Shop (蘭嶼雯雯芋頭冰)

The taro ice cream provided by this shop is the best taro ice cream I’ve ever had in Taiwan! It’s so smooth and soft and has a strong taro flavour that I can keep eating without getting tired of the taste.

There are some options you can choose from, you can have taro ice cream, green bean smoothie or taro ice cream with green bean smoothie. All are super tasty, but my favourite goes to purely taro ice cream.

I had to go there every time I visited Orchid Island. On my second trip, I even went there everyday for it. Yes it is that good!!! If you love taro, you must give it a go!

They also sell Orchid Island souvenirs and fried flying fish. The flying fish is crispy and perfectly seasoned with pepper salt, I couldn’t stop eating it.

If you love taro or want to try fried flying fish, you must give it a go!

Wen Wen Taro Ice Shop location: 🔗here
Opening hours: 9:00-20:00 Monday to Sunday

4. Oooops!Kitchen Grilled Rice Ball

Their grilled rice balls are crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, we really liked them!

But the quantity of the rice balls are limited, so when we went there most of the flavours were gone, only left with flying fish roe, which was a bit disappointing since the roe is tiny and there wasn’t much filling.

The other flavours looked way better though! If you want to have better options, get there right when they open at 11 am!

Oooops!Kitchen Grilled Rice Ball location: 🔗here
Opening hours: 11:00–16:30 Monday to Sunday（Thursday only till 17:00, Wednesday closed）

5. Ocean Old Man Restaurant (海老人)

This place is more of a share-style restaurant, perfect if you are going with a bigger group and want to order a bunch of dishes to share.

Since it was just the two of us, we kept it simple and ordered only 2 dishes －flying fish roe sausage fried rice and fish soup.

The fried rice was really good, flavourful but not too salty, definitely recommended! The fish soup though was pretty bland and the fish texture wasn’t really how we like it, I’d suggest you to skip it.

Ocean Old Man Restaurant location: 🔗here
Opening hours: 11:00–14:00 & 18:00–20:00  Monday to Sunday

Restaurant in Iratay village (漁人部落)

The only airport in Orchid Island is located in Iratay village. As there are not many attractions here, we didn’t stay here for long, we only got to find one good restaurant here, you can see below.

1. The Epicurean Cafe (蘭嶼無餓不坐)

The food is really good and the portions are big. We left completely full and satisfied!

Make sure you arrive hungry, you will want to save your appetite for The Epicurean Cafe.

Location of The Epicurean Cafe: 🔗here
Opening hours: 11:00 – 14:00 &17:30–20:00  Monday to Sunday (Closed on Wednesdays)