The Crab Shack

South beach

Open for lunch and evening drinks on selected days

With an upstairs deck for watching the sunset, try the Sri Lankan Mud Crab curry, or the Alaskan crabs that rotate through the week. A selection of rosés are the highlight of the drinks menu. Voted as the ‘World’s Most Romantic Restaurant’ on CNN.com. The 32 cover restaurant and 14 seat bar is located on Soneva Jani’s southwest beach, on the opposite side of the island to Cinema Paradiso, and is comprised of two levels. The ground floor is taken up by the restaurant, kitchen and bar area, with the first-floor deck designed especially for guests to relax on tiered daybeds and enjoy the Maldivian sunsets while sipping on rosé wine or other beverages.

Guests will get to dine barefoot, with toes in the sand, in line with Soneva’s ‘No News, No Shoes’ ethos. The Crab Shack is open-air, allowing for the cool sea breeze to flow through and uninterrupted views out across the lagoon, towards the sunset.

The design of the restaurant and bar uses reclaimed wood and driftwood timber to offer guests a rustic shack experience, while also giving a nod to how Maldivian’s traditionally built their homes before they had conventional building materials. Diners will sit around repurposed tree trunk logs that incorporate recycled glass plate supports and reclaimed barrels.