Italian and French plates on Ameer Ahmed Magu, open from half past seven in the morning until after midnight. The one to remember on the night your flight lands late and the city has otherwise shut.
Seafood and European cooking on Roashanee Magu, running from breakfast through to half past eleven at night. A thousand reviews in and it still fills with people who work in the city rather than pass through it.
The costliest room on this list, and the one people book for the setting before the menu. Seafood, and worth treating as one evening rather than a habit.
Grilled plates and a broad international menu on Alikilegefaanu Magu, open from eight in the morning to midnight. The kind of room that suits a long lunch better than a fast one.
Indian grill work on the third floor of a lodge on Fareedhee Magu, open through to nearly midnight. The stairs put you above the street noise.
Middle Eastern cooking on Hithigas Magu, midday until eleven at night. Small, well rated, and one of the least expensive sit-down rooms in the city.
A bistro by the National Museum on Keneree Magu, open from six in the morning. That makes it the first kitchen working in the city most days.
Thai cooking that has been in Malé long enough to count as an institution, now inside the Buruneege. Curries and noodles, and a room that stays busy through the evening.
On Kaani Magu, the beach strip's main run, open from eight in the morning until midnight. Coffee and American plates, in a room that stays busy long after the light goes.
The most reviewed room on Kaani Magu, doing seafood and a long international menu. Worth booking ahead in season unless you are happy to wait for a table.
A Kaani Magu fixture open from seven in the morning, coffee first and the full menu later. One of two branches sitting within a few streets of each other.
The second Red Snapper, a street back on Nirolhu Goalhi with fewer people passing the door. Same coffee, longer sit.
Pasta and pizza on Nirolhu Magu, opening at one in the afternoon and running to midnight. Straightforward, and priced for an ordinary evening.
Indian cooking and Maldivian seafood on one menu, on Nirolhu Magu across from the Dhiraagu tower. Open from a quarter to twelve until half past eleven at night.
On Beach Road in Phase 2, open nine in the morning until half past one at night. Coffee and short eats, and the last door open on this side of the island.
Seafood and a long international menu on Nirolhu Magu, running from seven in the morning through to half past midnight. Tables outside, and enough of them to walk in.
Middle Eastern cooking on Miskiy Magu, open from eight in the morning to midnight. The best rated kitchen on the island, and still a small room.
Tandoor cooking in a villa off the main road, one of three branches this kitchen runs across the country. Hours are not published, so ask at your guesthouse.
Seafood and a wide international menu on Miskiy Magu, open from half past seven in the morning to nearly midnight. One of the longest kitchen days on the island.
A fourth-floor room on Miskiy Magu doing Mediterranean plates. Dinner only, five until ten, so it is easy to miss if you eat early.
Seafood on Aabaadhee Hingun, open from midday through to half past midnight. The most reviewed kitchen on Maafushi, which on an island this size means most people eat here at least once.
Open from eight in the morning until one at night, the longest day any kitchen here keeps. Shisha, seafood, and a small bill at the end of it.
An Indian and Asian menu on Roashanee Hingun, running from nine in the morning to midnight. Small, and open long enough to cover breakfast and a late dinner both.
A bakery by the football field, open eight until ten at night and not a minute either side. Sweet things only, and the bill is small.
Japanese and Indian on the same menu on Medhu Magu, midday until midnight. An odd pairing the island has decided works.
A seafood cafe on Aabaadhee Hingun, open half past seven in the morning until midnight. Low prices, and a hundred people have bothered to write down that it was worth it.
Grill and seafood at Dive Villa, eleven in the morning to ten at night. Five hundred and fifty reviews on an island this size tells you where everybody ends up.
Seafood on Ameenee Magu, running from eleven in the morning to a quarter to midnight. Opens in the afternoon on Fridays, after prayers, the way most of the island does.
A high timber room at Blue Villa on Hilaalee Magu, noon until half past nine at night. Eastern European plates sit on the menu next to the fish, which is not the usual pairing here.
Pizza and Italian plates on Kalaafaanu Hingun, noon to half past ten at night. Glass on three sides, with the palms standing right up against it.
Italian and Indian under a covered terrace on Aboofannu Magu, and the posted hours run around the clock. Worth knowing when the ferry lands at an hour nothing else keeps.
Indian and Asian cooking on Karnation road, half past eleven in the morning to eleven at night. Lit purple after dark, which is not what the menu leads you to expect.
Seafood at Handhuvaree Villa, under an awning in the garden with plastic chairs and a fence around it. No posted hours, so it runs on guesthouse time.
A cafe on Shaheed Ali Hingun with a chilled cabinet by the door and long tables down the back. European plates, and a room laid out like a town cafe rather than a guesthouse terrace.
Seafood by the school on Jumhooree Magu, open eight in the morning to eleven at night. The most reviewed kitchen on Ukulhas, and the dearest, both by a distance.
A cafe near the jetty on Vasha Magu, running from seven in the morning through to midnight. Where you wait out the gap between a ferry and a room.
Fusion cooking at Bliss on Fareedhee Magu, half past seven in the morning until nine at night. Far and away the most reviewed kitchen on the island, and the one the guesthouses point you at.
Pizza and seafood on the beach road at Dhiguveli, seven in the morning to nine at night. The outside tables fill after dark, which on an island this thin counts as a crowd.
Thai plates on the beach road, seven in the morning through to half past nine at night. The tables sit under the trees at the sand line, so lunch comes with the reef in front of you.
Barbecue by the football ground, where whole reef fish goes on the coals and comes back sliced with lime and tomato. No posted hours, so ask at your guesthouse in the afternoon.
A small painted room on Health Center Street running Italian, Indian and Sri Lankan out of one kitchen. Hours are posted nowhere, and it keeps its own.
Indian plates and seafood on the beach road, in a low open room set back behind the palms. The mixed platter arrives with whatever the boats landed that morning.
On the beach road, open six in the morning until one at night, which covers a dawn paddle out and a late dinner. The longest hours on the island by some way.
Indian and Asian plates by the beach stage. Opening at six puts it ahead of the first surf of the day.
Italian and grill cooking on Thundee Magu, half past seven in the morning to half past nine at night. Shuts earlier than most, so start dinner early.
Seafood and European plates on Athiri Magu, attached to a retreat on the water side. Hours move with the season, so ask before you walk over.
Seafood and not much else, on Miriyas Magu. A short menu, and a long enough day to catch either breakfast or dinner.
On Gulhi, a short boat from Maafushi and a fraction of the crowd. Hours are not published, so treat it as a walk-past rather than a plan.
On Guraidhoo, open half past eleven in the morning until midnight. Fast food and seafood, and the island's late option.
On Gulhi, on Miskiy Magu, open seven in the morning to ten at night. The island's most reviewed kitchen, which on Gulhi is a modest title.
On Gulhi, attached to an ocean-view guesthouse, open seven until half past nine at night. Italian and Indian on one menu, which is normal out here.
On Guraidhoo, and the island's best reviewed room by a clear margin. Hours are not published, so ask where you are staying.
A cafe on Lainoofaru Magu on Guraidhoo, small and priced like a local one. Hours are not published.
On Dhiffushi, out at the eastern edge of the atoll. Hours are not published, so plan around your guesthouse instead.
On Dhiffushi, inside the Portia. Seafood and an international menu, on hours that follow the hotel rather than the island.
