When a new bar or restaurant opens in Tuvalu, particularly one that is not Chinese, then you stand up and take notice. Thus today I paid homage to Sues Kitchen.
And while the food and indeed the drinks here are very good, the secret sauce is that it not only overlooks the runway in Funafuti, but is hands down the best place in the country to watch planes arrive and leave. In a nation where aviation is an event, this matters.
So what is the score, and what devil’s candy are they serving up?
Table of Contents
What the Sues Kitchen?
Sues Kitchen is located right by Funafuti International Airport, effectively sitting on the runway itself and next door to the Funafuti Lagoon Hotel. It is locally owned and run, not a fly in fly out Chinese operation, and that alone already gives it bonus points.
It appears to have opened in early 2025 and has very quickly become a breath of fresh air in a country and capital that has almost no nightlife whatsoever. Funafuti shuts down early, options are limited, and repetition sets in fast. Sues Kitchen breaks that mould by being relaxed, social and somewhere people actually want to hang out rather than endure.
Click to read about the street food scene here.
The Menu at Sues Kitchen
The menu at Sues Kitchen is refreshingly straightforward and well executed, which in Tuvalu is exactly what you want. Think solid local cooking mixed with simple international comfort food rather than anything pretending to be fancy. You will find grilled fish done properly, chicken dishes that actually have flavour, noodles and rice plates that do not taste like they came out of a packet, and decent portions that justify the price. On our visit highlights included grilled tuna, fried chicken with rice, and noodle dishes that clearly had some effort put into them. This is not destination dining, but for Funafuti it is very much punching above its weight and comfortably one of the better places to eat on the island.
And yes, they also serve drinks, although by drinks I mean beer. Expect Heineken and the ever awful Corona. I miss Coronavirus when people stopped drinking it.
The ambience
An absolutely fabulous place to drop in before or after a flight, or indeed while drink driving at the airport, which in Tuvalu is practically a national sport. There is no real indoor seating, but if you have put on your big boy pants enough to get yourself to Funafuti then you can deal with a bit of heat. Seating is casual, the vibe is laid back, and the real entertainment is watching planes roll in and out a few metres away. And elephants in the room? This is about as good as it gets when it comes to nightlife in Tuvalu, which says more about the country than it does about Sues Kitchen.
Where is Sues Kitchen?
Quite literally on the freaking airport and right next to the Funafuti Lagoon Hotel. You could not miss it if you tried.
Location: Funafuti International Airport, Funafuti, Tuvalu
Nearby landmark: Next to Funafuti Lagoon Hotel
Click to check my Tuvalu Tours with Young Pioneer Tours.