Besar
Arwana Resort
The resort has two restaurants, one serving ala carte, the other as a deli buffet. Prices are quite high, but if you have breakfast/lunch/dinner coupons, the food is ok. Breakfast choice in May is not great, but may get better at the hieght of the season. There is usually a BBQ at dinner times serving fish, squid, chicken, and beef. The place is clean too, just ignore the stagnant swamp behind the resort and the rubbish along the beach.
Watercolours Restaurant
Affiliated with the Paradise Resort, this simple but attractive restaurant is packed every night with people feasting on fresh seafood and other items on the menu. Needless to say, the quality of the food is very good. Prices have gone up lately but RM25 for 3 BBQ rock lobsters or RM20 for fresh barramundi in banana leaf, served with a small baked potato and salad, are still a steal by Perhentian standards. Vegetarian food is available upon request.
Florabay Restaurant
The restaurant offers good food at good prices. RM8 for a dish of chicken fried rice, and RM11 for fried prawns with mashed potatoes.
Mama's Restaurant
This is the only other largish restaurant near the north end of Perhentian Besar. Their menu is closer to typical "kampung" village fare; however, the nighttime BBQ fish is not to be missed - the portions are far more generous, and the spices are much bolder/fragrant than the rather plain BBQ offerings from Watercolours. As well, it is the more economical of the two restaurants. Try roti canai local bread for breakfast and pisang goreng banana fritters for dessert. Service is friendly but slow, so expect to wait over half an hour.
Teluk KK
This little place is frequented mostly by locals and serves basic food - don't expect super tasty dishes.
On the way to Teluk Keke is a restaurant that is part of Abdul's Chalet. Cheaper than Mama's and Watercolours, Abdul's has a good deal for their nightly BBQ seafood, 15RM-25RM for your choice of BBQ and plenty of side dishes you can get as much as you want. Their garlic bread is simple and amazing. Bring a flashlight or a digital camera with a large backscreen because it will be dark by the time you walk back.
Kecil
Amelia Cafe
Simple and most popular restaurant in CB with good meals for good prices - fried rice malay with veg&egg/kerabu/chinese/kampung 6RM, veg fried noodles with egg 6RM, chicken/pataya fried noodles 8RM, many salads from 8RM, french baguettes with filling plus french fries for 8RM same options for sandwiches, creamy soups tomato/chicken/mushrooms 7RM, roti with egg/banana/onion/garlic/cheese/chocolate plus curry sauce for 4RM.
Matahari Restaurant
Cheaper than Panorama, but the meals are smaller and the place is not as swanky. Still a nice joint to have a meal and the staff are friendly. Also screen a movie at 8pm, and you will have a better chance of hearing it here.
Many of the smaller resorts only offer meals as part of an all-inclusive package. These are usually buffet-style with a variety of Western and Malaysian dishes. Larger beaches, such as Pasir Panjang, offer a larger variety of eating options. Since everything except seafood has to be imported, expect to pay at least 2 to 3 times more than on the mainland. Restaurants on Long Beach Kecil are slow to deliver food 30 mins to 1.5 hours and there are no hawker stalls and only one buffet breakfast at Bubu's, so ask the waiter first how long the food will take before deciding to eat there.