In the pier, Makai serves Japanese and beach food overlooking the sea in Ilhabela

Founder of Makai, Djane Victorian is a known figure in Ilhabela. He owned the basil restaurants, green smell and smell pepper, with his ex-husband. He was also secretary of tourism of the city. Makai (“toward the sea” in Hawaiian) is his first solo venture.

Three months ago, he spent management to his son Pedro. “My mother is a visionary,” he says. Djane’s innovation was to transform the property, where a pizzeria was previously worked on the ground floor, into a charming terrace overlooking the sea and sunset.

The point is privileged: it is right in front of the island’s central pier, where they land cruises with more than 2,000 tourists. Only between January and April 2025 have already moved in there more than 70 ships with international visitors.

Makai’s kitchen joins the cuisine caiçara with Asian inspirations, with Japanese buffet on Thursdays (R $ 149 per person). The selected dish for the festival, with a 15% discount for subscribers of the Folha Gourmet club, is the shrimp risotto with brie (R $ 96). It comes with breaded pink shrimp and apricots.

Djane receives fresh products from Bonete and Serraria, Ilhabela fishermen villages. “To undertake on the island, you need to know the wind, the tide, the moon, the seasons of defense [período em que a pesca não é permitida]. Depending on how the wind is, for example, I know which fish I will receive tomorrow, “he says.

The restaurant opens at 4 pm almost daily – on Tuesdays – and also works during lunchtime on Fridays and weekends.

The tables with a sofa, on the porch under the pier, are an invitation to take a drink and pinch an entrance watching the sun to put. It may be, for example, the trio of the sea with shrimp, squid and crispy fish baits (R $ 148).

The drink letter is vast, with classic and copyright options starting at $ 30. The draft beer comes for $ 19. There are still wines and sparkling with prices between $ 160 and $ 700.