A castaway lunch at Six Senses Kanuhura’s Drift

There is something pleasing about needing a boat to reach lunch. The journey gives an ordinary part of the day a destination of its own, with a little anticipation before you even see a menu. At Six Senses Kanuhura, that destination is Drift, the restaurant on neighbouring Jehunuhura. During our recent stay at the resort, we visited Drift to experience this particular corner of island life.

Six Senses Kanuhura extends across three private islands in Lhaviyani Atoll. The main island accommodates the villas and much of the resort’s dining and leisure offering, while Jehunuhura provides a setting for a separate outing. Reaching Drift takes around seven minutes by boat across the lagoon, a short crossing that puts a stretch of water between lunch and the familiar surroundings of your villa.

The crossing is short enough to fit easily into a day, yet it changes your perspective. From the water, the island where you are staying becomes a place to look back towards. Ahead is somewhere new to explore. You can enjoy a leisurely morning before setting off, with the reassuring knowledge that your villa remains only a few minutes away.

Drift occupies a stretch of Jehunuhura’s shore, where tropical vegetation and coconut trees provide the surroundings for lunch. The beach is integral to the experience, right down to the invitation to eat barefoot. Sitting beneath the palms, with sand underfoot and the ocean in view, gives the meal an informality that is easy to settle into.

There is little temptation to hurry in surroundings like these. You can get comfortable, look through the menu and let conversation find its own pace. Looking away from the table is part of the pleasure; there is always the water to draw your attention. Even a pause between choosing dishes and eating becomes time to enjoy where you are.

Daylight gives this kind of dining its own character. You can take in the island around you throughout the meal, following the shoreline with your eyes and noticing how the vegetation meets the beach. A table beneath the trees places you within that scene. It is the sort of setting where taking a photograph is almost inevitable, before putting the camera aside and settling back into lunch.

The food follows the location. Drift’s offering includes local reef fish seasoned and marinated with locally sourced herbs and spices, alongside curries and seafood dishes drawing on local and regional cooking. This gives lunch a connection to the Maldives while allowing room for flavours from the wider region.

Open-fire grilling is part of that offering, with the resort describing reef fish marinated with herbs from its organic garden and local spices, accompanied by salads. It is an inviting combination to consider with the ocean before you. The fish takes the central role, while the herbs and spices give the kitchen room to express its approach through the seasoning.

What to order depends on how you want to spend lunch. You might be drawn towards a salad and fish, or prefer to explore the curries and their regional influences. There is pleasure in giving that decision a little time. A meal on another island is a good opportunity to follow your curiosity and ask about a preparation that catches your attention.

This approach connects with the resort’s wider dining philosophy. Across Six Senses Kanuhura, the kitchens draw on ingredients from the organic garden, local fishermen and farmers, as well as the wider region. The resort places this within Eat With Six Senses, the group’s approach to healthy and sustainable eating.

Asking which fish is available or which herbs are being used can make the meal more interesting. These are small questions, but they turn attention towards the ingredients and the people preparing them. For anyone who enjoys discovering a destination through its food, such conversations are part of travelling, and a relaxed lunch leaves room for them.

The setting lends itself to company, too. For two people, the boat trip can give lunch the feeling of a small occasion within the stay. With family or friends, the island offers a shared destination around which to organise the afternoon. Either way, it is a meal best approached with time to talk and enough space in the day to enjoy being together.

There are reasons to stay after eating. Six Senses presents snorkelling around the surrounding reefs as an option, along with relaxing in a private cabana. These possibilities let guests extend the visit beyond the table, whether they want to explore the water or settle into the shade.

It is worth leaving that part of the afternoon open. After time at the table, you may feel ready to see something of the reefs, or find that the prospect of a cabana is enough to keep you ashore. There is no need to decide everything before setting out. Bring what you need for the water, and a book for the possibility that doing very little wins out.

When planning a visit, it makes sense to give Drift the middle of the day. Lunch is offered daily from noon until 3pm. Arranging the crossing and discussing any dietary requests with the resort beforehand leaves you free to enjoy the outing once you arrive. Swimwear and a book would be sensible additions to the beach bag for anyone hoping to spend time on Jehunuhura beyond the meal.

For guests staying several nights, Drift also changes the geography of dining. Kanuhura’s other options include Italian cooking at Bottega and Spanish-influenced dishes at The Point. A trip to Jehunuhura adds a different island to those choices, giving lunch an excursion of its own within the same resort stay.

There is a particular pleasure in knowing that the journey home is only a short boat ride away. You can devote a few hours to Jehunuhura, eat beneath its coconut trees and leave the rest of the day open. Drift gives you a table on another island and a good reason to put lunch at the centre of the afternoon.