Indian, Creole, Chinese and French flavours on one plate. Here is what to order.
Mauritian food is the best summary of the island's history. The real stars are cheap and found at street stalls, markets and small family restaurants, not only in hotels.
A thin flatbread stuffed with ground yellow split peas, served folded with bean curry, rougaille, chutney and pickles. The island's favourite street food.
Where to try it: Street stalls and snack bars across the island, especially busy at lunchtime in Port Louis, Rose Hill and Curepipe.
A soft, flaky flatbread close to the Indian paratha, eaten with curries. Many people order a mix of dholl puri and farata.
Where to try it: The same stalls that sell dholl puri; also a classic at family gatherings.
Small crunchy fritters made from split peas, chilli and herbs. Sold by the bag, often stuffed into a buttered bread roll.
Where to try it: Roadside sellers, markets and outside schools in the afternoon.
Fried noodles with vegetables, egg and chicken or seafood, a Sino-Mauritian classic. Ask for chilli on the side.
Where to try it: Chinese-Mauritian restaurants and food stalls; Port Louis Chinatown is a good start.
The Mauritian biryani: spiced rice with chicken, beef or vegetables, and always potatoes. Served at weddings and celebrations.
Where to try it: Briani specialists and Muslim-run restaurants, often sold by the plate at lunchtime.
A Creole tomato sauce with onion, garlic, ginger, thyme and chilli, cooked with fish, sausages or salted fish.
Where to try it: Creole home-style restaurants and table d'hôtes.
A sweet, cold milk drink with basil seeds and agar jelly, often flavoured with vanilla or rose. Perfect on a hot day.
Where to try it: Port Louis Central Market is the classic place to try it.
Photo: Rishi Luchun, CC BY 2.0Two shortbread biscuits sandwiched with jam and covered in pink icing. Every Mauritian has a childhood memory of one.
Where to try it: Bakeries and supermarkets everywhere.
Tender octopus in curry or as a salad with lime and onion. Rodrigues is famous for it.
Where to try it: Seaside restaurants, and almost every table in Rodrigues.
Chinese families have cooked in Mauritius for generations, and their dishes are now everyday food for everyone. At a Sino-Mauritian restaurant, order a few plates for the table and share.
Look for snack vans near the public beaches, stalls around markets and bus stations, and small snack bars in every village. They are busiest at lunchtime and at weekends. Pistas sellers push their carts along the beaches and busy streets: a small cone of warm roasted peanuts is the perfect snack between two swims.
Boulettes (dumplings in broth), vindaye (fish or octopus in a mustard and turmeric marinade), achards (spicy pickled vegetables), gateau patate (sweet potato cakes), fresh pineapple with chilli salt from beach sellers, and local rum.
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Dholl puri is often called the national dish: a flatbread stuffed with split peas, served with curry, rougaille and chutney.
It can be, but chilli is usually served on the side. Ask for "pas tro pima" (not too spicy) at street stalls.
Around the Central Market in Port Louis, at snack shops in every town and village, and at food vans near the public beaches, especially at weekends. Look for dholl puri, farata, gato piment and mine frit.
Yes. Dholl puri and farata with bean or vegetable curry, gato piment, achards (pickled vegetables) and many chutneys are vegetarian. Just ask when you order a curry, as some contain meat or fish.
Busy stalls with a quick turnover are generally a good choice. Use your usual common sense and choose freshly cooked food.
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