The best restaurants East Coast

The main reason for coming is the setting, even if the food is just as good: an old stone sugar mill, completely restored (Victoria 1840), where the paintings of painter Maniglier, Matisse's latest pupil, are on display. A delicious harmony, the plates are as pictorial and colorful as the paintings, and delight the taste buds as much as the pupils: foie gras pan-fried with Armagnac, grilled lobster with vanilla and basil flavors, braised palmetto, sea bream carpaccio, etc. Vegetarian and gluten-free menus available on request. Exclusive and atypical.

This beach restaurant is managed by the Sunlife hotel group, which guarantees quality service and amenities. If the setting is relaxed with its large tables for 10 installed under straw huts, the level of the restoration is that of a hotel of standing, in particular in the choice of the products and the arrangement of the plates. On the menu: pizzas cooked over a wood fire, snacks for the hungry, homemade burgers, fish of the day, quality grilled meats (large shrimps, lobsters...) and a curry to keep in the mood.

When asked "I'm looking for a romantic table that has no equivalent in Mauritius and can create a surprise", this is it. The journey to the restaurant is already a real eye-opener: step through the Prince Maurice gate as if you were entering a dream, cross the goldsmith's gardens and the sublime lobby, take the footbridge on stilts that winds through the mangrove under the glow of luminous lights, and reach this magical place: 5 wooden platforms floating on the water. Here, you can enjoy delicious local Mauritian cuisine in a unique setting.

"A meal without wine is like a day without sunshine" said the gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. The Constance Belle Mare Plage gourmet restaurant, with its exceptional cellar of 30,000 bottles from over 2,500 vineyards around the world, sublimates the adage, and offers guests the chance to create a 3-course menu based on the wines chosen (not the other way around). The Autour du vin concept begins with the in-house sommeliers, and continues with a gourmet dinner in the elegant, warm, cellar-like dining room. A moment of grace.

Impossible to miss this small restaurant which displays its meadow-green colour on the side of the road and plants a few tables on the terrace and inside. Giovani runs the house with great seriousness and offers a varied menu of classic local dishes, in Mauritian or Asian versions: fritters, crab soup, octopus salad with creole, chicken curry with shrimps, grilled fish fillet, entrecote, pasta, flambé pineapple... Regular quality and very friendly welcome.

This is one of the oldest restaurants in Trou d'Eau Douce, guaranteeing a warm welcome and consistent quality. Two large dining rooms share the second floor, extended on the seafront by a terrace where you can enjoy lunch overlooking the water, with your eyes in the turquoise - the choice on sunny days. Creole, Chinese and French dishes share the long menu: samoussa, upside-down bowl, ginger fish, grilled fish, Tino-style seafood paella, the house signature dish... as well as mixed salads, snacks, vegetarian dishes and a daily menu.

Like its neighbor l'Empereur, this other restaurant on the eastern coastal road, popular with Mauritians and tourists alike, offers the usual panoply of Creole, Indian and Chinese dishes... in short, a bit of everything: soups, fritters, kebabs, tikka, tandoori, curries, vegetarian dishes, etc., as well as a few seafood specialties. The setting is a little neater than next door, with tablecloths and potted plants, folded napkins... but don't expect anything special all the same. Decent dishes, nothing more. Shady terrace.

On the seafront, at the foot of the Montagne du Lion, on the site from which the French general staff once watched Napoleon's only naval victory over the English, the beautiful Falaise Rouge overlooks the historic bay of Vieux Grand Port. It welcomes hikers from the Vallée de Ferney and strollers from the East. Here, you'll find the same ecological approach as at La Vallée, using seasonal produce sourced from nearby farms to create fresh, tasty dishes from kitchen garden to plate. Beautiful terrace. A place to be.

Barachois is the Creole word for "fishpond". This rustic place, with small thatched dry stone houses, has 16 rooms on stilts with simple but correct comfort (air conditioning and private bathroom) and a restaurant open on the water at the edge of a 42-acre barachois. The pond abounds with fish, shrimp and crabs that are offered on the menu after the day's fishing. There are even fresh oysters part of the year and some meat and game dishes. As a digestive stroll, discover the mangrove. Swimming pool.

Situated beside the coastal road, just a few meters from its eternal neighbor and main competitor (Symon's), this popular eatery is the Chinois of the eastern seaside and tourist section: a restaurant with terrace where you can enjoy a range of decent Asian and local dishes, based on shrimps, squid, fish, chicken, etc., not forgetting the fried noodles. No particular attention is paid to the setting, but the children's corner stands out. Affordable prices and takeaway.

All dressed in red, it's a gargote on the coastal road, known to the whole area and in front of which Christmas is simmering its pots. In a very small room slightly on a half level, one can taste the best dumplings from Trou d'Eau Douce and beyond, but also fried mines and other tasty popular Chinese dishes, or Mauritian dishes based on fresh products of the day. Drinks are at boutik price (= cheap Mauritian rate)and the service is nice as anything, in short here is a good plan as we love them!

On the sublime Saint Géran peninsula, in a wooden structure on stilts above the lagoon, this table enjoys a beautiful setting in osmosis with nature. At the crossroads of several culinary influences, Tapasake, a combination of tapas and sake, is a fusion of pan-Asian flavours in Spanish tapas mode: sushi, tacos, bites made from first choice products revisited by the Chef. The service is as elegant and relaxed as the atmosphere is hip and trendy, energized by the Dj's musical programming.

Run by Moïse and his wife Claudia, managers of a small fish cooperative, this restaurant occupies a pretty stone village house and its adjoining courtyard, which are often crowded. This is because the table is one of the few still serving freshly caught fish and seafood of the day, chosen directly from the stall. Afterwards, there's no fuss: the beast is simply slow-roasted in a charcoal oven and, if desired, seasoned with garlic butter. Delicious! Moïse also grills meat and poultry, and it's just as tasty.

This dapper Creole-style house with its stone walls and tin roof stands on the outskirts of Centre-de-Flacq, on the grounds of the former sugar estate. Formerly devoted to supplying workers with everyday products and small daily dishes, the Chinese store closed at the same time as the factory and has now been refurbished to become a café-bakery-pastry-grocery store where it's a pleasure to sit down. The short, healthy menu features homemade products and drinks, including iced teas, kefir, sweet and savoury dishes...

Adjacent to the Sands Grill and managed like it by the Sunlife hotel group (i.e. the assurance of good services and quality products), it is the largest beach bar on Ile aux Cerfs, open to all and relaxed like a big straw hut on the sand. On the spot, in addition to offering a nice selection of arranged rums and freshly squeezed juices, the waiters concoct mocktails and shake cocktails. Ah! that little pina colada sipped with your feet in the sand! Also a menu of snacks and homemade pizzas.