The best bars and cafés Mauritius

Judging by the number of people in the place as soon as the sun goes down, this is one of the HQs of the North, one of those trendy places where it's hard to find a place to eat at the weekend. Its success is based on three key factors: a friendly owner, a conceptual decor (here in red and black with cans recycled as tables and chairs, and cheerful lanterns) and, above all, a SITE - facing the sea, in the open air, in rooftop mode. The kitchen concocts small dishes at all hours, but the main attraction is the salsa evenings on Wednesdays, the blind test on Thursdays and the DJ nights at weekends.

Facing the harbor, the boats and the Caudan, set on the water's edge in chic, trendy fashion, this is the capital's hippest lounge space: a place that's sometimes zen, sometimes convivial, depending on the mood and the day of the week, and where Mauritian golden youth willingly loosen their ties in a spirit of sharing that's reminiscent of the Pink Socks movement. Buoyed by an ambiance that's both seaside and urban, the shakers get busy, the conversations liven up, the bartenders mix sultry cocktails... and the evening melts like crushed ice.

The red lacquered grand piano, a major decorative element, is the icon of this place, and also the "border" between the outside part of the bar, very lounge under its stretched canvas, and the inside section, design and fun, with its flat screens and its red billiards. It is one of the trendiest places in Mauritius, quite busy on weekends, more cocooning the rest of the time, with a fire-breathing fountain and large sofas where you can lounge on the terrace. Nice selection of cocktails and wines, and a small menu of dishes to nibble without necessarily sitting down.

With its 30-meter-long infinity pool set in a semicircle on the lagoon horizon, it's the most beautiful rooftop in Mauritius! As magnetic by day, when it plunges into a panoramic view of the blue bay and the northern islets, as it is at sunset, when the music swells, the shakers get busy and the night shimmers like a glittering, glamorous, musical clamor (DJ). Semi-submerged tables and deckchairs, lounges with sound systems, everything is state-of-the-art, not to mention the decor and the Indian and Levantine cuisine.

In Labourdonnais, in a retro-vintage atmosphere that evokes the time when people enjoyed the art of conversation and letter writing (yes, the real ones, the ones on paper that were written by hand), The Post Box is a chic and warm lounge bar where you can smoke a cigar, sip wine, champagne, and deliciously collectible cocktails... to be accompanied by high quality snacks. Distinctive sign: a bright red mailbox where you can post gracefully and anywhere in the world one of the postcards waiting in the pile!

Even if you have to enter the Shanti Ananda hotel to access it, the Rum Shed is camped at the back, a bit like those village rum sheds where Mauritians meet at the end of the day. We find the bricks and mortar side in a bohemian chic version: tables and chairs made of recycled objects, walls made of salvaged wood, floor made of planks or sand. You sit on a burlap sack, grab a handful of peanutsand explore the rum menu with some 250 references from 36 countries! For dinner, a variety of dishes including good grilled meats.

This impressive bar is the highlight of the Anno 1743 restaurant, itself the nerve center of the restored Balaclava ruins. Staircases and a stone wall lead from the old powder mill to the adjoining distillery, where a majestic "rum library" backs onto the walls of yesteryear. Wherever you look, on either side of the sublime copper distillation column and high up to the ceiling, you'll find the largest collection of local rums, exclusively from the 6 active distilleries in Mauritius. Tasting sequence.

Accessed by a staircase lined with an impressive wine library, this exclusive lounge-style bar is camped on the roof of the Anno 1743 Restaurant, itself housed in the restored ruins of an old 18th-century powder mill. A historical sequence, or rather, an aesthetic one, because it's so beautiful! In a pure white in perfect harmony with the basaltic grey of the remains, this terrace in the sky offers a sublime view of the ancient chimney, the banyan grove, the river below... The menu offers a selection of whiskies and cocktails + snacks.

Open on the perpendicular road leading to the sea, 200 meters from the beach, this large, friendly bar attracts the eye with its low stone walls, aged flooring, canvas roof and salvaged wooden furniture. A cool atmosphere, like that of a large Creole hut, partly open to the open air. You can drop in at any time of day for a cup of coffee, a local beer, a mocktail or a classic cocktail. The pride of the house: its signature cocktails with catchy names - Levitation, Zombie... There's also a pizza menu and a selection of snacks and salads.

This intimate, convivial bar, located on the first floor of the famous Amigo seafood restaurant, cultivates the same concern for excellence through a short, but demanding and cutting-edge menu of signature cocktails or revisited classics, to be accompanied by homemade tapas. While retaining the sense of welcome and quality products that have made the family-run restaurant such a success since 1985, the youngest son puts his mixologist talents to work to create tasty, cosy evenings.

Atypical, the place is also the only Caveau de Sabrage on the island.