It’s spicy, colourful, and varied – the street food of Mauritius would put most countries to shame.
The colourful mix of ethnicities – Indian, French, Creole, African, and Chinese – lends unique bursts of flavours that are hard to come by. Add to this a mélange of tropical fruits, exotic vegetables, and fresh seafood and you get a cuisine that is hard to resist.
Here a list of the stuff we sampled off street vendors and beach shacks in Mauritius
1) Dhal Puri/Dholl Puri
Individually wrapped Mauritian flatbreads filled with curried yellow split-peas. Served with atchars (pickles) and chutney.
2) Chana Puri
Fritters with a centre of curried yellow split-peas. Pick them up from a street vendor along a beach.
3) Mazavaroo Paste
A paste made from green chillies, Mazavaroo Paste is served with EVERYTHING from creole curries to chinese noodles in Mauritius – perfect if you like your food with a bit of zing.
4) Pineapples
Try tiny Victorian Pineapples sprinkled with a colourful mix of coarse sea-salt and red chilli flakes. The savoury notes of the salt and the spiciness of the chilli lends the sweet pineapples a complexity of flavour.
5) Samosas
Crunchy, deep fried cones made with filo pastry housing spicy curried potatoes – not much could possibly go wrong, could it?
6) Sugarcane Juice
There is no dearth of vans selling glasses of freshly-squeezed sugarcane juice in Mauritius. We’ve raved about it before, but nothing we say could possibly articulate its ambrosial taste – you need to try it for yourself.
7) Creole Curries
Mauritius is famous for its flavourful sea-food curries and they live up to the hype. The smooth curries still smell of the sea. Perfect with a mound of long-grained rice.
8) Roti Chaud
Warm Indian flatbreads stuffed with Grois Pois (butter bean curry), fresh pickles, & Rougialle (tomato-based sauce), Roti Chaud is the perfect snack for people on the go.
9) Aubergine Pakoras
Fritters made from thin slices of aubergine coated with all-purpose flour. Perfect when served hot on a rainy Mauritian afternoon.
10) Atchars
Atchars (spicy pickled vegetables) are served with rotis, rice, and curries. They are the soul of Mauritian street food and lend it a zesty flavour that is hard to resist. Hit the supermarkets if you want to carry a bottle or two back home.
Did that set your tummy rumbling?? We have the perfect dish to round off the list
Shaved Ice (The Mauritian Way)
Now this isn’t strictly street food, but it deserves an honorary mention for being the world’s most refreshing dessert. Mauritians love serving a variety of fresh fruit of a bed of shaved ice and sugar syrup. Nom nom nom!
Are you in Mauritius for a holiday? Make sure you read our list of Top 10 Things To Do in Mauritius
Looking for a place to stay in Mauritius? Check out our review of one of our favourite hotels in Mauritius
Wow! Everything looks so wonderful and that pimento paste… I would put that on everything 🙂
That pimento paste was my favourite thing about Mauritian food Maria. I DID put it on everything, including cheese crackers 😉
Wow, we went to Mauritius but only had the pineapples from this list. Plus there is a person who sells super awesome Biryani, one of the best we have had so far….will definitely try these out the next time around.
Uhhh u make me wanna go back to Mauritius..missing the pineapples..gatopimas..bread bhajjias..dhal puris n so much more..
such a lovely place
It definitely is – we ate our hearts out while we were there. The street food is incredible 🙂
On a holiday I believe, the culinary experience is potent enough to either make it or break it for you. Good to see that you people don’t take any chances in the food department and try everything from the book. Oooh and they look so yum. *drool*
We don’t shy away from trying new things. We’ve had goat’s head and snails in Morocco, this wasn’t even half as bad 😉
What diversity in the cuisine! I love how you captured the food photos often using a shallow depth of field. Very creative and appealing way to showcase the dishes 🙂
Cheers Sam. It’s the 35mm lens and the colour of Mauritian Street Food working its magic 🙂
Hi, great post. Are the seafood curries really sold on the street? Or just smaller local restaurants?
Really look forward to trying them.
Hey Robert – You might find the odd curry on the street, but they are usually sold at smaller local restaurants and beach shacks. Hope you enjoy them as much as we did 🙂
Hi vids. Great blogs . I am intending a trip in April 2014. Just wondering if staying at these hotels a wise option. I will be with my wife for a fortnight . The hotels are dookee house and monalisa holiday bungalows which are apparently 70 miles from airport. Will this be a wise option. Kindly email me.
Any relevant info apart from the above will be most welcomed.
Thanks
Avi
Hey Avi,
So sorry for the late response. The two places you mentioned seem alright. They are in the Grand Bay area which is popular amongst tourists. We did not want to stay in a crowded place so opted for East Mauritius (Belle Mare area). Are you renting a car? If you are, then getting to Grand Bay from the airport is not a problem – it’s a straight highway.
You could also try to split your 2 week stay in two different parts of Mauritius. maybe a week in Grand Bay and a week in Le Morne (south). That way you won’t have to drive from Grand Bay to the south every time to visit the attractions in the south. Just a thought !
hey no worries . better late than never,hehheh… thanks for the response. just a query for a property by name SEASHELLS STUDIO located in rue habitat near to merville resort hotel.
also are the dolphins frequently seen in the east cost near belle mere.
Hey Avi,
Seashell studios look pretty good for the price. We didn’t want to stay in the crowded Grand Bay so chose Belle Mare. That said, you will find more budget friendly options in Grand Bay. And yes, the dolphins are frequently seen off the east coast as well as the west coast of Mauritius. You should go for that tour 🙂
Hi! I’m going to Mauritius for two weeks next April and was wondering for activities if it is better/ cheaper to try and book before or just see what there is locally and go with that when we arrive? Any advice would be appreciated 🙂 Also any other things that are good to do then you might know off the top of your head? Thanks!
Jordan. I was there this April . I reckon. Reach and book. As most of the for operators have a common link. And plethora of options are in the west coast. We were at mahebourg and didn’t find any. And April is a lousy season guaranteeing gigantic discounts. U could booka stay for 3 days and then rent a vehicle and decide.
Thanks for the update Avi 🙂
Hey Jordan – hope you have an amazing time in Mauritius. It’s better to get there and book activities. Make sure you bargain a bit 🙂 Insofar as activities are concerned, have you read our list of 10 Things To Do in Mauritius? https://www.bruisedpassports.com/wheres/things-to-do-in-mauritius
Hey Vid,
would want to know for the rent a ride, we need to submit our passports/licenses…?? how safe is it?
Or is it better to arrange it through the hotel? please advice..
Hey Neetha – we’ve written details about renting a car in Mauritius and linked the company we rented a car with in our article on 10 Things to do in Mauritius. Do read it. It’s absolutely safe to rent a car in Mauritius and we highly recommend it. It’s usually a lot more expensive to rent a car through the hotel, so we would suggest booking independently
Hi, how’s the road traffic in Mauritius? Is it conducive to leisurely drives? I m going to stay at Lux Belle Mare for my honeymoon early next year. I m considering renting a car or hiring private taxi for going around. How much time does it actually take to drive to South e.g. Chamarel from Belle Mare, which is about 75 km? Thanks!
Hi Mohit,
We didn’t have any issues with the traffic in Mauritius. It is definitely conducive to leisurely drives, especially the coastal roads (for instance B9 from Le Morne to Gris Gris). In peak office hours you might experience increase in traffic, but we don’t remember it being of any trouble any time). Definitely rent a car – you can read our other article on Mauritius for all the tips: https://www.bruisedpassports.com/wheres/things-to-do-in-mauritius).
I love taking pictures so we stop a lot when we are driving – I think it took us 2.5 hours to get from Lux* Belle Mare to Chamarel, but we did make a stop at Bois Cheri tea plantation (you should too). If you take the highway, it will take you around 1.5 hours to get to Chamarel (including a visit to the Rhumerie De Chamarel, the coloured earth, and some trekking). We did Chamarel, Gris Gris, and a delicious lunch near Le Morne all in a day from Lux* Belle Mare.
If you haven’t, read all our Mauritius posts here: https://www.bruisedpassports.com/category/mauritius
Have a great time and let us know if you need more information 🙂
Hi! Have you tried the chana puri? The picture of chana puri you shared is one of the kind that melts into your mouth, with the green chilli paste. I hope you didn’t miss that. The way you describe things is just fabulous.
Hi Taaj,
Yes we tried it and loved it 🙂
Cheers
Although I am happy to see my country featured on your blog, I see no diversity in this post as most of the food are Indo-Mauritian, save for the sugar cane juice and the rougaille (creole curry). What of our Sino-Mauritian dishes that you will never find in China such as niouk yen (steamed meat and chayotte dumpings) or our noodles. Sino-Mauritian noodles are unique in the world. What of our gato patate (sweet potato fried dumplings filled with coconut and sugar syrup), or roast wild boar? I think you need to come back and try the rest of our cuisine 😉
Hey Kat,
You’re right – we didn’t get the chance to savour all these yummy dishes you have mentioned. Looks like a trip to Mauritius is on the cards again 🙂
We’ll drop you a message when we are there 🙂
WoW!! now thats something. Great pics!! Can you mention which street/Area is it in Mauritius.
Hey there are from all over Mauritius actually 🙂
Thank you.
King regards,
Boswell Valenzuela
Looking very very nice