What to Eat in Flic en Flac
Flic en Flac is a small town on the west coast of Mauritius, and its white-sand public beach is one of the longest on the island. A former fishing village has grown into a popular resort town - and along with the tourists came no end of places to eat. The name of the town is said to come from the old Dutch "Fried Landt Flaak", meaning "free flat land".
Flic en Flac was my base for the whole of my stay in Mauritius, so I had plenty of time to eat my way through the local bistros and restaurants. I went to Bistro Nam Wah Snack almost every day, and the Chinese restaurant Lao Fang Zi was just as good.
Street Food on the Beach in Flic en Flac
The beach in Flic en Flac is lined with dozens of tiny street food places. This is a tourist area, so what they sell and how good it is varies from stall to stall - the most reliable guide is the line of locals at lunchtime.
A second cluster of places sits in the middle of town on Coastal Road. The kitchens here usually run on nothing but a fridge, a gas burner and a scrap of countertop, and yet the food that comes out of them is excellent. Expect to pay cash in the bistros, and don't be surprised if some of them aren't on Google Maps at all - or are pinned in the wrong place.
What to Eat in Flic en Flac
- Farata straight from a beach bistro. Flatbreads stuffed with curry mixtures are the fastest lunch you can get on the beach. The beach bistros in Flic en Flac specialize in them and by noon there are lines in front of them.
- Fried noodles, mine frit. Flic en Flac is where I ate my very first Mauritian dish - and it was fried noodles with chicken and egg. The stalls right on the beach do them beautifully too.
- Boulettes. Steamed dumplings that one bistro in the middle of town turns out of a giant steamer all day long. A large portion with sauces and chili paste was my favorite way to have them.
- Fish and seafood. Flic en Flac used to be a fishing village and you can still taste it in the family-run restaurants. The daily set menu got me unbelievably tender calamari and perfectly cooked prawns.
- A Creole menu in a family-run restaurant. Flic en Flac has two small family-run restaurants where the owner cooks up her own menu every day - curry with a whole line-up of sides, chutney and pickled vegetables. You book through WhatsApp.
- Pineapple with chili. The beach stalls sell freshly peeled pineapple dusted with chili, too. A sweet and fiery combination that is exactly right for a hot day by the sea.
- … and a few dozen more Mauritian dishes, if you want the whole list: What to Eat in Mauritius.
Where to Eat in Flic en Flac
- Bistro Nam Wah Snack. The first place I went to eat after landing - and the beautifully seasoned food and the cleanliness brought me back again and again. They fry the meat to order; try the broth with wonton dumplings or bol renversé. Cash only.
- Bistro Kot Ti Baz. A tiny bistro on Coastal Road set up by a local grandmother - and every one of her faratas was excellent. A handwritten menu on a board, a couple of seats, food to go. Don't bother looking for it on Google Maps - it isn't there.
- Bistro Farata Aka Vinoda. A bistro right on the beach that specializes in farata flatbreads with vegetarian and meat fillings alike. The mixtures are wonderfully seasoned, the service is quick and the line moves fast.
- Bistro Ti Kabann. A beach stall by the road towards Wolmar with boiled and fried noodles. The staff speak French only, but we managed - and you can see how good the food is on the faces of the people eating around you.
- Creole Shack Restaurant. A small family-run restaurant where the owner comes up with a new three-course menu every day - you only find out what it is once you get there. Their gâteaux piments with lemongrass were the best on the whole island. Book your table ahead on WhatsApp.
- Canne à Sucre Restaurant. A restaurant in a private home with a single item on the menu: a generous Mauritian dinner with eleven different sides. Tender calamari, banana grilled in rum and a lovely conversation with the owner thrown in. Here too you need to book through WhatsApp.
- Lao Fang Zi Restaurant. A Chinese restaurant not far from the center - exactly the thing for the moment when weeks of Mauritian cooking leave you wanting a change. A clean, air-conditioned dining room and staff who speak English.
Most of the bistros take cash only - the one place I paid by card was Lao Fang Zi Restaurant.
Flic en Flac made a great base for me, and not just because of the beach - mainly because of the food. I'm sure you'll come to love the bistros here as much as I did.
Enjoy your food in Flic en Flac!
Creole Shack: A Creole Lunch in Flic en Flac
You don't walk into Creole Shack in Flic en Flac with a menu in your hand - you book a table a few days ahead on WhatsApp and find out what's cooking once you sit down. The owner cooks a single three-course menu every day, and the only choice is chicken or shrimp. And this is where I ate the best gâteaux piments in all of Mauritius.
Bol Renversé: The Mauritian Upside-Down Bowl
Bol renversé is a Mauritian dish with a trick to it: a bowl packed in reverse - egg, meat and vegetables in a soy and oyster sauce, rice - is flipped onto a plate and the waiter lifts it off right in front of you. It came out of the island's Chinese community, a descendant of Cantonese chop suey, and today it's cooked all over Mauritius and on Réunion too. I ate it in Flic en Flac, and in a cuisine that deep-fries almost everything it was a welcome exception.
Gato Arouille: Mauritian Fried Taro Balls
Gato arouille is a Mauritian fried ball of grated raw taro, seasoned with ginger, salt, a pinch of sugar and soy sauce. It's sold hot by the piece as gajak, a street snack to go with a beer. A crisp outside, a soft stringy inside, and an ingredient the cook grates with gloves on, because it stings when it's raw.
Mine Bouillie: Mauritian Boiled Noodles
Mine bouillie are boiled egg noodles with meat and vegetables, the humblest of the dishes the Chinese immigrants brought to Mauritius. One name covers two versions - dry noodles with sauce and an egg, or noodles in a clear ginger broth - and which one you get is up to the bistro. Dan ate them in Flic en Flac and explains why, despite the French name, this has nothing to do with porridge.
Farata Aka Vinoda Bistro: Farata Right on Flic en Flac Beach
A tin-roofed stall on the beach in Flic en Flac has a Google rating plenty of restaurants would be proud of. Farata Aka Vinoda fills fresh farata flatbreads with everything from vegetarian to octopus, the midday line moves fast, and the prices are the same as in places far from the tourist beaches.
Lao Fang Zi: A Cantonese Restaurant in Flic en Flac
Lao Fang Zi, Chinese for "old house", is a Cantonese restaurant a short walk from the center of Flic en Flac - and one of the youngest places on the island's Chinese restaurant scene. The cooking is in the hands of descendants of immigrants from Canton and Meixian, the people who gave the island fried noodles and steamed dumplings. Dinner for a few hundred rupees: two plates of chicken, a large portion of rice and the only card payment I made in a restaurant in my entire stay on the island.
Boulettes: Mauritian Steamed Dumplings
Boulettes are small dumplings of fish, meat, shrimp or grated chayote, steamed and sold by the piece from pots outside bistros all over Mauritius. The name is French, the origin Hakka, and the most typical version, niouk yen, is one no one in China would ever have thought up. They're eaten with noodles, swimming in clear broth, or dry with chili paste and scallions.
Kot Ti Baz: Grandma's Bistro with Farata in Flic en Flac
Kot Ti Baz, a tiny bistro on Coastal Road in Flic en Flac, was opened by a grandmother whose grandson kept telling her he was hungry. With one fridge and a gas burner she turns out farata, fried noodles and curry, and a pot of boulettes steams away by the door. Don't look for it on Google Maps - you'll spot it by the sign and the handwritten menu.
Teokon Farci: Steamed Stuffed Tofu, Mauritian Style
In Mauritius, tofu is just a wrapper. Teokon farci is a piece of tofu spread with a paste of ground fish and dried shrimp, steamed and served in clear chicken broth with scallions - an appetizer from the Chinese bistros and dumpling stalls that the island inherited from Hakka immigrants. What the name means, why the tofu behaves like dough and what the bowl cost in Flic en Flac.
Riz Frit: Mauritian Fried Rice
Riz frit is Mauritian fried rice: day-old cooked rice tossed in a wok with egg, chicken or shrimp, vegetables and soy sauce. Chinese immigrants brought it to the island, and today you'll find it at snack counters, school canteens and restaurants alike. Why it is not named after Canton, how it differs from its relatives and how it tasted in Flic en Flac.