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. The former fishing village has become a popular resort - and along with the tourists came plenty of places to eat. The town's name is said to come from an old Dutch name, "Fried Landt Flaak", meaning "free flat land".
Flic en Flac was my base for my whole stay in Mauritius, so I had plenty of time to eat my way through its bistros and restaurants. I went to the Nam Wah Snack bistro almost every day, and the Chinese restaurant Lao Fang Zi was excellent too.
Street Food on the Beach in Flic en Flac
The beach in Flic en Flac is lined with dozens of tiny street food spots. Since this is a tourist area, the menu and the quality vary from one stall to the next - your most reliable guide is a line of locals at lunchtime.
A second cluster of places is in the town center on Coastal Road. The kitchens often have nothing more than a fridge, a gas burner and a bit of counter space, but the food that comes out of them is superb. Keep in mind that the bistros are cash only and some of them aren't on Google Maps at all - or they're pinned in the wrong place.
What to Eat in Flic en Flac
- Farata straight from a beach bistro. Flatbreads filled with curry mixtures are the quickest lunch on the beach. The beach bistros in Flic en Flac specialize in them, and at noon there are lines in front of them.
- Fried mine frit noodles. It was here in Flic en Flac that I ate my very first Mauritian meal - fried noodles with chicken and egg. The stalls right on the beach make great ones too.
- Boulettes. Steamed dumplings that one bistro in the town center cooks all day long in a giant steamer pot out front. A big serving 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 tell in its family-run restaurants. I got incredibly tender calamari and perfectly cooked prawns here on the daily set menu.
- A Creole set menu at a family-run restaurant. Flic en Flac has two small family-run restaurants where the owner puts together her own menu every day - curry with a whole range of sides, chutneys and pickled vegetables. You book on WhatsApp.
- Pineapple with chili. The stalls on the beach also sell freshly peeled pineapple sprinkled with chili. A sweet and spicy combination that's just right for a hot day at the beach.
- Fresh coconut. A young green coconut from a stall right on the beach: the vendor opens it with a machete, you drink the coconut water, then take the empty shell back for the white meat, which tastes like young walnuts.
- … and, if you like, several dozen more Mauritian dishes from the list: What to Eat in Mauritius.
Where to Eat in Flic en Flac
- Nam Wah Snack Bistro. The first place I went to eat after landing - and thanks to the well-seasoned food and the clean dining room, I kept coming back. The meat is fried to order; try the broth with wonton dumplings or bol renversé. Cash only.
- Kot Ti Baz Bistro. A tiny bistro on Coastal Road started by a local grandmother - and every one of her faratas was superb. A handwritten menu on a board, a few seats, food to go. Don't bother looking for it on Google Maps; it isn't there.
- Farata Aka Vinoda Bistro. A bistro right on the beach that specializes in farata flatbreads with vegetarian and meat fillings. The fillings are beautifully seasoned, the service is fast and the line moves quickly.
- Ti Kabann. A beach stall by the road toward Wolmar serving boiled and fried noodles. The staff speak only French, but we managed to make ourselves understood - and the diners around you are clearly enjoying every bite.
- 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 when you get there. Their gâteaux piments with lemongrass were the best I had on the whole island. Book a table ahead on WhatsApp.
- Canne à Sucre Restaurant. A restaurant in a private home with just one item on the menu: a lavish Mauritian-style dinner with eleven different sides. Tender calamari, grilled banana in rum and a pleasant chat with the owner to go with it. Here too, you need to book on WhatsApp.
- Lao Fang Zi Restaurant. A Chinese restaurant not far from the center - just the thing for when, after weeks of Mauritian cuisine, you're craving a change. A clean, air-conditioned dining room, and the staff speak English.
Most bistros take cash only - the only place I paid by card was Lao Fang Zi Restaurant.
Flic en Flac was a great base for me, not just because of the beach, but mainly because of the food. I'm sure you'll love its bistros as much as I did.
Enjoy eating your way around 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.