Port Louis Restaurants

Prior to my trip to Mauritius, I was rather surprised to learn that the capital of this small Indian Ocean island, Port Louis, has its very own “Chinatown” district.

So, when I spent a day exploring Port Louis in February 2008, I naturally headed to Chinatown to grab some lunch.

Port Louis’ Chinatown encompasses one main street, Royal Street, and a few small side streets branching off from there. You will find a handful of Chinese restaurants in this region, amongst the Chinese grocery stores and herbal shops.

I ate at New China Town Deli Restaurant, a large restaurant located on the corner of Royal Street and Emmanuel Anquetil Street in the heart of Chinatown.

This restaurant has a large upstairs dining area (through a colourful entrance and up a couple of flights of stairs from street level) and, while it was air-conditioned and all the large windows were fully open, it was still very warm inside. I sat by one of the windows, which opened up onto a balcony (no outdoor tables on it) with views across the city.

In truth, after a morning of walking through the hot streets of Port Louis, I was more in need of cold drinks than a big meal. This undoubtedly affected my enjoyment of the meal.

The menu (completely in French) is extensive. I didn’t recognise all of the starters that were on offer, but I was able to identify areas of the menu dedicated to soups, chicken, beef, shrimps, calamari, vegetarian, rice and noodle dishes.

The waiter was friendly and spoke English fluently, so was able to translate some of the items that I didn’t understand. He also responded with a smile and a dash to the fridge upon my constant requests for “another bottle of Sprite please” as I tried to quench my thirst.

I opted for:

Hakien (Spring roll) - Cost: 75 Rupees / 1.30 GBP

A couple of large spring rolls filled with fish, onions, cabbage, coriander and other vegetables, cut into small slices and served with a selection of spicy dips.

Chop Suey Crevettes (Shrimps) - Cost: 125 Rupees / 2.10 GBP

A dozen or so small shrimps in a sauce that was salty (but not as salty as oyster sauce), tasty, but not at all spicy, with cauliflower, baby corn, mushrooms, onions and other veg.

Fried Rice - Cost: 65 Rupees / 1.10 GBP

A large plate of egg fried rice, with chicken, shrimps, fish and vegetables. It was very tasty, but I didn’t have the appetite to do it justice on this particular day.

Several 330ml bottles of Sprite - Cost: 18 Rupees / 0.35 GBP per bottle

Straight from the fridge and much needed on this hot lunchtime!

A large Chinese restaurant with an extensive selection of dishes, right in the heart of Chinatown.

Port Louis Hotels

Port Louis Restaurants

Visiting Port Louis?

Port Louis Hotels