Mauritius's best restaurants, by Shelina Permalloo

Lunch

My favourite place is on the east coast, the part of the island I love most. Its called Chez Tino, named after the owner, where you can eat wonderful fish and seafood overlooking a beautiful bay. Crab soup, grilled lobster and prawn curry are house specialities.

Another good find is Le Fangourin at LAventure du Sucre, the sugar museum in Port Louis. Start with octopus salad or giant prawns with fresh heart of palm and a confit of papaya and onion, followed by grilled sea bream, grouper or bass with curry leaves, or red snapper curry with coconut milk.

If you take a rum tour at the Chamarel distillery, have lunch at its gourmet restaurant, LAlchimiste, where the dishes include palm-heart salad, venison and wild boar. It has a good list of fine wines, many of them French.

Chez Tino (Route Royale, Trou dEau Douce, East Mauritius; 00230 480 2769; chez-tino.restaurant.mu). Three courses 20, excluding drinks

Le Fangourin (Beau Plan, Pamplemousses, North Mauritius; 243 7900; aventuredusucre.com). Three courses 16-24

LAlchimiste (Rhumerie de Chamarel, Route Royale, Chamarel, South-west Mauritius; 483 7980; rhumeriedechamarel.com). Three courses 30

Fine dining

There are no Michelin-starred restaurants on the island, but you can expect Michelin-standard food at many hotels. I went to Safran at Le Touessrok once, which was brilliant. The chef, Ramesh Bundi, does modern interpretations of Indian cuisine: marinated tandoori salmon with green herbs, mustard and pan-seared scallops; lamb cutlet encrusted with curry leaf and red onion, with rose petal and lamb jus and saffron puri (a deep-fried unleavened bread); and coconut cremeux with Granny Smith jelly, cucumber and mint ice cream.

Safran (Le Touessrok Hotel, Trou dEau Douce, East Mauritius; 402 7400; safran.restaurant.mu). Six-course tasting menu 60, with wines 104; three courses la carte 50 without drinks

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Mauritius's best restaurants, by Shelina Permalloo