The question comes up every day up north: where do you eat cheap in Pointe aux Canonniers and Grand Baie without landing on a menu written for holidaymakers? The Mauritian answer is always the same: at a snack. Chez Boom is on the main road in Grand Baie, next to the football pitch — Casse Ghoon Road, Pointe aux Canonniers 30522 — open Monday to Friday, 7am to 2pm. Here is the board, price by price, and the hour you need to arrive.
The counter, price by price
No sprawling menu card: a handful of filled breads, made to order in the wok, and the plate of the day at lunchtime. This is what is on the board.
- Rôti légumes (vegetable roti) — Rs 25
- Sauter saucisse (sausage) — Rs 75
- Sauter poulet (chicken) — Rs 90
- Sauter bœuf (beef with onions) — Rs 95
- Salade poisson (fish salad) — Rs 95
- Sauter calamars (squid) — Rs 150
- Ourite safranée (saffron octopus) — Rs 150
- Menu du jour (daily plate) — Rs 250
What you get for under Rs 100
Five lines sit below the Rs 100 mark, and they are the ones that keep the counter alive. The vegetable roti at Rs 25 handles a small hunger or rounds out something else. The sausage sauter at Rs 75 is the morning classic. At Rs 90 and Rs 95 you are into a real lunch: chicken sauter, beef with onions, fish salad — fresh bread split open, filled in front of you, eaten with one hand. On the scale of the island that is the normal budget for a street lunch, as we explain in our guide to eating for under Rs 100.
When the budget stretches a little
Above Rs 100 there are three things. The squid sauter and the ourite safranée are both Rs 150 — the second one is fresh lagoon octopus with saffron, which means seafood without going through a seafront restaurant. And the daily menu at Rs 250: a full plate — rice, red beans, chicken salmi, lettuce salad, for example — cooked that same morning. For a whole lunch rather than a sandwich, it is the best value on the list.
"Made to order": what that means here
The low price does not come from reheating. The wok heats up first thing in the morning, the onions are sliced ahead, the marinades are ready — but the cooking itself starts when you order and takes a few minutes. Nothing sits in a warming tray. That wok method is the sauter, Mauritian street food at its most typical: its history and technique are covered in this article.
What time to come
The hour matters as much as the price. We open at 7am, when the early-start workers pick up a roti or a hot bread. Around 11:30 the queue settles in and does not stop. The daily menu, cooked in a single pot, almost always sells out before 1pm — after that there are still filled breads, as long as there is bread. At 2pm we close. Saturday and Sunday the snack is shut.
A word about the bread: it is filled to order, so the queue moves at the speed of the wok and no faster. Count a few minutes per bread at peak time. That is exactly why an order placed before noon changes the day for anyone with half an hour of break: the bag is already waiting with a name on it, and all there is left to do is pick it up.
Three ways to pay less for lunch
- Come early. The best choice is the 11:30 one, not the 1:30 one.
- Order ahead. Before noon, by phone or WhatsApp: it is ready when you arrive, and you do not leave empty-handed because the pot is finished.
- Take the plate of the day. At Rs 250 for a complete meal, it is the format that carries you furthest.
Order before noon
One message by phone or WhatsApp on +230 5987 8153 before noon is enough: your order waits for you with your name on it. We do not deliver — you pick it up at the counter, on the main road in Grand Baie, next to the football pitch, Monday to Friday from 7am to 2pm. Eating cheap up north is not a compromise: it is simply eating where the locals eat.
Frequently asked questions
Where can you eat cheap in Pointe aux Canonniers?
At a snack. Chez Boom is on the main road in Grand Baie, next to the football pitch — Casse Ghoon Road, Pointe aux Canonniers 30522 — open Monday to Friday from 7am to 2pm.
What are the prices on the board?
Vegetable roti Rs 25, sausage sauter Rs 75, chicken sauter Rs 90, beef with onions Rs 95, fish salad Rs 95, squid sauter Rs 150, ourite safranée Rs 150, daily menu Rs 250.
What can you get for under Rs 100?
Five lines sit below Rs 100: the vegetable roti at Rs 25, the sausage sauter at Rs 75, the chicken sauter at Rs 90, and the beef with onions and fish salad at Rs 95.
What time should you come?
We open at 7am and close at 2pm, Monday to Friday. The queue settles in around 11:30 and the daily menu almost always sells out before 1pm. The safest move is to order before noon on +230 5987 8153.