The menu du jour in Grand Baie, at our counter, is a full plate at Rs 250, cooked that same morning in a single pot, and almost always finished before 1pm. No menu card, no choice: whatever is in the pot that day. 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 how that plate works, and how to be sure of getting one.
What is on the plate
The Mauritian midday plate always has the same architecture: rice, grains, a meat in sauce, and salad for freshness. At our counter the typical example fits in four words — rice, red beans, chicken salmi, lettuce salad. Salmi is the everyday braise: meat browned then simmered slowly in sauce until it falls apart. It is a whole meal, not a side portion. The story of that plate and its four pillars is told in our article on the Mauritian canteen.
There is one proposal a day, and that is deliberate. A daily menu with three options is no longer a daily menu: it is a menu card in disguise, with everything that implies in half-empty trays and sauces kept waiting. Here the question to ask on arrival is simple — "what's the menu today?" — and the answer changes from Monday to Friday.
One pot, cooked in the morning
The daily menu is not written the night before. It is decided in the morning, according to the market: what the fishmonger has, the state of the vegetables, the price of chicken that day. The pot goes on the fire well before the 7am opening, and its size is settled once and for all that same morning. There is no second service, no back-up pulled from the freezer, and nothing that comes round again tomorrow. That constraint is what guarantees the plate: honest quantity, same-day cooking, zero recycled leftovers. A full morning behind the counter is here: a morning at Chez Boom.
Why it sells out before 1pm
Simple arithmetic: one pot, one lunchtime. Around 11:30 the queue settles in, and the plate of the day is the first thing most regulars ask for. By 1pm there is almost never any left. Anyone arriving later still finds filled breads — as long as there is bread — but no daily menu. It is frustrating, we know; it is also the price of food cooked that same morning rather than a tray kept warm until closing.
How to be sure of getting one
- Order before noon, by phone or WhatsApp on +230 5987 8153. Your plate is set aside, ready, with your name on it.
- Come between 11:30 and 12:30 if you are dropping by unannounced. After that it is a lottery.
- Ask what the menu is in the morning. It changes every day; the regulars ask while picking up their morning coffee.
And if it is gone?
The counter is still there: filled breads made to order in the wok, sausage sauter at Rs 75, chicken sauter at Rs 90, beef with onions at Rs 95. It is not the same thing as a full plate, but it settles lunch for under Rs 100. The complete list is in our price guide, and on the menu page.
Rs 250, and what it buys
For Rs 250 you get a whole lunch cooked that same morning, the way it would be at home: starch, grains, meat in sauce, salad. It is also the most complete line on the board: a filled bread settles a quick lunch, the plate of the day settles a real meal. It is the dish we spend the most time on, because it is the one that looks most like what we would serve at our own table. Monday to Friday, 7am to 2pm, on the main road in Grand Baie, next to the football pitch. The menu changes tomorrow; the cut-off time does not.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the daily menu in Grand Baie?
Rs 250 at Chez Boom. For that price you get a full plate cooked that same morning: rice, red beans, chicken salmi and lettuce salad, for example.
What is on the plate?
Always the same architecture: rice, grains, a meat in sauce and salad. The typical example at our counter is rice, red beans, chicken salmi, lettuce salad — salmi being meat browned then simmered slowly in sauce.
Why does the daily menu sell out before 1pm?
Because there is only one pot, and its size is settled that same morning. No second service, no back-up from the freezer: when it is empty, it is over.
How do you reserve a plate?
By phone or WhatsApp on +230 5987 8153 before noon: your plate is set aside, ready, with your name on it. Otherwise, come between 11:30 and 12:30.