It is 7am in Grand Baie and the first bread of the day has just been filled. Outside, the main road is waking up: scooters, buses, workers heading to building sites. Inside Chez Boom, the day started long before that. Here is what an ordinary morning looks like behind our counter, from the first flame under the wok to the last plate of the daily menu. Nothing spectacular — just a small Mauritian canteen doing things in the right order, and on time.
Before opening: the market decides
The daily menu is never written in advance. It is decided by the market: what the fishmonger has, the state of the vegetables, the price of chicken that particular morning. One day it will be rice, red beans, a chicken salmi and lettuce salad. Another day, something else. That is the house rule: one complete plate, home-cooked every morning, never quite the same twice. The octopus comes fresh from the lagoon — and when it is in, it does not stay in for long.
6:30am: the wok heats up, the onions make you cry
Well before opening, the kitchen already smells like morning: oil coming up to temperature, onions sliced into neat piles, garlic crushed, marinades out of the fridge. Fresh bread stacks up behind the counter. The wok heats up empty — it is the instrument that will set the pace for the whole morning. At Chez Boom nothing is cooked ahead to sit in a corner: we prepare everything needed to cook fast, at the moment you order. That is the whole difference between "made to order" and "reheated".
7am: breakfast for the workers
We open at 7am sharp, and not for the tourists. The first customers are people who start work early: a vegetable roti at Rs 25, a sausage sauter at Rs 75 — something hot and solid before long hours on their feet. The bread is filled in front of them, in a handful of minutes, and most of them eat it on the way. It is the quietest moment of the day: the movements are the same as at noon, but there is still time to say good morning properly.
11:30am: the queue builds
From 11:30 onwards, it does not stop. The wok never drops in temperature, squid and beef with onions follow one another, and the saffron smell of the octopus drifts across the counter. To one side, the WhatsApp orders placed before noon sit ready, each with a name on it — that is our promise: order before noon, it is ready when you arrive. Everyone else joins the queue, and the queue moves at the speed of the wok: fast, but never faster than the cooking.
1pm: it is often already over
The Rs 250 daily menu almost always sells out before 1pm. We do not stretch it: when the pot is empty, it is empty. Frustrating if you arrive late, we know — but that is the price of food cooked the same morning, in honest quantities, with no leftovers recycled the next day. At 2pm we close. The wok gets scraped, the counter gets scrubbed, and part of the family heads off to training — yes, the same family as the Team Boom muay thai club. Tomorrow, 7am, first bread.
The best advice we can give you fits in one line: order by phone or WhatsApp on +230 5987 8153 before noon — it is ready when you arrive. Monday to Friday, 7am to 2pm, on the main road in Grand Baie, next to the football pitch.
Frequently asked questions
What are Chez Boom's opening hours?
We open at 7am and close at 2pm, Monday to Friday, on the main road in Grand Baie, next to the football pitch. The first customers are people who start work early.
Until what time can you get the daily menu?
The Rs 250 daily menu almost always sells out before 1pm. We do not stretch it: when the pot is empty, it is empty.
Can you order ahead?
Yes, and it is the smart move: a message by phone or WhatsApp on +230 5987 8153 before noon. Orders placed before noon sit ready to one side, each with a name on it.
Is the food cooked in advance?
No. The wok heats up first thing in the morning and every order hits the pan the moment you place it; nothing sits in a warming tray. The daily menu is cooked that same morning, in honest quantities, with no leftovers recycled the next day.