Réunion — Food and Dining
Cuisine
A variety of excellent restaurants, some run by hotels, offer good French cuisine and Creole specialties. There are several first-class restaurants in Saint-Denis. Seaside restaurants in particular serve authentic local cuisine – a mixture of African, Chinese and Indian cooking. A full range of alcoholic drinks are available.
Things to know: Licensing hours are largely unrestricted.
National specialties:
• Rougail (seafood with sauces).
• There are many unique curries – these include duck, eel and octopus curry (zourite).
• Brèdes, a delicious local vegetable rather like spinach.
• Traditional spicy Indian cuisine also appears on the menu, under the heading massalés.
National drinks:
• Drinks include Arab coffee (café Bourbon).
• Rhum arrangé (white rum with vanilla, orchids, aniseed and cinnamon) is a good local rum.
• Local beer and wine are also very good.
Tipping: Widely practiced; 10% is normal.
