Bisou at LUX* Grand Baie — Restaurant in Isle Mauritius

It is a wonderful and beautiful hotel, the view is amazing, hence one would expect great food. We had lunch at Walima by Bisou and I was much disappointed by the food. It was OK'ish.

Along with our starter, which was cheese rolls, we got a selection of bread and a beetroot hummus. To me, it was more a beetroot purée. One could hardly taste any hummus. While the cheese rolls were mozzarella sticks wrapped into a fillo or wonton wrap, it was more like a spring roll.

The mains consisted of the chicken wrap and the falafel pita slides. The chicken wrap was ok, nothing major, the chicken hardly flavourful. The garlic sauce and the vegetable pickle were very nice, though. As for the falafel pita sliders, i can write at length about how disappointed i was. First, it says pita sliders, i expected actual pita breads and not mini buns, which were in the bread basket. The falafel was not dry but so flavourless and compact. It was very, very far from being something one would picture and expect for such a restaurant. We were provided a tahini sauce on the side. It was just some watered-down tahini.

We had our 2 year old with us, at some point she wanted to venture by the pool, she was supervised all the time. We were told that toddlers are not allowed by and in the pool, which is fair enough. But a few minutes later being told by another member of the staff that children are not allowed at Bisou, the roof top bar which is where the restaurant is was very strange. When booking, I did mention that we were having a toddler along. I think i should have been advised then only that they had restrictions.

Overall, I was not impressed at all by the food...

You wouldn’t really expect such a gem that could provide a pittoresque view in the very heart of Grand Baie. I was wrong. Seated on a rooftop with an infinity pool offering a panorama of the turquoise water of the bay, further away the sea - man, it’s mindblowing! The lieu in itself is a voyage but then it’s like this indulgent mousse with a crunchy praliné all wrapped in a coque en chocolat (that’s Forrest Gump 2.0), because comes Walima, where the true transcendence begins. If you’ve know middle eastern dishes, you know what I mean - everything is a journey. Nothing less, nothing more that overpowers - all on the right spot. Food is a banger! My favorite: Truffle Hummus and the Baklava - amongst a list because I really can’t decide. If you want the cherry on the cake, hit it for...

We ate at Walima for dinner and were left severely disappointed. The atmosphere, service, setting etc were all on point. But the food is just so meh, barely OK.

The ceviche was just so bland, with huge chucks of fish in a weird sauce dressing, and no onion, etc. The salad was so boring, comprising mostly of lettuce (and the really crap white bits in the middle), and overly dressed. The chicken tagine was also bad, the chicken was dry and flavorless which is pretty hard to mess up in a tagine. The menu said they’ll take ~45 mins to prepare but arrived in 10. I suspect it’s been simmering in a large pot all day. But the scallops were pretty good.

Great for the vibes and a cocktail, but...