Ocean One – Azuri Beach, Mauritius

Ocean One Beach Club & Restaurant is idyllically located on the beach of Radisson Blu (Azuri) hotel in the wonderfully picturesque country of Mauritius.

The menu offers a fantastic array of food items that revolve around burgers, steaks, pizzas and pasta, along with a combination of Mediterranean and some local Mauritian dishes.

Of course, with the ocean only a stone’s throw away, it’s the seafood section that’s unsurprisingly their most popular.

While beachfront seating is located separately from the main restaurant, seating is found both inside and out on the balcony, with preference, of course, given to the latter.

What’s more, this eatery is beautifully decked out too, with a relaxed, laid back atmosphere, along with plenty of airy space and fresh ocean air, making this the perfect spot for those seeking after a beach chic dine.

And yes, given that this is Mauritius, the menu, aside from the pork, is entirely Halal.

Ocean One also offers a set menu, which changes regularly, that might be of interest to some.

These smartly presented complimentary starters were wonderful. The crusty rolls, quirkly presented in a bucket, had that distinctly heady aroma of freshly made bread, and went well with the trio of dips (not sauces) – olive, chilli, and hummus.

Mojito & Pina Colada. Rs 350

What to say of these utterly abysmal mocktails?! It was like the “mixologist” just threw whatever was available together, provided it resembled something like a mojito and a pina colada.

Suffice it to say that in place of that well known mojito lime kick, apple juice was used, while the colada was missing the pina!

Tomato Pasta – kid’s dish. Rs 150

The tomato pasta was a makeshift dish; and it was what it was, though the tomatoes used in this case were full of flavour and very tasty (unlike the ones found here in the UK).

Prawns on Skewer – crustaceous sauce, pineapple salsa, braised palm heart. Rs 560

Huge prawns that were extremely well cooked, retaining that unmistakable tender chewiness. However, it was a crying shame that there were only three to enjoy.

These rested on a bed of what was predominantly a tomato-based salsa.

And though there were specks of sparsely scattered pineapple here and there, these were entirely lost somewhere in the ocean.

A decent attempt without being anything spectacular.

Ocean Platter (Plateau De L’ocean) – king prawns, calamari, mussels, fish fillet, octous crab and clam, gambas, calamar, moule, filet poisson, poulpe, crabe et coque. Rs 1,100 (around £25)

Seafood is what we came for, and the Ocean Platter was attractively piled on high with a decent assortment of fish and crustaceans.

As with any seaside located restaurant, one looks for freshness and taste.

In this case, what we got was no different from what one might get from a good quality restaurant in the food capital of the world – London.

To our chagrin, the squid turned out quite rubbery in texture, with everything else drizzled in some rather insipid butter sauce.

Otherwise, the rest of the platter wasn’t anything above good, which was a pity given our lofty expectations predicated on the picturesque surroundings before us.

Ocean One (Wagyu Beef) Burger – with salad and fries. Rs 590

Now, in light of how utterly good this apparent wagyu beef patty was, this was a serious bargain.

And with so much on offer in terms of taste, we couldn’t quite understand, given the fact that said wagyu was said to have originated from South Africa, how this was the same price as the chicken burger!

Whatever the case, this was one of the best tasting patties we’ve ever had! Cooked to a perfect medium well, not only did this thick piece of beefy goodness have that divinely delicious umami flavour to it, but the talented chef also managed to achieve a very crusty exterior, giving this some textural contrast.

And since it was this good, the lack of sauce, on this occasion, just didn’t matter, nor, if we’re being honest, did we pick up on this until later. If we did have a quibble though, it’s that the bun was a little stale around the edges.

The mango salad was also a great touch, and a bowl worth eating alone, while the accompanying fries were nice and crispy.

Chocolate Moelleux – with vanilla sauce from madagascar. Rs 390

Good tasty chocolate which although dry, was but brought to life, somewhat, by the prominent vanilla custard.

Banana Tatin – with ginger and vanilla ice cream. Rs 360

This banana tatin was accompanied by an average sort of ice cream, which, given the heat, came out almost entirely melted in consistency.

A simple dessert which is reflected by the pricing.

Ice Cream (single scoop). Rs 150

Another basic ice cream with the addition of some poultry sugar work on top and some measily meringue on the side. Not worth it!