‘Lively, tangy and electric’: This rare island gem is another reason to jump on the Metro

It’s a melting pot of flavour at Le Dodo Affamer, Sydney’s only Mauritian restaurant. Come to Canterbury for spicy street food, slow-cooked island showstoppers and your new favourite lamington.Le Dodo AffamerMauritian$To understand the cuisine of Mauritius, just flip a bowl upside-down. The best place to do it? Le Dodo Affamer in Canterbury, possibly Sydney’s only restaurant showcasing this island nation’s food.Mauritius sits in the Indian Ocean, off Africa’s east coast. Order bol renversé and much is revealed about the country in one quick flip. The dish’s name, “upside-down bowl” in French, hints at the country’s history (it became Île de France in 1715, after being settled by the Dutch in 1598). But another side of Mauritius surfaces when bol renversé is tipped onto a plate. Bol renversé.James BrickwoodLe Dodo Affamer’s version layers fried egg and stir-fried chicken with cushioned rice: lift the bowl up and oozy yolk and cornstarch-thickened soy sauce cascade through the grains. These flavours reflect centuries of Chinese presence in Mauritius. But, like many dishes here, the ingredients tell more than one story.Take the fried rice. Restaurant co-owner Kaline Appadoo starts prepping it in the morning: cooking the grains first, cooling them for hours, then wok-tossing the rice with soy sauce, pepper, spring onions, corn, mushrooms and egg. Look closely: it’s not typical jasmine that’s served, but basmati – rice originating from the Indian subcontinent’s Punjab region, and the long grains you’ll recognise in biryani.Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox.Sign upBasmati’s slender, stretched shape appears repeatedly on the table and reflects the island’s Indo-Mauritian population. Like Chinese labourers initially brought to the country, they arrived as indentured workers. They toiled on sugarcane plantations, replacing the enslaved African population introduced by the French. The Indo-Mauritian community now represents the country’s majority, and their culinary influence is deeply felt at Le Dodo Affamer.Dholl puri.James BrickwoodIt’s there in the cumin, cardamom and other freshly crushed spices Appadoo adds to beef and potato curry, served with basmati rice and shredded carrot and cucumber salad. You’ll taste it in dholl puri, a Mauritian street food she makes from scratch, transforming dough into crisped flatbread stuffed with butter beans, yellow split peas, pickled vegetables and rougaille, a spiced tomato sauce with French and African Creole origins. Each bite is lively, tangy and electric. If you’re keen to give your tastebuds even more of a jumpstart, add an extra dollop of chilli sauce – zingy with bird’s eye, vinegar, salt and sugar.Appadoo is a self-taught cook who arrived here in 2009. Like husband Kevin, she missed her homeland’s flavours, so she schooled herself in staples such as rougaille and Mauritian treats including napolitaines biscuits when daughter Siahna was born. As you’ll notice on the restaurant’s signage, Le Dodo Affamer was established in 2020, initially as a neighbourhood catering company. It evolved into a Mauritian restaurant in Menai, before relocating to Canterbury’s main drag in October 2025, meaning it’s now just a minute or two from the new Metro stop. Sometimes it’s entirely booked out for large gatherings, and Le Dodo Affamer is best enjoyed as a group. In-house pastries.James BrickwoodOur table of four tries a diversity of dishes one Sunday lunch. The salmi – described as a Mauritian coq au vin – is the showstopper. The restaurant’s version sees chicken slow-cooked with boozy tomatoes and cinnamon, cloves, garlic and thyme, until the sauce is rich and gravy-like. In our group chat afterwards, my friend Nick says it married “the lingering heat of chilli in a rich, deep way, almost like a Mexican mole”; my mate Al seconds this by texting, “love you chicken salmi!”Besides Melbourne’s Mauritian-inspired wine bar Manze (shout-out to its brilliant ginger-charged taro fritters with rhubarb hot sauce), we’re newcomers to this cuisine. But when we try the gato rouge, which resembles a hot-pink lamington, it tastes like the Asian shredded-coconut sweets I grew up with. Tangy garlic vinegar, placed on each table, can be drizzled on bol renversé, fried rice, dumplings or noodles – and reminds me of something similar in Vietnamese cuisine, just as a Mauritian drink with basil seeds (emphatically described as “alouda!” on the menu) recalls a Cabramatta childhood cooling off with che banh lot, the icy pandan jelly drink. In Cheuk Kwan’s book Have You Eaten Yet, the author and filmmaker describes arriving in Mauritius to make his 15-part documentary about Chinese restaurants worldwide. It evokes his youth in Singapore, another island nation with balmy weather and British colonial history. Crew members (from Taiwan and Hong Kong) also recognise their own upbringings in Mauritius. Diners at Le Dodo Affamer congratulate Appadoo for capturing Mauritian dishes they know – but maybe the country’s diversity furthers its impact. If you’ve regularly unplated maqluba (a Levantine chicken-rice dish translating as “upside down” in Arabic), does bol renversé resonate deeper? Le Dodo Affamer’s food might offer comfort to people who miss their birthplace – and a taste of home for people who’ve never resided there.The low-down Atmosphere: Cosy family-run restaurant decorated with a glass dodo filled with Mauritian rum and more tributes to the country’s extinct bird (the restaurant’s name translates as “The Famished Dodo” in French) Go-to dishes: Chicken salmi ($27); dholl puri ($8); bol renverse ($22) Drinks: Alouda (described by Appadoo’s children as their version of Gong Cha’s bubble tea) and soft drinks; expect Mauritian beer and a small wine list now that the restaurant’s licensed Cost: About $50 for two, excluding drinks Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.More:CanterburyFor subscribersSydneyAccepts bookingsBYOFamily-friendlyGluten-free optionsGood for groupsLicensedReviewsTakeawayMauritianBudget friendlyRestaurantLe Dodo AffamerFrom our partners