Mauritian lagoon fish: which one to choose?

Capitaine, vieille rouge, vacoas, dame berry, cateaux, corne… The names of the Mauritian lagoon are beautiful, and completely opaque if you did not grow up with them. Two fish sitting side by side can carry a similar price and produce two utterly different dishes: one will collapse in your curry, the other will hold in firm, handsome pieces.

This guide goes through the fish you will genuinely find around the island. For each one: the character of the flesh, the flavour, the cooking method that shows it at its best, and the price per kilo. By the end you will know exactly what to ask for — even if this is your first time.

Lagoon or open sea: two families of fish

This first distinction is worth making, because it explains almost everything else.

Lagoon fish live in the shallow water between the shore and the coral reef. They are reef fish: rounded, generally modest in size (often between 400 g and 2 kg), with white flesh and a fine flavour. Tradition cooks them whole — and that really is their best version, because the backbone and the skin hold the juices in during cooking.

Open-sea fish are deep-water swimmers: swordfish, dorado, tuna. Large, with dense flesh, they are sold as steaks or fillets and behave almost like meat on the heat. These are two different worlds, and recipes do not transfer straight from one to the other.

The nine lagoon fish, one by one

Capitaine — the great classic

If you only remember one, make it this one. Capitaine has white, firm flesh in large flakes, and a clean flavour that is never overpowering. It is the fish that keeps everyone happy at the table, including children and the people who claim not to like fish much.

It excels in curry, where the pieces hold without shredding, and it is superb whole in the oven or over coals with the skin well charred. It is also the most versatile fish on this list: hard to get wrong. Rs 825/kg, VAT included.

Red grouper, vieille rouge babonne — the celebration fish

The vieille is a grouper, and you can taste it: thick, pearly flesh, slightly gelatinous near the bone, melting in the mouth while keeping some bite. The red one, known as babonne, is the most sought-after of the groupers, and its price reflects that.

This is the fish you bring out for a Sunday with family or a meal that matters. In a curry it produces a sauce of remarkable richness. In the oven, whole with herbs and lemon, it needs nothing else. Rs 1,375/kg, VAT included.

Grey grouper, vieille grise (laboue) — the same character, quieter

Same family, same generous melting flesh, a slightly gentler flavour and just as good a structure. For a grouper curry without reaching the price of the babonne, this is the obvious choice. It takes particularly well to Chinese-style steaming, with ginger and spring onion. Rs 1,175/kg, VAT included.

Vacoas — whole or filleted

White, firm flesh with a pronounced sea flavour: vacoas has character, and that is precisely what its followers are after. It stands up to spices without being flattened by them, so it is excellent in a well-spiced curry, in vindaye, or grilled.

It is also the only fish here that we offer as fillets, which changes everything when you are cooking for children or simply do not want to deal with bones at the table. Whole Rs 900/kg, fillet Rs 1,100/kg, VAT included.

Dame berry — the little fish that delivers

Smaller, with fine, delicate, faintly sweet flesh. Dame berry is the fish for a proper fry-up: whole, floured, dropped into good hot oil and served crisp with a squeeze of lemon and a little chilli. One fish per person, and dinner is done.

Because its flesh is more fragile, avoid drowning it in a long sauce — it gives less in a slow curry than it does in a pan. Rs 975/kg, VAT included.

Cateaux, parrotfish — the sweetness of the reef

Cateaux is the parrotfish, the one with the improbable colours. Its flesh is white, tender, almost sweet, with very little sea flavour: a fish of real gentleness, often the favourite of anyone who finds the others too pronounced.

It asks for short, attentive cooking, since delicate flesh dries out fast. Pan-fried, baked on a bed of vegetables, or in a parcel: that is where it gives its best. Rs 1,075/kg, VAT included.

Corne, unicornfish — the griller's fish

Recognisable by the protrusion on its forehead that gives it its name, corne has firm, dense, well-structured flesh that is not troubled by live coals. This is the fish for a beach barbecue: it does not stick, it does not break when you turn it, and it takes smoke beautifully.

A lemon, garlic and ginger marinade an hour beforehand, and it is a whole dish on its own. Rs 800/kg, VAT included.

Pink sacréchien — for the connoisseur

Its large eyes and bright pink colour make it instantly recognisable. The flesh is white, fine and tender, with a rare delicacy — a connoisseur's fish, less common on the stalls than capitaine.

Treat it with simple cooking: baked, steamed, or pan-fried in butter. It has no need to be masked by a powerful sauce. Rs 1,250/kg, VAT included.

Silver gueule pavée — the underrated safe bet

Less familiar to the general public, gueule pavée thoroughly earns its place. White, firm flesh with a clean, balanced flavour: it behaves much like capitaine and suits the same uses — curry, oven, grill.

It is often the fish people discover by accident and then ask for again. Rs 1,125/kg, VAT included.

The summary table

Prices VAT included, per kilo weighed, confirmed at weighing before delivery. Availability depends on the week's catch.

Choosing by the dish you want to make

• A fish curry that holds together. Capitaine, gueule pavée, vacoas. For an exceptional version: red grouper. Our Mauritian fish curry recipe covers the technique.
• A crisp fry-up. Whole dame berry, or small cateaux. Fast cooking, served immediately.
• A barbecue. Corne, whole capitaine, or a 2.5 cm swordfish steak. See also our guide to barbecuing in Mauritius.
• A vindaye. Vacoas, which keeps its character under the vinegar and turmeric.
• Boneless, for children. Vacoas fillet — or any whole fish filleted to order.

How much to order

This is where many people get it wrong, and the rule is simple: in a whole fish, the head, bones and skin account for around half the weight. So allow:

• 400 to 500 g of whole fish per person for a main course;
• 180 to 200 g of fillet per person;
• slightly less if the fish is served as a curry with rice, lentils and side dishes — which is the most common case in Mauritius.

For a table of six around a curry, two capitaines of roughly 1.2 kg each do the job perfectly.

Our catch in Mauritius

At Bon Manzé Maurice, lagoon fish arrives with the week's catch, and you receive it prepared exactly as you want it:

• Prepared to order — scaled and gutted, cut into steaks, filleted or butterflied. Just say so when you order: our guide to fish cuts gives you the exact vocabulary.
• Cold chain respected all the way to your door, anywhere on the island.
• Prices per kilo weighed, VAT included, confirmed at weighing before delivery — you pay the real weight, never an estimate.
• A 100% halal-certified range, from fish to beef: free-range chicken from Rs 425/kg, Black Angus from Rs 2,650/kg, Label Rouge lamb from Rs 2,750/kg, Madagascar prawns Rs 2,600/kg, and Kobe beef certified by the Japan Halal Association on request.
• A real person on WhatsApp: tell us the dish you are making and how many people you are feeding, and we will point you to the right fish.

Free delivery from Rs 1,500 · payment on delivery (cash or Juice MCB) · nothing is paid online.

Frequently asked questions