A NEW Mauritian and Indian restaurant has opened in Bournemouth. 

Mo Baz, a Mauritian and Indian restaurant in Cardigan Road, Winton, held its grand opening on August 17 and was officially opened by Bournemouth's deputy town mayor, Cllr Anne Filer.

Owned by married couple, Bhavin Ganatra and Sarah Jane Ganatra, the restaurant is a combination of both their heritages and is claimed to be the only Mauritian restaurant in Dorset.

Sarah Jane said: "This is something I've always wanted to do since I came to Bournemouth because I am from Mauritius and when I came here, I realised there were no Mauritian restaurants.

"Mauritian and Indian food are very different. the spices are similar but the way the food is cooked and the quantity is very different."

Opened three weeks before the official grand opening, Sarah Jane and Bhavin wanted to make sure it had finessed its menu, asking the public for its opinions. 

Receiving an overall positive response, it has been surprised by the size of the Mauritian community in the area.

Bhavin said: "It's a whole new palate for people to taste from a whole new country. Even on the Indian side, instead of a traditional sit-down restaurant concept, we've gone more for a street food style. 

"We've also brought in quite a lot of drinks from Mauritius which includes Phoenix beer."

Phoenix beer is one of the most popular drinks in Mauritius and is incredibly hard to find outside of the island. 

One of the few places that offers the drink, the beer is part of a wider determination to make their restaurant as authentic as possible. 

Cllr Filer said: "I think it [Mo Baz] adds something completely different. I don't know if it's the first Mauritius restaurant, but I've never heard of one before and I've been in Bournemouth all my life. 

"It's lovely and it's great that people have confidence in our area and they're coming here and opening businesses.

"I wish them the very best, I think I'm going to be a patron."

The restaurant hopes to hold events soon which includes Mauritius rum tasting evenings.