Mauritanian food reflects the country's position between the Arab Maghreb and sub-Saharan West Africa. The further north you go, the more Arabic the cuisine; in the south it blends with Senegalese cooking.
The national dish is thieboudienne — rice cooked in a rich tomato sauce with whole fish stuffed with a herb paste, often served with vegetables. It is essentially the same dish you find across Senegal and is eaten for lunch throughout the country. In the north, rice is replaced by couscous in many households.
Meat dishes are common at celebrations: mechoui is a whole roasted lamb, traditionally served to honoured guests with the organs presented first. Leksour is a lamb stew served over millet pancakes; mahfe features camel or goat in a peanut, okra, and tomato sauce. Harira — a thick soup of lentils, chickpeas, tomatoes, and meat — is ubiquitous during Ramadan.
In the desert interior, meals are simpler: rice with a little meat, goat's milk, dates. Dates are a staple and a point of local pride.
Restaurants outside Nouakchott and Atar are basic. Most towns of any size will have a place serving rice and sauce; finding anything beyond that takes luck. In Nouakchott you can eat reasonably well, with Lebanese, Senegalese, and Moroccan options alongside local cooking.
Mint tea is the social lubricant of the country. The three-glass ceremony — poured from height to create a froth, each glass progressively sweeter — can take an hour and signals that there is time to talk. Refusing tea is a mild social slight; accepting it is the beginning of hospitality. Coffee exists but tea is what matters.
Alcohol is not available. Mauritania is a dry country.