A night at the Boma at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge grounds about a mile from town is a special experience. While the $44-per-person cost initially seems steep, this is more than just an all-you-can-eat buffet. It features a line-up of traditional Zimbabwean fare plus cooked-to-order game meat such as eland and warthog. It is also an interactive cultural experience that includes lessons in dance and drumming, roving traditional fortune tellers and serenading singers. The Boma hosts three nightly seatings, but guests are never rushed out – come for the first seating and stay through the last. No one will object. Alcoholic beverages are not included in the price, but can be purchased.
In the posh Harare suburb of Borrowdale, Pistachio in the Sam Levy Shopping Village has a Cordon Bleu-trained chef and is gaining a reputation fast on the Harare food circuit. It is usually packed. The best meal is Sunday brunch.
Also in the affluent Sam Levy Shopping Village in Borrowdale, the popular Butcher’s Kitchen is part market, part bistro café. The menu is a mix of meat — you choose your cut from the deli counter, then tell your server how you’d like it prepared and it’s delivered to your table.
For sheer diversity it is hard to beat Millers Café, the final entry on this list in Borrowdale’s Sam Levy Shopping Village. Indoor and outdoor spaces offer food from a menu offering page after page of everything from Middle Eastern and American to Mediterranean and African cuisine. There’s a variety of pasta, salads, burgers, pizzas plus an eclectic assortment of entrees such as chicken schwarma sandwiches and Kariba bream fish.
A very classy restaurant on Enterprise Road, Amanzi brings home rave reviews from locals and visitors alike. It is acclaimed for its delectable international fare and absolutely beautiful decorating — the gardens are beyond romantic. The food is equally excellent, an eclectic fusion of Asian and African tastes that explode with flavor and individuality. Dishes included char-grilled kudu wrapped in pancetta, and groundnut chicken stew.
If you’re in Harare for business and need a restaurant to wow clients, try Emmanuel’s inside the Bronte Hotel. The property is on lovely manicured grounds just a short walk east of the central business district in the Avenues neighborhood. The upscale Emmanuel’s vibe is casual posh. The menu is long for such a fine-dining establishment, and the restaurant prides itself on using fresh, local and wild ingredients.
Located on the second floor of the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, the upscale MaKuwa-Kuwa (MKK) Restaurant is a romantic dinner spot. Call ahead and reserve a table that fronts the water hole, which is lit up at night and attracts a variety of thirsty animals. Regardless of where you are seated the white linen tablecloths, candles and knowledgeable and attentive servers make dining here an alluring experience heightened by excellent food. An international menu with Zimbabwean influences – game meat and local fish – offers food bursting with flavor and freshness.
Nandos began as a South African chain more than 20 years ago and has spread across the planet. You can now eat the famous flame-grilled Portuguese-style chicken in Washington, D.C. Nandos is super-popular in Zimbabwe, where I first tasted it more than a decade ago while studying abroad at the University of Zimbabwe. Back then, I didn’t even really like chicken, but Nando’s peri-peri hot chicken pita sandwich changed my mind. The menu at Nando’s is pretty much limited to chicken, which can be ordered a variety of ways marinated with different sauces including the traditional peri-peri (spicy) or a mild lemon herb. Sides include Portuguese spicy rice and fries. Alcohol is not served in any of the locations.
Downtown Bulawayo is sorely lacking in restaurant choices. If you don’t feel like another round at the pizza/chicken/Baker’s Inn conglomerate and have had your fill of Nando’s (more chicken), check out the Governor’s Restaurant inside the Bulawayo Club. It’s hard to miss the imposing white building, which is one of the most beautiful structures in the city. Formerly a gentleman’s club (women were only allowed into the bar here about a year ago), today it is a boutique hotel run by the excellent local Amalinda Collection. The food is upscale British pub and gets mixed reviews – it’s been described as a bit bland. Stick with the basics – the fish and chips are excellent – and you’ll do fine.
In Chisipite, which is Harare’s other most exclusive ‘hood, The Roof is a very popular restaurant-cum-bar combination with a mix of indoor and outdoor seating. It attracts a wealthy, hip, mixed race young crowd – mostly 20 and 30-something young professionals who come to mingle, eat, drink and when the hour gets late enough dance. Food is ordered at the counter and most people pick the platters, which are priced for sharing at $6 per person, and include a BBQ ribs — what they’re famous for — plus calamari, chicken skewers and samosas. The suburb of Chisipite is located about 10-minutes east of the CBD.
