Restaurants in Africa
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A
Loft
A warm, funky spot with the feel of a New York bistro, this place is full of bright modern prints and colourful chandeliers. There’s a tiny mezzanine floor at the back with a couple of tables and chill-out sofas, and a hip crowd packs in to enjoy mostly meaty treats such as springbok wrapped in bacon, and ostrich carpaccio.
reviewed
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Osteria da Andrea
This sophisticated Italian restaurant has an arty, minimalist interior and daily-changing menu; the sign of an innovative chef. Each day's menu usually includes a risotto and unusual pizza among the dishes, such as the delicious berenjena al parmesano (aubergine with parmesan cheese). There's a tapas bar out front.
reviewed
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B
Dar El Amar
The challenge at this popular Lebanese floating restaurant is to draw your eyes away from the Nile views long enough to make a choice from the 53 mezze on offer. Unlike many other eateries on the river, prices are reasonable and you don't have to be wearing designer glad rags to score a table. A Stella costs E£24.
reviewed
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Lalibela Restaurant
Set in the grounds of the One Love Club, this is Kigali's only Ethiopian restaurant following the demise of the Addis. It has a laid-back atmosphere in keeping with the Rasta owner and serves big portions of spicy chicken and the like on injera (unleavened bread). It rocks on as a bar later in the evening.
reviewed
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C
Dar Roumana
The menu here takes cues from the riad’s name – house of pomegranates. Mediterranean with a Moroccan slant, including some interesting seafood dishes such as swordfish with pomegranates. It all works fabulously, and you eat in the courtyard or in fine weather up on the wonderful terrace. Alcohol is served.
reviewed
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D
Canaan Restaurant
Just off Kampala Rd, the outdoor terrace here is popular for people-watching during the busy lunch hour in the city centre. Local businessmen and officials fill the tables, and drinking is just as popular as dining. The menu is limited, but if you need a quick steak or a roast chicken, it can deliver.
reviewed
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E
La Goulue
This little eatery doesn't have beach frontage but the terrace catches some breeze. The menu features Creole staples and various filling snacks.
reviewed
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F
Agadir
The interior is thoroughly unassuming, but the checked tablecloths, red wine and Gallic crooning in the background give this place more than a hint of French bistro. Meals are good and hearty, with the free use of fresh herbs raising the succulent tajines to a level above the usual fare.
reviewed
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G
Cargo Hold
A seafood encounter of the most novel kind. On the Phantom Ship in uShaka Marina, your dining companions are fish with very large teeth – the glass tank forms one of the walls to a shark aquarium. Well-known for casting some high-quality fish dishes with international flavours.
reviewed
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Khana Khazana
Regarded by some expat residents as the classiest Indian restaurant in Kampala, this is housed in a residential villa near the golf course. It is the most expensive option in the city, but this doesn't dissuade the discerning crowd. It has recently spread its wings to Kigali, Rwanda.
reviewed
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Chez Loutcha
Ignore the air-conditioned front room and head out back to the fan-conditioned garden, where the fountains embellish an aquatic theme. The Cape Verdean and 'Euro-Africaine' cuisine is excellent and comes in enormous portions, and there's often a griot playing the kora here as well.
reviewed
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J
Iguana Lounge
Next to Fusion and incongruously situated facing an Esso garage, Iguana Lounge is one of our favourite places in town. For upscale Mexican - excellent burritos and chili con carne - look no further. Reserve a table in the charming back garden as they're hard to come by otherwise.
reviewed
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K
Chef’s Pride
This long-standing and popular local eatery is within easy walking distance of the Kisutu budget hotels, and a Dar es Salaam classic, offering a slice of local life. The large menu features standard fare, plus pizza, Indian and vegetarian dishes, and even some Chinese cuisine.
reviewed
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LA Fast Foods
An ideal place to grab a meal if you have to wait a while for your visa from any of the nearby embassies. Allow some time to plough through the confusing array of menus on the counter offering Chinese food, burgers, steaks and a hundred variations of 'chicken and chips'.
reviewed
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L
Les Copains d'Abord
Hands down the most popular dining option in town (and the only one that has any real sense of nightlife), Les Copains d'Abord occupies an enviable position along the seafront promenade on the south side of town. Tasty Mauritian dishes (think fresh seafood curry and flavourful rougaille saucisses), smart decor and frequent fits of live music will help you quickly forget that the menu is overpriced.
reviewed
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Restaurant Saba
Close to the railway station, this unpretentious joint gets kudos for its wide-ranging menu and mouthwatering fruit juices. Try shark fillet, crab or shrimps. Vegetarians will plump for salads. Despite the simplicity of the setting, this place feels surprisingly cosy.
reviewed
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Harrie’s Pannekoek Huis
Part of a chain of very popular pancake houses offering mostly savoury pancakes with interesting fillings such as spicy chicken livers. They’re a little stodgy, but you can work off your selection at the adjacent curio shop, one of Pretoria’s best.
reviewed
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O
Indian Khazana
Kampala's most celebrated Indian restaurant comes south to Kigali. Khana Khazana has been spicing up people's lives for years in the Ugandan capital and now Rwanda can enjoy the subtle flavours of the subcontinent. One of the hottest places in town right now.
reviewed
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P
Fusion
Possibly the most self-consciously fashionable dining option in Grand Baie, Fusion looks just as it sounds - flash, minimalist, sleek and a little intimidating. You'll see the smart set out for dinner here, sampling fusion-flavoured Mauritian-Asian cooking.
reviewed
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Q
La Palmeraie
This place is usually buzzing - but that's got to be due to the central location. It can't be the food, which is ordinary, nor the setting, which is gloomy. The service? Disgruntled. Still, for a quick bite in the centre of town it's a reasonable option.
reviewed
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R
Mamba Point
For the best in Italian dining, make for Mamba Point, where the pasta is home-made and the menu as close to the homeland as you might hope to find in Africa. Save space for the exquisite desserts, which include lime syllabub and chocolate truffle torte.
reviewed
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La Cazuela
Drenched in Canary yellow with a pretty, flower-filled terrace, this place is heartily recommended by locals for its solid traditional fare. Settle in for a long, filling lunch and try the cazuela (a casserole made with fresh or salted fish).
reviewed
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T
Mundo's
Burritos, burgers, pizzas and other hearty fare - all served up in large portions on wooden tables set around a streetside veranda and cooled by a misting system in the summer months. Mundo's also has all-day breakfast and a play area for children.
reviewed
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U
Snobs
Popular and well-managed Western-style restaurant that has gained an excellent reputation for its great salads, pastas, pizzas and steaks, cooked by a young and talented chef. There is no alcohol but you are welcome to bring your own discreetly.
reviewed
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V
Restaurant el-Bahia
Built into the outside of the medina walls and a good spot for people-watching, this laid-back restaurant has the locals lapping up hearty Moroccan fare. Sit on the pavement terrace, in the shaded courtyard or upstairs in the traditional salon.
reviewed