A Bite to Eat

Since you've all been reading the blog faithfully and are in the process of booking your flights to Kigali for your next vacation, I thought I would share some restaurant reviews with you:

Banana

Our favorite restaurant in Kigali, Banana offers delicious African specialties in a romantic setting. The evening typically starts with the main waiter lugging the chalkboard menu over to our table and reading it word-for-word, which goes something like this: “As a starter, we have a bacon and avocado salad, which is a salad with bacon and avocado.” This continues for several minutes and inspires reactions ranging from mild annoyance to inconspicuous giggling. We usually opt for guacamole as a starter – made with fresh, perfectly ripe avocados, it never disappoints. Generally speaking, it is wise to order a starter in Rwandan restaurants, because you’ll likely be waiting a long time for your main course. As my boss says, “Don’t go out to eat if you’re hungry.” So true! Luckily, when the entrees finally arrive at Banana, they are nearly always worth the wait, such as a Congolese chicken dish paired with fried plantains that are crisp on the outside and melt-in-your-mouth sweet on the inside. You can even get Schweinshaxe – a popular Bavarian dish of pork knuckle – which Johannes often does to diminish his homesickness. As most of you know, I live for dessert, and since I’ve been in Rwanda, I can count on one hand the times I’ve ordered it. After sitting in an uncomfortable wooden chair for two hours, heading home and eating a few bites of Ritter Sport chocolate sounds more appealing.

Heaven

For awhile, this was Johannes’ favorite restaurant in town, and I admit that the terrace is one of the loveliest spots in Kigali. Our most heavenly experience at Heaven was a Sunday brunch a few months ago, where we nearly cried tears of joy over the delicious French-press coffee, mini burritos, and French toast with caramelized bananas. Ironically, the restaurant cancelled its Sunday brunch service the following week. Our dinners there have been hit or miss. Johannes loves the hamburger, which is smothered in gouda and takes up nearly half the plate. I prefer to try dishes on special for the evening but have been disappointed before with a chicken dish boasting a spaetzle accompaniment that turned out to be chopped up spaghetti. Heaven’s biggest strength is probably its service – the waiters are quick to bring an amuse bouche if the food is taking too long. The restaurant’s greatest fault is, in my opinion, the loud expats that frequent the place and destroy the ambience of the terrace.

Khana Khazana

Interestingly, one is not deprived of high-quality Indian food in Kigali. With candlelit tables on a pleasant patio, Khana Khazana is our favorite place to eat curries and naan. We almost always opt for one of the abundant vegetarian options, but to be honest, the menu is so extensive, one could pick only among the multiples of eight on the numbered menu and come away sated and happy. A dish of mutter paneer or aloo gobi, paired with steamed rice and plain naan, is enough for two, while ordering an extra dish can provide leftovers for the next day, which the waiters don’t mind wrapping for you. The food and service are consistently top notch, and the romantic setting can’t be beat. If someone at a nearby table has a birthday, you are in for a treat, as they dim the lights and then the waiters sing and dance around the entire patio – it’s quite a sight!

Shokola

Shokola has a lot going for it in the food and drink department, but its service is among the slowest in town. Johannes and I learned our lesson early on and now always bring something to read if we are heading there for a meal, which makes the waiting time bearable. My favorite items on the menu include a soothing mint tea and a fresh chicken couscous salad, which is plentiful enough to share. They also recently started a lunch menu, which includes delicious pita sandwiches with the freshest ingredients. On Sundays, they offer a Mexican menu with a vegetarian burrito that comes closest to satisfying my Chipotle cravings. On the weekends, the crowd here is a unique mix of hippie kids who sit in front of their laptops and chain smoke through breakfast and expat moms who let their kids run wild, but if you can avoid those factions, you will be in for a delightful, albeit S-L-O-W meal.