A little bit of everything compromise and other Zambia Restaurant Reviews

Restaurant Name: Jacaranda Restaurant

Jacaranda is located on the lobby level of the Taj Pamodzi Hotel and is part of the hotel's guest services (hotel breakfast etc.) but open for everyone who cares to walk in. There is a bar, a sit-down restaurant and a buffet restaurant area.
This place is fine for your hotel breakfast, sitting down with friends and colleagues after a hard day's meeting or whatever. But perhaps not exactly the place for a night out in town and a super dinner. If you want improved food there is the Steak & Grill just outdoors of Jacaranda (same management).
The food at Jacaranda is either buffet (so-so) or a la carte which was good and sufficient. No need to waddle throught he buffet when the a la carte dishes are good and filling. The clientele is international, the management is Indian (of the Taj group), and the food is inbetween. Lots of run-of-the-mill international dishes (spaghettis, steaks, grilled fish and so on). On Fridays they put up an indian buffet which give the place more of a character. Don't misunderstand, the food was good and fresh, but not a place to be impressed or to impress.

Favorite Dish: On a late night not bothering eating fancy or tasting something new, I had fish and chips which was very good. On another occasion I had their fillet steak which was also very tasty.
A good draw for this place was draft Mosi beer - big glasses!

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Theme: Other
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Address: Taj Pamodzi Hotel, central Lusaka.

Restaurant Name: Marlin Restaurant at the Lusaka Club

The Marlin Restaurant is located inside the Lusaka Club. This is a not-for-just-everybody type of place, originally a golf club place, but evolved into a meeting place for (judging from the restaurant clinetele, anyway) expats and their local colleagues in high places. Don't be scared by this, I (with no credentials whatsoever) brought in a bunch of friends. Only trouble was finding a place. Lesson 1 at the Marlin: book a table before you go. Thee is a dress code at the Lusaka Club, but at the marlin, this wasn't required. However, I would recommend that you get out of your safari and road outfit for a visit here.
The place is fairly small, with a bar at one end, and a lounge at the other. Efficient kitchen, service, waiters - impeccable. Amongst some dreary days the Marlin was a highlight.
The menu is large, and walks you through a series of ways to cook up an ox, sheep of fish. Thee were other things, too, but these key items figured in most dishes in one way or the other.
I am impressed that they have not pushed up their prices as the food and atmosphere is by far better than at other places I ate in town. 6 of us ate and drank for USD 108,-
Tuesay-Saturday lunch and dinner, Mondays dinner only, Sunday closed.

Favorite Dish: I wasn't very original in my choice - I went for the fillet pepper steak! The Marlin is reknown for this dish, and I can vouch for it, too!
A picky Namibian friend insisted on grilled fish (Nile perch) and a Swazi colleague missed his highland lamb and went for lamb cutlets. Both choices were apparently excellent.
Good range of wines, but true to local tradition I stuck to Mosi lager as a complement to my pepper steak.

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Theme: Steakhouse
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 260-1-252206 reservations
Address: The Marlin, The Lusaka Club, Longacres, Lusaka
Directions: Los Angeles Boulevard out at Longacres.
POB 33892, Lusaka, Zambia.
Other Contact: Vencat@coppernet.zm

Restaurant Name: Arabian Nights

Arabian Nights serves Indian food place, just to set it right. But the menu is huge, so other more international items figure on the menu, too. They rightly do Indian food well and are not shy on the spices.
Good portions, well made food. They've got a good rap on the tandoori here.

Favorite Dish: Extremely busy Friday and Saturday nights, a bit impractical place for servicing during such a rush, and the air con seems to waft kitchen odours into the eating area. Very slow at serving the right stuff at the right place during the rush. But as the food is ok, try this place on a slower day.

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Theme: Indian
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Address: Archades, Lusaka
Directions: Toward the edge of town on the way to the university /airport

Restaurant Name: any restaurant

Feel like nursing a beer? Go for Mosi, which has a good taste, well-balanced and a good foam. Above all, it is local. The other beers here are the carlsberg's, heinekens etc., but most prominently Castle, the South African beer.
Castle is slightly stronger and seen as the sign of moderinity among Zambians, while hold on to my statement that Mosi is much better.
Mosi lends its name to Victoria falls, so does the label.


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Theme: Pub/Brewery
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter