Places to eat in Africa

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You need to get here a bit early - when they say fresh fish - they mean fresh fish. They are also busy. Because the fish is so good! It really pays to speak French here to explain how you want your fish prepared. I didn't, but I had a wonderful meal. This a very family oriented restaurant as well. They do not serve alcohol, but have plenty of soft drink options. In case you speak no French at all, you can just point in the case and leave the rest to them. My salad starter was fresh and delicious. My Dorade fish was amazing. A simple but great restaurant. If you are only here for one night in Oran, eat here and sample local seafood and life.

They even deliver ! And you can make reservations on their website.

Their website has a good map, a sample of the menu and a few photos (see page 2!)

Favorite Dish:

Dorade fish!

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My guidebook said this was a good restaurant and I must say I had a nice meal. The surroundings are an airy tastefully decorated, open area with some nice ceiling fans. The temperature was exactly right. The service was friendly and I was given a nice dish of popcorn and peanuts while I waited for my food. A nice cold Flag beer arrived and I managed a few postcards while my dinner was prepared.

My starter, a mixed tuna salad, was fresh and tasty. I ordered the Poulet Yassa, having absolutely no idea what it was. What a great choice! This is a chicken dish from Senegal. It is made by marinating the chicken with onions and lemon or lime (lime in this case). The chicken itself was a little on the thin side, but reflect the local chickens I guess. Once I had it off the bone and mixed with my rice I was amazed at just how good it was. They also have a good wine selection and several desserts made from local fruit. Main meals are around 4700CFA (7€, $9).

All in all, a nice meal.

They are open for lunch and dinner.

Please note: If your motorcycle taxi does not know the restaurant, ride with another. Its down a side street. My driver took me straight there for 250CFA.

Favorite Dish:
A niced mixed salad with tuna to start. Poulet Yassa with rice for a main meal. All washed down with some Flag beer.

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If you are on a road trip or early start from Outjo (Northern Namibia), you can stop here for a quick pastry or a hot morning meat pie. They also do simple meals like schnitzels, burgers, and chicken. In fact it seemed to be the only dinning option here. I enjoyed a few hot meat rolls early one morning on my way out of the village. Tasty. In fact they have the only 'Meisterbrief" baker in Namibia. If that’s not good enough they also have a Beer Garden and Internet.

Favorite Dish:
2 hot meat pies and a diet coke - to go!

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I found this restaurant just after it first opened. It looked like a snack bar. When the fantastic food arrived at my table, I found out just how wrong I was. When I entered I just wanted a fast food lunch. I was warnly wleocmed and a menu arrived. It was full of great Ethiopian specialties. They also did have a very good looking, and smelling, pizza oven. I ordered tibs (1st photo) and my guide ordered Bozena Shiro (2nd photo). Wow! It even looked georgeous. Absolutely fantastic. It was so amazingly great I came back one evening for dinner and have a lovely and lively evening.

Fresh Touch has a pleasant courtyard with outdoor dinning (recommended!) on a covered porch area. They offer coffee and a full coffee ceremony, a full bar, snack food and a full range of Ethiopian dishes – including a full Vegetarian menu. And if you just want a pizza - they are highly recommended here.

If you are out and about on a hot day, Fresh Touch is a great place for a cold drink. They have a well deserved reputation for ice cold drinks. This extends to the evening when they serve ice cold Ethiopian beers, great food on the tables outside. An absolutely fantastic experience.

The staff could not be nicer and you simply have to ask or snap your fingers (considered polite in Ethiopia) and everything is taken care of.

If you are looking for a good drinking den at night – it is a popular venue.

Favorite Dish:
Marhabarawi and some cold St. George’s beer. This is the 3rd photo. 'Marhabarawi' means a bit of everything on Injera. You get both meat and vegetarian dishes.

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If you manage to visit the historical city of Harer in Ethiopia, make sure you have at least one meal here. They are the real deal for a large meal that’s full of flavour and still won’t cost a lot. They specialise in Ethiopian dishes, but I like a lot of food. Especially if it’s good Ethiopian cuisine. The main picture is my meal. Just ask for ‘Marhaberawi’. I am not sure how it is actually spelled, but it means ‘brig me a little of everything!’. All served on Injera of course. You get meat (beef and/or lamb), chicken, egg, vegetables and several sauces depending on what dish they put a portion of onto your big meal! Just looking at the photos I can see tibs, kitfo, doro wat, fir fir, vegetables and salad.

It’s not gourmet, but good solid food. Throw in a large gin, a few Harar beers and you have a good feast.

The restaurant itself is large and airy. There is a large terrace area if you want to dine outside. Inside they have a coffee ceremony area, music and even a sort of dance floor towards the rear.

The staff are friendly, helpful and a good laugh. I was made to feel very welcome.

Harar is not blessed with a lot of restaurants, but Hirut was good enough I ate here twice during my stay in Harar. Its god fun, good value and a good time.

Get in there!

Please take 2 notes down:
1) They have many great tasting vegetarian dishes
2) The non-Ethiopian dishes are not great looking. One of the party I ate with ordered fried chicken and it didn’t look great (last photo)

Favorite Dish:
Any Ethiopian dish and a big gin!

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I went up the stairs to investigate what the L'Historil looked like inside one day at lunch time. I was greeted by a very pleasant gentleman and shown the big fish tanks and my table. Its air-conditioned and absolutely wonderful inside when you escape the heat. I had a simple lunch of spaghetti, french bread and cold water. It was ok. The menu has much better dishes, especially many seafood delicacies including shark. For non-seafood lovers the prime rib with roquefort cheese sauce sounds gorgeous.

The restaurant does most of its business at dinner time and its recommended you stop by and make reservations beforehand. They do serve beer and wine, but the price of the wine is fairly expensive.

I never made it here for a full meal, but the menu looked great.

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Djibouti is hot. The Djibouti Sports Bra & Grill is cool! Not only is it air-conditioned inside, it has a nice open terrace. And the beer is ice cold! OK. Its not even remotely cheap. That’s Djibouti. The lovely cold beer I bought (pictured) was more than $5. Meals are pricey, but the menu is huge. If you want American food served by attractive and friendly waitresses, this is the place. Its located in Place Menelik (one of the main squares) and you can even dine outside. They show world sports on big TV’s as you would expect.

Favorite Dish:
I just had a beer, but the menu includes a T-bone steak, BBQ chicken, hot dogs, buffalo wings, nachos, and Philly steak & cheese.

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Stylia is housed in possibly the grandest home you will be allowed to in to dine in Africa. The history of this amazing building dates back to the 1400’s and has been described at a mine Royal Palace and the original home of an important judge. Every surface in this building is a work of art. Beautiful fountains bubble away in grand rooms with amazing white Tadellakt plaster walls. Amazing chandeliers reflect onto amazing wooden doors, interior balconies and beautiful carpets. As if highly decorated walls were not enough, there is an amazing amount of colour from multi-colored glass work embedded in the walls and ceilings. The final touches are the amazing Zellij tiles that just top of the absolute feeling of grandeur while you listen to the musicians and enjoy your meal.

I accidentally found Le Stylia in 1998, but they were fully booked. They did let me in to see the wondrous interiors before the first guests arrived. I found them again when I was showing my Mum around Marrakech in 2010. We were able to book a table for the next night and really enjoyed our experience. I had some nice beer, a samosa like starter, Lamb and Zucchini flavoured with cinnamon and of course – couscous.

The food is above average. For some reason this makes people give poor reviews. That would be to miss the point. Your surroundings are the real treat! This is an amazing palace and you get to enjoy great service in a grand style. The tables are laid with fine china, tablecloths and crystal. Your musicians are both talented and soothing. The food is good, the beers cold and the coffee is great afterwards.

My own Mum said – while we were still dinning – this is a once in a lifetime meal.

That’s right – my Mum recommends you dine here !

If you are here for a few days, stop by in the early afternoon, knock on the door until someone arrives, and get booked in.


Open only for dinner - Monday to Sunday From 08:00 PM To 12:00 AM