Shaka Zulu - A South African Restaurant Review

I was recently given the opportunity to review a restaurant in Camden called Shaka Zulu.  It is a South African restaurant.

Camden Market hides a plethora of rather nice restaurants and not just the fast food outlets so I had a look at Shaka Zulu's web site before we went to see if I could get an idea of the place.  It didn't do justice to the actual restaurant. It it did look dark and interesting but the reality was far better.

As I often do I invited my friend Val to accompany me. We had just walked around the Knit and Stitch show at Olympia. It would have been a bit of a marathon getting from one to the other by underground but as it happened there was a bus stop outside of the Olympia. A quick look and we found that the number 27 bus went practically door to door and on such a beautiful sunny afternoon we enjoyed a tour of West London as well!

Once inside the restaurant we were delighted to see the authentic carving and statues (all brought from South Africa at a cost of millions of £s).

They had a very impressive and well stocked bar which was very busy with people just popping in for an evening of chat and a few drinks.

 

 

Our table was cosy and we looked at a very impressive and somewhat scary menu. Well I wasn't brave enough to order zebra or ostrich steak!

For starter Val had the crocadile cigarillos.  I tasted a bit to add to my repatoire that I had eaten it.

I picked the smoked salmon which arrived in a mysterious cloud as it was placed over a block of dry ice - very impressive!

The waitress was very helpful and described all the dishes we were not familiar with. Wanting a typical main course I decided on the Beef Bobotjie, a sort of mince with a thin egg custard layer on top served with saffron rice and a chutney. Val liked the sound of it and ordered the same!

We each chose a side dish and shared them.  We had roasted butternut squash with caramelised cinnamon and sauteed mange tout and red onion.

 

Crisp and crunchy mange tout and red onions.

They have a nice pudding selection and we picked a trio of authentic South African puddings.

 

You can contact Shaka Zulu in all the usual ways.  It is essential to book for Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday lunchtimes.

 

I was a guest of Shaka Zulu but was not required to write a positive review.  All opinions are my own.