The Zim Braai Foodie Experience
I’ve never been to South Africa, but always fascinated with the wonderful wild-life programs on tv, excellent produce like South African wines, Biltong, but what is South African food?
Well, you only have to visit Zim Braai to find out.
We went to the Bournemouth branch of Zim and the décor is incredible. Beautiful wild animals on murals on the walls, with lanterns scattered around with real candles, stunning African art on the walls. We felt like we had arrived truly at a South African lodge in the middle of the safari camp, so we knew we were in for a treat!
The menu has something for everyone, so we decided to choose both vegan and meat options to give it all a try.
For starters we decided to have ‘Sadza bites’ and slow cooked ribs with monkey gland sauce (yep…. not real monkeys were used in this sauce, it’s just the name!).
The ribs just melted off the bone and the monkey glands sauce was thick, sticky and bbq-like. The Sadza bites for an innovative veggie starter are a real winner, even carnivores will love this dish. NOTE: these Sadza bites can be made vegan (just ask the Zim Team ). So, what is Sadza? It’s white corn-meal, Sadza is the staple diet for most of Zimbabwe's indigenous peoples. Zim Braai makes balls of sadza, then deep fries it (like arancini) and it’s served with a fiery dip, this is delicious!
For mains, again we decided to have both vegan and carnivore so we could sample both.
I had the Mozambique Peanut stew, which was stunning. The right amount of spiciness, flavour, loaded with chickpeas, sweet potato, tomatoes, kale in a sauce and served with rice. The portion is very substantial, eye pleasing and wow – that south African spice is super flavoursome.
My daughter Lily tried something she has never had before and that is an Ostrich Steak. Oh, my goodness, what a treat. We all sampled it and it was cooked to perfection, melted in your mouth and was a real winner! A must try for meat lovers. It was served with Zim greens and fries. Lily was raving about it and she will definitively have that again.
My husband had the Durban beef curry, which is a famous style of spicy curry. The beef melted in your mouth and was delicious. You can have this served with rice or as a bunny chow……. (we love the African vocabulary lesson!), this is a hollowed-out sourdough roll that the curry is served in.
Honestly, you know it’s a great restaurant when you’ve already chosen your next visits meal from the menu!
On our next visit, we’ll have the Zulu Steak, the South African boerewors (traditional African sausage) served with Chakalaka (a spicy chutney made with onions, tomatoes and beans). And the for a veggie treat, we’ll try the Braai’d aubergine & halloumi with ratatouille.
Give Zim Braai a try for a great evening of a foodie extravaganza, super service, wild décor (literally) at an affordable price. It’s travelling to Africa without the hassle!
Zim Braai – Award Winning African Cuisine https://www.zim-braai.co.uk/ to make a reservation, delivery options, menu choices or just drool over the menu.
P.S – oh, I forgot to say….The incredible South African wine list and SA beers, PLUS. the Cocktails list is fantastic and you can try cocktails like the The Forager, The Witch Doctor, Cape Sours, Good Hope and more…….it was a school night so we didn’t try them, but defo on the next visit!