It’s best known for its extraordinary gorilla encounters, but Siobhan Grogan says this East African country is also one to watch for its flourishing food scene.
I’m not expecting much. I’m outside a faceless office block in a deserted side street in a suburb of Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, wondering if I’ve come to the right address. There’s no grand entrance, or even a sign outside to indicate that I’ve arrived at one of Africa’s most talked-about restaurants, Meza Malonga. Since opening in 2020, it’s been recognised by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and its Congolese-born chef and owner, Dieuveil Malonga, has been named as one of the ten chefs changing the world by the Michelin Guide.
Why Has Kigali Become A Foodie Hotspot?
Like most people, I’d come to Rwanda for the gorillas. I was heading onwards to encounter the endangered animals in their natural habitat in the mountainous of Volcanoes National Park, a three-hour drive away. But first I wanted to spend a few days in the hilly capital, a place that has transformed itself following the devastating genocide of 1994.
Since then, Kigali has rebuilt itself as the most progressive city in Africa, determined to map out a better future after its horrifying past. There has been a huge investment in the city’s infrastructure, with a new urban eco-park created from restored wetlands, improved transport and vast building projects almost everywhere you look. Yet this hasn’t created a soulless, industrial hub. This is a country where the average age is just 19, and it shows. Kigali’s creative side is thriving and it now has several independent galleries, prosperous start-ups and hip artisan coffee shops using locally grown beans. Chefs have been equally drawn to the country’s bountiful produce, to the bold Rwandan spirit of reinvention and, no doubt, to the booming tourist industry driven by demand to see the country’s famous gorillas.
The Turning Point
Heaven’s cooking classes, popular weekend brunches and even pop-up art exhibitions have all helped bring in the crowds, while Alissa’s luxury hotel, The Retreat, has tempted tourists to stay longer in Kigali before heading to the national parks. Her restaurants have also played a part in shifting the focus back to local ingredients, with dishes always on the menu including agatogo, cooked with plantains, tomato and goat meat. “Until about ten years ago, Kigali had a few restaurants popular with tourists and the expat community,” Alissa says. “But all were focused on specific cuisines such as Indian, Italian and Asia. In the last few years, the scene has been booming with new restaurants opening monthly and many highlight the best of Rwandan cuisine instead.”
Kigali On The World Stage
It’s Dieuveil Malonga that has turned the world’s attention to Kigali, however. He travelled to 50 of Africa’s 54 countries before opening his restaurant – visiting farms, eating in villages and discovering local ingredients. He brought the knowledge back to Kigali where he set up Meze Malonga in late 2019, serving just one ten-course pan-African tasting menu each day using reimagined traditional recipes. When I visit that includes tree tomato sorbet from Burundi, beetroot and mango tart with cassava chips from Congo, aubergine tagine from Algeria and Rwandan sorghum bread.
“Food doesn’t have a border,” Dieuveil tells me. “Our food is a bridge between pan-African cuisines, techniques and ingredients. My cuisine is also a tribute to all the traditional recipes from my grandmother. The good thing in Rwanda is that we have a good ecosystem. The fresh products inspire the chefs to create new dishes using international techniques.”
While the restaurant has received widespread critical acclaim, it serves a greater social purpose for Dieuveil himself, promoting African food and encouraging a new generation of African chefs. Most of his team had never been to cooking school when they started working with him, yet many will now go on to open the next wave of world-class Kigali restaurants. Dieuveil has also founded Chefs in Africa, a digital platform connecting over 4,000 of the continent’s aspiring chefs with training and employment opportunities, including at Meze Malonga.
The same is true in fine-dining Nyurah, which was opened in 2020 by Rwandan Nicole Bamukunde when she returned home after studying at French hospitality management school Vatel.
“Training and empowering young talent is at the heart of what we do,” Nicole says. “At Nyurah, our team is a blend of experienced professionals and young talents eager to refine their craft. They learn everything from understanding and using local ingredients to sourcing ethically, restaurant management, and operations. By investing in their development, we empower them to not just fill jobs but create careers and drive innovation in African hospitality.”
Where To Eat
Image credit: Jollof Appetit
You don’t need to go far to eat well in Kigali. There are independent restaurants everywhere and now also a Joloff Appetit food walking tour of the Nyamirambo neighbourhood where you can hear the city’s history while sampling traditional dishes including ugali (a cornmeal porridge), isombe (vegetables cooked with peanut butter) and brochettes (grilled meat or fish on skewers). “Rwandan food uses tropical equatorial produce,” says Alissa. “Cassava, plantain, taro, goat, beef tilapia and sambaza (sardine like fish from Lake Kivu), ikivuguto (local buttermilk), beans, mango, passion, pineapple, lemongrass, peanut and chilli.”
Image credit Kōzo Kigali
Kigali’s Repub Lounge is the best place to feast on a range of other local dishes, with sharing bowls of favourites including goat stew, fried plantain and brochettes served on its leafy patio. BOHO is known for its craft cocktails, rooftop views and high-end Afro-fusion dishes including coconut milk curries and pan-fried dodo leaves, while Kozo Kigali offers an Afro-Asian menu including freshly-made sushi and beef skewers with spicy banana peri-peri. Every visitor to Kigali must also try the city’s favourite samosas from supermarket La Gardienne – if you can grab one before they sell out each day.
“African cuisine is not just about food. It is identity, history and storytelling,” Nicole explains. “Using local ingredients is also about economic sustainability. By supporting local farmers, producers and artisans, we strengthen the food ecosystem and ensure that Rwandan cuisine continues to evolve in a way that benefits the entire community. The future of African cuisine lies in our ability to embrace and innovate within our own traditions.”
The Future
With innovative restaurants opening almost weekly alongside micro-breweries, a new vodka distillery and artisan coffee shops, Kigali is now a worthy city break bonus on any trip to see Rwanda’s magnificent gorillas. It’s hoped the city’s reinvention could also finally bring recognition from the Michelin inspectors, who currently don’t operate in Africa at all, with Dieuveil tipped as a contender for the continent’s very first Michelin star.
“Firstly I’m a chef and a farmer, and I do social business,” he says simply. “Most of the time, I focus on training young chefs about farming and cooking. For my team and I, the very important thing is to give an incredible experience to our guests.”
By Joseph Lionceau – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=107154704
For now, Dieuveil has bigger plans. In March, he is relocating his Kigali restaurant to a hilltop on Lake Ruhondo in Musanza, overlooking Volcanoes National Park. Instead of visiting for one dinner, guests will sign up for a full day’s ‘culinary journey’ including a farm tour, boat trip and meal to truly appreciate exactly where the ingredients used come from. The campus will also include an African spice and fermentation lab and a non-profit culinary training centre, aimed at nurturing the next generation of young African chefs.
While new places to eat and international acclaim might pull in tourists, Kigali’s chefs know the city’s real long-term success depends on creating a future, both for those that will follow them, and for the country as a whole. “Kigali’s vibrant food scene is a direct reflection of the city’s growth, ambition, and confidence,” says Nicole. “Kigali’s culinary success is not happening in isolation – it is part of a larger movement toward redefining Rwanda on the global stage.”
Find out more at Visit Rwanda
Lead Image: Meze Malonga team, credit to Visit Rwanda.
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