So, after months of house hunting, moving and job changes I finally have a few spare moments to write a little update about a restaurant I visited in September!
My boyfriend and I took date night on the road, booked an apartment and went to Camden Town for a night. Last Christmas I was given a voucher for a three course meal at Shaka Zulu a beautifully decorated restaurant in the The Stables Market – nine months later we finally had a spare weekend to use the voucher!
Taking the escalator down into the restaurant you are immediately transported into an African wonderland with wooden carvings, 20ft warrior statues and African drummers. It’s a stunning 27,000 sq feet of a place!
We had a choice from the ‘essence of Africa’ menu. I started with venison carpaccio topped with parmesan crisp, while Matt had game and ostrich terrine. Both lovely, fresh starters that were nice and light to begin with. I had, of course, checked out gluten free options weeks before we even booked. There’s a dietary requirement menu online and you can ask for a specific menu when you are there, luckily there’s lots of options and I’m always a big fan of anywhere that has GF chips!
I couldn’t go to a South African restaurant without trying some game meat. I ordered the ostrich steak and Matt had the 10oz sirloin which he said was the best steak he’d ever eaten. Mine was really tender with a strong gamey taste, very enjoyable. Excellently cooked food, washed down with great wine and cocktails in a restaurant with a great buzz and a really fun atmosphere.
I don’t want to dwell on it but, the service was really terrible. The people who brought over our food were pleasant and smiley, but this was ruined by the girl serving us – grumpy, rude and made us feel really uncomfortable. After reading trip advisor reviews this, unfortunately, seems to be a bit of a common thing. It all stung a bit more when they whacked 11% service charge on top of our bill.
The food isn’t cheap here, but you are paying for great quality and the whole experience. For a little bit of a different night out with equally good food it’s worth a visit.
We loved Camden and spent the following day getting lost in the Stables and food stall hopping amongst the Kerb markets. I’m still dreaming of these halloumi chips from olibabas!
Camden, we’ll definitely be back and I wouldn’t mind round two at Shaka Zulu’s.
Forever, The Awkward Dinner Guest
xx