I love a good outing at a local bar but lately I haven’t been doing much exploring. With all of the new Kigali restaurants popping up over the past few months, I guess I’ve been a bit preoccupied with trying to keep up to date on those reviews and, as a result, I feel like I haven’t sat down for a beer and a brochette at a local place in over a year. Madness!!!

Well, things are about to change because I feel like I need more brochettes in my life. Plus, I keep noticing new local places popping up and I’m always eager to explore to see if I can find Kigali’s best brochette, aka benz, or nyama choma.

Piano Bar is one local place that’s certainly not new, but it’s been on my list for a visit since I wrote an article about pub crawling in Nyamirambo a couple of years ago. I visited it during the day and was impressed with the open courtyard filled with palm trees and told myself that I had to come back one day to check it out in the evening. Well… that evening finally came and I was pretty happy I made the effort to return here.

Piano Bar has a bit more character than the typical Primus-painted local bar. It’s got a pretty unique setup with that open courtyard filled with tables under the stars and trees. Then there are about five or six side rooms which look a bit prison-like and uninviting from the outside but are actually really cozy. Instead of having walls up to the ceiling like most private local bar rooms, they only go up a bit of the way which gives you privacy without also giving you the feeling that you’re doing time.

Across the courtyard is a larger room which several tables and TV screens. They were playing Champion’s League football while we were there so I’d assume this is a good place to come if you’re hoping to watch European soccer. The main bar is well-stocked for a local place with plenty of spirits and a good variety of cold beer. The bar is an interesting feature of the place with giant bar stools that look like they’re placed a little far from the bar itself. I’m not sure how practical these stools are and I suspect they’re made for giants, but it gives the place a cool look, if nothing else.

Probably the most frustrating thing about eating at a local place in Kigali is that the food can take an eternity. Waiting an hour and a half for a few brochettes is something that’s happened often enough to scar me and make me wary of planning a dinner at a local place. It’s totally fine if the motivation for the trip is exploring a new place while drinking cheap beer, but if you arrive hungry then things will usually end with frustration as you continually ask the waiter where your food is.

Piano Bar was a pleasant surprise! While I was certainly in for chilling and drinking some beers, I also arrived pretty hungry and I was expecting that hunger to continue for at least an hour after ordering. Amazingly, our food came out in about 30 minutes which has to be a new experience for me. The quickest ever? Maybe! Sure, we were the only people in there eating and we didn’t place a huge order, but we did ask for several different things and I was nervous it would take forever. But everything came out all at once and in good time and we were very surprised and happy.

Overall I was really impressed with the food here. The aka benz was a bit of a let down and the overcooked meat looked like the charred remains of what used to be a big, rather than a plate of succulent pork. But, despite being pretty tough and overcooked, the flavour was ok. The goat brochettes were also really good but some of the pieces were a bit too tough to chew. The chips were nice (crinkle cut!) and the best of all were the fish brochettes. Nicely seasoned, cooked really well, and with onions, tomatoes, and peppers placed along the brochette to mix things up a bit. Most importantly, they’re generous with the mayonnaise and they serve seriously good homemade pili pili.

We also attempted to order a friend banana but ended up with one of those horrible boiled ones. I still don’t understand why anyone would ever choose a weird, flavourless boiled banana over a super delicious fried one, but I always seem to get served the boiled ones. I really should learn the words for ‘fried bananas’ one of these days because I love them so much and despise the boiled ones. This place also does grilled who chickens for Rwf 8,000 but we felt like we had enough food so we’ll have to save trying that for another trip.

Piano Bar really impressed us with the food and the atmosphere. It wasn’t busy while we were there, but we really liked our little semi-private room and the service was really quick and friendly. Best of all, our meal of an order of fries, one order of aka benz, two fish brochettes, two goat brochettes, a yucky boiled banana, and nine Skols came to a total of Rwf 14,500. That’s under Rwf 5,000 per person for a good meal that ended with a nice beer buzz. A total bargain and another reason I love exploring local places.

I’d also recommend Piano Bar as a good place to come if you’re into playing pool. They have a room off to the side of the bar that actually has enough space around the table to extend your pool queue which can be a rare find in Kigali. I would not recommend Piano Bar as a place to pee if you’re a woman. But that’s a pretty standard thing for Nyamirambo bars. To give them props, they did have toilet paper at least. I guess it was the mysterious floor flooding that put me off a bit.

Overall, Piano Bar is a great little local spot. We went on a quiet Tuesday night but I can see it having a really nice atmosphere when it’s a bit more full. But still, it was a great place to go for a catch up with a few friends and some quiet beers.

Check it out and let me know what you think in the comments below!

Hours: Daily, 10am to whenever customers leave
Phone: 0782 243 723

Caiman has been demolished.

Oh Caiman… why must you be so far away from where I live? I would like to pursue a relationship with you but you make it so difficult with your ridiculous location. Kibagabaga just doesn’t work for me. But I’ll try. We’ve only met twice… but there’s something about you I really like.

Ok. Enough of that. My point is that Caiman is far away, but worth the trip. The food was good and the service was decent but, for me, it’s the atmosphere here that I love the most (my crappy photo doesn’t do the place justice). If I didn’t live on the complete opposite side of town, I’d be here all the time. Even though I live so far away I’m still wondering why I don’t come out here more often. The bar itself is under a covered area and is well stocked, looks like a ‘real’ bar and manages to have a cozy atmosphere. But it’s the giant lawn area that makes this place special. It’s dotted with tables and trees and there’s a tonne of space to spread out on the grass on a sunny day. I’m not sure if that’s something people actually do… but if you’re so inclined, the grass is there waiting for you.

The grass might actually be a safer option. The garden chairs here are a phenomenon worth noting. Yes, a phenomenon. They’ll fall forward at the slightest lean towards the table, so watch out or you’ll find yourself face-planting into your food. This curious lean meant that I spent the entire meal rocking forward and slightly back like a crazy old lady on a porch in a rocking chair toting a gun (without the gun and porch and with only moderate levels of old and crazy). But I couldn’t help myself for some reason.

Anyway. On to the food. I love it when I arrive to place to find that the meal has already been pre-ordered. Goat, fish, potatoes, salad. Done. Pre-ordering a meal in Kigali usually still means that it’ll take at least an hour and, unfortunately, Caiman is no different. The food took awhile but the feast that arrived was definitely worth the wait.

The nyama choma (Rwf 8,000) isn’t what I’m used to. Admittedly, I’ve only ever had it at Sundowner where an entire roasted leg or arm comes out all steamy and hot and wonderful and is chopped up in front of you and served with fleshy bits hanging off the bone. The nyama choma at Caiman, while tasty, was more like pieces of brochette meat taken off of the spike and served on a sizzling plate. It was delicious (although a bit chewy) but I think I prefer eating savage-style and knawing the meat off of the bones rather than having it served in nicely bite-sized pieces. So, while it was good, I’m going to stick with Sundowner as my nyama choma front-runner.

The salad (Rwf 1,000) at Caiman was pretty impressive. It had lettuce with salad dressing on it (a rarity) and the avocados were perfect. The kachambari was pretty good and the pili-pili was some of the best I’ve had anywhere in Kigali. Plus they gave me a good sized blob of extra mayo. The fish brochettes (Rwf 1,500) were good too.

The drink prices at Caiman are a little strange. A large Mutzig costs Rwf 1,300 which is expensive for a local style place. But a glass of white wine (albeit a pretty small one) costs only Rwf 1,500 which, I think, is the cheapest I’ve found anywhere in Kigali. I think my new plan for a sunny Sunday in Kigali is to hang out at Caiman on a precarious chair eating salad and sipping wine. I’m picturing it now… if only the sun would shine! Oh ya, and there’s a pool next door. With a bar.

Take note that the mosquitoes here are seem to be highly trained in biting you through your jeans, so beware. Perhaps come to dinner with some bug spray, or a mosquito coil, or a Hazmat suit because they were kind of distracting. Obviously no fault of the fine folks at Caiman (unless they have some crazy super-mosquito breeding programme going on) but just something to be aware of.

The toothpicks, I must note, are of the highest quality at Caiman. Smooth, firm, pointy, no splinters. It was an excellent teeth-cleaning experience, I must say.

I will finish this review with a quote from the great Niko Kalinic: “Let the goat settle.” Wise words, my friend. Wise words.

Phone: 0788 561 369
More Info: Caiman on Eating in Kigali

One of my first social stops in Kigali way back in the summer of 2010 was La Capri in Nyamirambo. I’d been invited by a friend who was a friend of a friend (or something like that) who was having a leaving dinner at there. Wait. Actually… they were having a leaving dinner at Green Corner and it was to be a feast of giant fish – except they didn’t have any fish. So, as the girl who was leaving had her heart set on fish, we commandeered a matatu and were driven to La Capri. Though the food took over an hour (something I wasn’t yet used to), it was an amazing meal and my first introduction to grilled fish and brochettes in Rwanda. Ah… the memories.

But since I was new to the city I, of course, had absolutely no idea where I was at the time. After several trips to Green Corner I eventually learned where it’s located, but La Capri remained elusive and lived only in my faint memories. So sad. Oh, La Capri… when, oh when, would we meet again?

Well. The answer to that question is last Wednesday night. Having spent another 2.5 years in this city with occasional trips into deepest, darkest Nyamirambo, I’d finally figured out where this mysterious restaurant of yesteryear was located. When a friend of mine suggested dinner in Nyamirambo, I suggested La Capri, anxious for a second visit to indulge in grilled fishy goodness.

The place was pretty much as I remembered it and, despite pre-ordering at 7pm for our food an hour later, our dinner still didn’t come out for another hour and a bit after that. I guess the only difference is that this time I was expecting it so just enjoyed my beer without to much wondering about where our food could be.

The grilled fish (Rwf 8,000) was pretty much what I’ve come to expect from fish places all over the city – a huge, crispy-skinned fish served with some lime and onions. The fish was really good but I felt like it was a little more skin and less fleshy goodness. If you’re more into the crispy skin part then you’d be happy… but I prefer the fish underneath and it didn’t seem to be as meaty as fish in other places I’ve been to.

For the sake of the review (I have a tough job…) we also ordered a couple of brochettes. The fish brochette (Rwf 1,000) was delicious and had a really nice taste to it. The beef brochette (Rwf 700) was really good too. I actually enjoyed those more than the fish. The salad of lettuce, carrots, onions, something mysterious, tomatoes and eggs was very impressively presented and tasty but the lack of cutlery made it a bit of an adventure. Ripping the flesh from a giant grilled fish with your bare hands is fun and satisfying… scooping lettuce into your mouth with your hands – less so.

Sure, the food took ages even after pre-ordering, but the service was still pretty good. Beer orders were taken without too much waiting around (and they were cold!) and our waiter was nice and friendly. One of the more unusual aspects of La Capri – being that is it a local bar in Nyamirambo – is the toilets. They’re not gross! It’s a rare thing to behold in this part of town but not only are they clean, but they even have toilet paper!

La Capri is a big place with a lot of seating, both indoor and out. It’s got an elevated area if you’re looking to eat while lording over the people in the courtyard and the garden area is pretty nice. I forget what music was playing exactly, but I seem to remember it being a strange choice which is always something I appreciate.

For quality of the fish, I’m going to stick with Green Corner as my favourite place. But for atmosphere and a nice place to hang out… La Capri is a great choice for some food and beers in Nyamirambo.

Hours: Daily, 9am – late
Phone: 0788 472 206

A friend of mine who lives in this area of Kacyiru put me onto this little gem tucked away on a dirt road down the hill from the US Embassy. The area is full of local bars but this one stands out for being just a bit further out of the way and just a bit nicer than the rest.

The leafy garden, the balcony with a view of town and the fact that a guy comes out with a bucket and water for you to wash your hands in put this place just a cut above. But the plastic chairs and Primus table cloths remind you that you’re still in a local place and in store for warmish beer, yummy Rwandan food and some football on the TV if there’s a game on.

Though slightly fancy, Charite Restaurant still manages to be cheap, even for a local place. Our Fantas cost Rwf 500, boiled bananas (we asked them to be grilled but got boiled ones… so maybe try to be clear on this. I guess learning the words is the smart approach but I think it’d be more fun to attempt to mime ‘grilled banana’) cost Rwf 100 each, ibiraye (grilled potato halves) cost Rwf 200 for a whole potato, a 1/2 kilo of akabenz (pork) cost Rwf 1,500 and goat brochettes are Rwf 500 each.

The pork was good but had some super chewy bits which, I guess, is to be expected. The brochettes we had were pretty average and more overdone than in most places in Kigali. And that’s saying a lot because every local place I go to cooks their brochettes into oblivion. This places takes it just a little step further and makes sure each goat morsel has shriveled up into a tiny, charred piece of meat.

The best part of the meal was the ibiraye… probably the best I’ve had in the city. Buy a glob of mayo for Rwf 500 and add a bit of pilipili to it for a spicy dip. Crunchy potatoes and pilipili mayo… true happiness! Unless you hate mayo and that, of course, makes you a freak and your happiness levels are irrelevant in our eyes.

The view from the fancy balcony is back to Kigali City Tower and that part of town. While it’s nice during the day, I’m told it makes a great spot at night looking back at the city lights. Maybe a nice date place for those of us who prefer meat on a stick or a plate of pork to a three course meal or for those of us who are a little low in the cash department.

All up I liked it and would love to come back at night (when we’re not the only people there) for some beers on the balcony and a bit more atmosphere.

Stonehouse has closed but the venue is still in use and is now called Plus 250.

So I know my photo of the Stonehouse is appallingly, ridiculously, embarrassingly terrible. I don’t know how to use my camera. And the place is seriously dark. Those are my excuses. So I’ll try to make up in words what I failed to accomplish in photos… the place has a great atmosphere! It’s a pretty decent-sized building with a bar and seating inside but, as with most places in Kigali, the best part about it is the outdoor seating.

There’s a small balcony with some comfy chairs and an amazing view across to the airport area plus there’s a huge lawn with plastic tables and chairs scattered around. The lawn would make a great place to come on a sunny day to chill on the grass and enjoy the garden and, at night, it’s a great place to chill out under a tree while enjoying the view of the city.

Stonehouse is located just past Sonatubes. Take a right at the Sonatubes roundabout (if you’re coming from town) and it’s a couple hundred metres down the road on the left. It couldn’t possible be in a worse place for me since I live on the complete opposite side of the city (how rude of them!) but I think it’s worth the trip out there.

The food came out in 45 minutes which is faster than I expected! Brochettes in this city tend to take their time. The food was good and I only had one inedible piece of chewy goat on three brochettes. Plus I think they’re jumbo brochettes… they seem extra long. They had a nice sauce on them and were tasty. I also got to try some chicken which was delicious. Pork ribs are a specialty here as well. Brochettes costs Rwf 1,000 each, a plate of chips is Rwf 1,000 as well, a large Primus costs Rwf 1,500 and a small bottle of Bond 7 is Rwf 4,000.

My only complaint about this place is that the prices are higher than other similar spots. While this place is a bit more fancy than the average local bar, Rwf 1,500 is a lot when it can be had at other places for less than half the price. Plus you can get a bottle of Bond 7 at Sundowner for Rwf 1,000 cheaper. But the atmosphere more than makes up for the higher prices, I think.

The service was really friendly and we were offered a new beer as we finished the previous one and were never forgotten. We didn’t even need to chase anyone down to get the bill! No hissing sounds were made at an time. My friend is buddies with the owner, Nellie, and she joined us for awhile and drank tea. She’s really nice and we had a nice, interesting chat.

So Stonehouse is a great place. I like it a lot and want to hang out here more. Great view, good food and service, a nice atmosphere and it’s somewhere new for me. I feel like I’ve been hanging out in all the same places lately so I’m glad I branched all the way out to Sonatubes and checked this place out. I’m planning on making it a regular thing!