Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Kigali’s Best Breakfast Spots

I have to admit that I’m not hugely into going out for breakfast but that could have something to do with the fact that going out for breakfast in Kigali, up until fairly recently,has been a sad affair. Things, however, have improved drastically and I thought it was about time for a nice little list for your breakfast-lovers out there.

I decided to leave off hotels that have breakfast buffets because there are probably loads of them and they probably mostly offer the same thing. However, if you’re looking for an affordable and very nice breakfast buffet I can recommend trying the one at Park Inn (Rwf 12,000) or Heaven (weekdays only, Rwf 10,000), and if you’re looking to splash out and treat yourself, Serena Hotel (Rwf 18,000) and Marriott (Rwf 15,000) both go above and beyond.

But for this article, I felt that sticking to places with a la carte options is the most useful. You might also notice the lack of brunch suggestions… that will be it’s own article sometime in the future because Kigali does have quite a few good options these days.

So read on and hopefully you’ve find some new places to start your day off nicely with a tasty breakfast in Kigali!

Baso Patissier

Baso Patisserie, Kigali

I only just learned the word ‘Viennoiseries’ yesterday and I certainly have no idea how to pronounce it, but now that I know what they are, I can confirm that I love to eat them. For those as clueless as I, Google says that Viennoiseries are ‘baked goods made from a yeast-leavened dough in a manner similar to bread, or from puff pastry, but with added ingredients giving them a richer, sweeter character, approaching that of pastry.’ To me, that means all of those deliciously tempting pastries that can pass for either breakfast or dessert.

Baso Patissier does Viennoiseries (Rwf 1,200 t0 1,400) better than anywhere else in Kigali. They have a good selection but the only thing I ever look at is their glorious pain au chocolate. I’ve had some pain au chocolate abominations during my time in Rwanda (cafe in Musanze, I’m looking at you!) but Baso Patissier does them right with a beautifully flakey dough. Throw in some good coffee in a nice setting and a selection of omelettes, and we have ourselves a breakfast winner!

Bourbon Coffee

Kigali’s Best Breakfast Spots

Due to the rise in other awesome cafes in Kigali, I rarely find myself at Bourbon these days. But I popped in recently for the first time in awhile and was pleasantly surprised to see that they’ve updated their menu and that there are a lot of new breakfast choices. Actually maybe I was a little annoyed because it meant I had one more place on my list to eat at for research… oh the hardships I endure for this website!

I’m pretty sure Bourbon is the only place in Kigali (besides Heaven’s weekend brunch) that has eggs Benedict (Rwf 5,000) so, of course, I had to give it a try. Sadly, it wasn’t great but, also sadly, I don’t know much about eggs Benedict. It was tasty, but the sauce seemed sort of vinegar-y. The bread underneath was good but the bacon was a bit chewy. However I’m told the bacon is supposed to be chewy, so who knows.

If you’re not up for adventures with eggs Benedict, Bourbon also have a lot of other things on offer and, besides Java House, might have one of the best selections. They’ve got muesli with honey and yoghurt (Rwf 4,500), pancakes, French toast, or waffles (Rwf 4,500), a couple of fruit salad options, an omelette (Rwf 4,500), a Spanish breakfast (Rwf 4,500), and a full English (Rwf 5,000). Throw in a good selection of hot and iced coffee and tea and you’ll probably find something here to suit anyone.

Brioche

Brioche, Best Breafkast Places in Kigali

Brioche have overhauled their menu fairly recently and, in doing so, they’ve added some nice breakfast choices to their selection of tasty Viennoiseries (yes, I’m totally going to use that word as often as possible now that I know it). Their pain au chocolate (Rwf 1,600) is one of my favourite things in Kigali, though it seems like it’s often out of stock. They also have raisin whirls (Rwf 1,900), chocolate twists (Rwf 1,900), apple turnovers (Rwf 1,900), and croissants (Rwf 1,500), that go well with their nice selection of coffee and tea.

I was excited to see a full English (Rwf 4,900) on their menu but there was certainly room for improvement. Mainly because the ‘sausages’ are actually hotdogs. This is ok if you’re a freak like me who actually loves hotdogs, but probably not cool for most people. It’s also annoying that their potatoes are actually just a bowl of fries. If it comes with fries… call them fries. I was expecting something more breakfast potato-y. Plus it also comes with salad which is just weird and evidence that whoever named this dish a ‘Full English’ has really never had one before. Not a bad plate of food, but not what you’d expect so be warned.

If you want something a little less risky, they also have homemade granola with yoghurt (Rwf 2,900), and the usual omelette or eggs with bread and beans (Rwf 2,900).

Inzora Rooftop Cafe

Inzora Cafe only has one choice for breakfast (unless, like me, you count cake and cookies as a breakfast food) but their yoghurt with granola (Rwf 3,800) is one of the best, so why bother serving anything else? You get a jar of delicious toasted granola with nuts, a generous helping of creamy Greek yoghurt, a dollop of honey on top, and a passionfruit on the side. It’s a perfect way to start a day and Inzora Cafe is a great place to spend a morning with their free wifi, sunny cafe or rooftop space, and views that are hard to beat. Then for breakfast number two, you have lots of cakes and cookies to choose from. Perfect!

Java House

Best Breakfast, Java House, Kigali

Java House is the Grand Daddy of breakfast places with a huge selection, huge servings, and good food. If you have a group of people and want a place that will have something for everyone, this is your best choice. They have a whole range of things from a very tasty granola and yoghurt with strawberries (Rwf 5,300), oatmeal (Rwf 4,8000), and fruit salad (Rwf 4,300) for people looking for a healthy start, all the way up to a Full Java Breakfast (Rwf 5,900) with all of the greasy goodness of fried things. They also have a huge selection of coffee and tea and are the only place I’ve found to offer up triple shots of espresso (Rwf 1,900) to start the day off with a bang.

They also do breakfast wraps (Rwf 4,800 to 5,000), breakfast burritos (Rwf 4,800 to 6,700), a local breakfast of Katogo beef (Rwf 6,000), French toast (Rwf 4,300), pancakes (Rwf 4,300) and a big selection of eggs. Their Huevos Rancheros (Rwf 5,900) are one of my favourite meals in Kigali with eggs with a runny yolk over a tortilla, home fries, and the best salsa and guacamole in the city on the side. They also have a bakery and do a selection of pastries though I’ve been warned to stay away from their bagels.

J. Lynn’s

Kigali’s Best Breakfast Spots

If bagels are more your thing than you need to make a breakfast stop at J. Lynn’s. They have two locations these days, the original in Kimironko and a new addition up at the new Rouge Hotel in Kagugu. Their original location is set in a house with a nice garden and it’s really nice on a sunny day and the new spot has access to a great pool with possible the best pool view in the city.

They have lots of different types of bagels (plain, sesame, herb, chocolate chunk, cinnamon raisin, everything, wheat, and cheese and onion) and they’ll serve them up toasted if you want with cream cheese (Rwf 2,000) or you can opt for one of their bagels with egg (Rwf 2,000), egg and Gouda (Rwf 2,500), egg, Gouda, and ham (Rwf 3,000), jam (Rwf 1,800), hummus (Rwf 2,000) or any number of other great combinations. They also sell bagels for takeaway at Rwf 700 each or Rwf 3,500 for a half dozen. J. Lynn’s also has a nice selection of tea and coffee and they’re the only place I’ve found in Kigali that serves chai latte (hot or cold). If bagels aren’t your thing, give their breakfast burrito (Rwf 3,500) a try instead.

Masters Lounge

Kigali’s Best Breakfast Spots

Masters Lounge on the top floor of the MTC Centre in Nyarutarama is a great breakfast spot due to their large selection. I haven’t found anything here that’s totally blown me away and everything seems to have just a little room for improvement (the waffles said they came with maple syrup but it’s not, the eggs weren’t quite as cooked as I’d have liked them, etc) but what I’ve had has certainly been good and there’s a lot of choice. The banana and walnut waffles (Rwf 3,800) are good even without the proper syrup.

Plus they have the usual omelettes (Rwf 3,300 to 4,000) that can be found all over the city but they also have eggs on toast, pancakes, French toast, breakfast wraps, sandwiches, and croissants, and they make a pretty good fried breakfast. Their English breakfast (Rwf 5,000) includes two eggs, sausage or bacon, home fries, toast, baked beans, and a fried tomato. The place is simple but the food, choice, and prices are good and it’s one of the best spots in the city for a variety of breakfast options and a good place to start your day.

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2 COMMENTS

  1. hi Kirsty,

    Am I Kigali weekend of the 18th of May till the 21st any 5 star boutique hotels you could recommend in the Nyarutama area preferably?Pai

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