Inzozi Inziza, Butare

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Created on 17 December 2012 Written by Shivani Suresh

Inzozi Inziza, Butare

Inzozi Inziza is a social enterprise run by the all-woman drummer group, Ingoma Nshya, as an initiative to generate additional income for their families. Inzozi Inziza is famous for being Rwanda’s pioneer ice cream shop. My family and I wentthere a while ago because we had heard rave reviews about this tiny food joint.

As we arrived, we were greeted by two friendly, extremely nice women. They handed us our menu and kindly answered our curious inquiries about their restaurant and their endeavour.

While the menu at Inzozi Inziza was not very extensive, it wasn’t completely conventional either. They had a few dishes on the menu not found in other Rwandan food outlets like “Avocado and Egg Salad Sandwich” and “Bagels” (although it was not available that day). We we

re ravenous during lunch that day so we ordered maniacally: a Peanut Butter and Jam Sandwich, an Avocado and Egg Salad Sandwich, Special Omelettes, African Tea, Special Inzozi Coffee, Slices of Banana Cake and Vanilla Cake and a Coke.

Perhaps the greatest downside at Inzozi Inziza for many might be its ambiance. It was very sparsely decorated. But I, personally preferred this because I found it unpretentious and authentic. Its wooden chairs and benches (covered with local Kitenge material table cloths), streaming sunlight from the windows, and a gorgeous view over the valley in fact make feel you right at home. They have a small room inside and an open patio outside, which can accommodate about 25-30 people in total. While this may not be a suitable location for a fancy or a large occasion, it is perfect for a family affair or a lunch between close buddies.

Our orders arrived within 15 minutes of placing them. The food at Inzozi Inziza definitely made a lasting impression on us because of how ‘home-cooked’ it tasted. This was a refreshing change from the generic dishes and tastes in manyrestaurants. The chef at also was more than willing to customize our orders to suit our preferences.

Inzozi Inziza’s claim to fame is their icecream. And they didn’t disappoint! The ice-cream was freshly made that morning with all local ingredients. We went in the afternoon, so the cool ice-cream was the perfect antidote to the blazing sun overhead. The ice-cream at Inzozi Inziza is presented with style, no doubt! They have special toppings ranging from chocolate sprinkles, granola, roasted peanuts, honey and fruit, among others. I took a chocolate ice-cream with chocolate sprinkles (you can never really get enough of chocolate, you know!) and a vanilla with roasted peanuts. Both were delightful.

Their other speciality is coffee. In fact, the tag line of Inzozi Inziza is “Ice Cream. Coffee. Dreams”. It was charming to watch how the coffee was made at Inzozi Inziza. The rich dark brown coffee beans were carefully hand ground in front of us, and then slowly filtered with hot water so as to extract the wholesome essence of the coffee. This was then served with fresh milk and sugar. It smelled and tasted absolutely heavenly. The prices at Inzozi Inziza are unbelievably inexpensive for the good quality of food, icecream and coffee that they offer.

Inzozi Inziza is a wonderful place for tourists to stop by if they are passing through Butare or staying there for a while. I would happily give our experience at Inzozi Inziza a 4.0/5. We were very impressed by the amazing people and service as well as their delicious “home-cooked” food. While they didn’t have bagels and any other flavour of ice-cream apart from chocolate and vanilla (i was told they offer passion fruit and pineapple ice-cream!), they still offered decent variety of dishes to choose from. If I lived in Butare, I would want to eat here every other day!

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Le Bistro, Gisenyi

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Created on 09 June 2012 Written by Shivani Suresh

"The prices were slightly above average... but the service considerably made up for it."

Le Bistro is located on the top floor of a hotel (of the same name), overlooking Lake Kivu in Gisenyi. It is about a 15 minute walk from the beach.

My friend and I decided to go there after reading about it in a guide book. It took us a while to get there because, interestingly, most of the locals did not seem to know it.

After picking up lots of clues about its relative location, we finally stumbled upon it at around noon, just in time for lunch. We were greeted by a minimalistic, yet elegant décor inside the restaurant, with wooden panels, large comfortable wooden chairs, and an antique vibe (which is not surprising because Gisenyi is has been around since the time of the colonialists
so you can find a lot of old European-styled houses). The view from the restaurant was simply gorgeous, so we decided to take a table right overlooking it.

The waitress greeted us with a small smile and asked to take our orders. After looking at the menu, we were a little disappointed by the limited options, however, there seemed to be other dishes that were only made by special order. We finally placed our orders for Hawaiian Pizza, Napolitane Pizza and sodas.

The waitress kindly and diligently answered our questions about the menu, quickly wrote our orders and quoted a time frame of 20 minutes to get them.

While waiting, we noticed that she was the only waitress in the entire restaurant, in-charge of about 3-4 groups of people. Slightly stressed, she was still efficient and attentive to all of us.

The bar was tastefully (no pun intended!) decorated and well stocked with a range of wines, whiskies, rums and gins. The bathrooms, on the other hand, were a little substandard. They were clean and well designed but there was no running water in the taps or flush. The restaurant was also a smoking zone.

Our orders commendably arrived on time. The toppings on our pizza were good (pineapples…yum!) but the crust was extremely thin and slightly charred so we found it hard to cut it with the blunt knife provided. So we decided to just dig in with our hands.

The waitress was not always available so we had to wait a while to ask for extra plates.

But when she finally came to our table, she responded to our requests immediately. She even gracefully obliged to take photographs of us – at my request (Hey, the view was simply too lovely to pass up - see for yourself!).

We then ate to our fill and asked for the bill. The prices were slightly above average and not expected of the food here but I guess the service considerably made up for it.

If you’re in Gisenyi, you must be looking for a good time and some relaxation from the hustling and bustling of life. After sunbathing and/or playing beach volleyball on the shores of Lake Kivu, if you are looking for a place to wind down and at the same time satisfy your tummy, you may want to consider this serene little (and little known) restaurant on the shores of the lake.

Overall, I would give my experience there an above average 2.8/5. The entire place had an incredible vibe – calm, serene and peaceful. However, food-wise, it is a bet we must all be prepared to individually take, as it varies from taste to taste, platter to platter. For non-smokers and anyone who wants to use the restroom, this place is probably not your nirvana. But apart from that, it’s definitely a great place for those who come for a long weekend and just want to relax and get a moment of solitude. It just invariably put you in a good mood!

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Lava Cafe, Ruhengeri

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Created on 09 June 2012 Written by Shivani Suresh

What better place is there to catch up with an old friend (whom you haven’t seen in more than 3 months) than a cosy coffee shop? Lava Cafe is a stylish little coffee bar, attractively located, set amidst lush greenery in the Musanze district of Ruhengeri. It is just right off the beaten track, but within a walkable distance from the town’s commercial centre.

The grounds boast a large garden and a partially-covered airy patio. The interior scenery has a very earthy and homely feel to it due to its dark brick walls, soft lighting, mellow background music, cushy sofas and wooden tables – essentially putting you in your comfort groove. The decor is very tasteful and inspired by African retro and ‘avant garde’ colours.

Unfortunately (or fortunately for us), we went at a very unusual time, so there weren’t many diners in the house – just us and a jolly old British couple. Barely had we settled down on the plush maroon futons than we had our menus brought. As we were caught up in old time memories, we took long to order but the waiter was very patient and offered to come back in ‘5 minutes’ at least twice.

But ultimately, our parched throats put a temporary halt on those stories and made us turn to those menus. The options on the menu were decently diverse, with a variety of coffees, cakes and small snacks. Unfortunately, they do not seem to have everything on the menu. My friend’s initial request for hot ginger-lemon-honey tea had to be cancelled since they did not have any ginger in stock. We then requested the waiter to suggest a couple more hot-drink options, for which he consulted the menu and recommended the Espresso in the house. We then placed our orders: A White Chocolate Kawacchino, an Espresso and a plate of French fries.

We found that Lava Café did not have wi-fi running that day so this deterred this American couple who had come particularly for that. They turned around, disappointed, and went to look for it elsewhere. Lava Café, however, boasts an impressive, elegant, and well-stocked bar. The café counter also displays a wide range of breads and cakes that cause your mouth to water just by eye contact (oh well, maybe again we were just very hungry then!).

Our orders soon arrived. The French Fries were incredible - crunchy, perfectly browned, impeccably salted and piping hot. They were accompanied by mayonnaise, chili sauce and a fresh salad dressing on the side. However, our coffees were just decent - slightly too watery for our liking, but I know some prefer their coffee that way so I guess it depends on your taste. Apart from that, it was made with freshly ground coffee, sugared just right and topped with liberal amounts of thick whipped cream - yum! The waiter kindly obliged to my friend’s request and generously added more whipped cream to her hot Espresso. The bill arrived once we had finished our fries and coffee. The prices at Lava Café range from modest to quite high, but not expensive.

I would rate this experience a respectable 3.8/5 due to the good food, quick service and great ambiance at Lava Café, but we were still a little disappointed due to the lack of wi-fi that day and the fact that not everything on the menu was available. Lava café is an excellent option for small get-togethers between long lost friends, semicasual office party and the like, as well as candle-lit date nights. I plan to go back the next time I stop over at Musanze, Ruhengeri.