Take Me With You...: Destination: Where to Eat, Dance and Play in Kinshasa

Sunset over the Congo River

Kinshasa is surprisingly very busy in the day, alive at night and very expensive. When I was told the daily allowance was over $100 I thought "no way I will need all of that!" Wrong. You can easily spend that amount when eating, dancing and playing in Kinshasa. But it is worth it! While the local currency is the Congolese franc ($1 = 920 franc) the US dollar is widely accepted around Kinshasa. Taxi service is a bit high. My colleague who speaks French negotiated pricing for us each night. We paid an average of $20 for a round trip.

While there is a large expat community the restaurants, bars or clubs were never fully 'packed.' Every location could also boast of a friendly and relaxing atmosphere. Many locations provided open gardens to sit, relax, eat or have a drink. When you go out allow 2 - 2.5 hours for dining. Service is 'relaxed' (we will not slow) and for the most part, as you will read below, the food was worth the wait. Finally, advice for fellow non-French speakers: when you are out and about the main language will be French. While Kinshasa is a large city populated with business owners, students and expats, do not expect service or menus in English.

Without further delay, please experience Kinshasa with me, through words and photos, in part II of my destination blog, Kinshasa, DRC.

PLACES TO EAT:

Fleuve Congo Hotel: My colleague and I are staying at the Fleuve Congo Hotel. This is a business hotel with large rooms and meeting facilities. There is also a gym, nice size pool as well as a billards room. You can eat food at the bar, in the lounge located off the lobby as well as their restaurant. Note, even though the website names 2 additional restaurants, these restaurants are actually closed and have been for a year. The food is average and highly priced. The dinner buffet is $55 per person with very little variety. The chicken cordon bleu is nice and they do have a nice wine selection. Main course a la carte will range from $25 - $50 per person. A bottle of their house wine (a French Merlot) will cost you $40.

Lobby of Fleuve Congo Hotel

Entertainment after work in the lobby of the Fleuve Congo Hotel

Pizzeria v Pizzeria - Limoncello and O'Poeta: When in Africa OF COURSE you must have pizza (sarcasm). Both of these places were highly recommended so my colleague and I decided to venture outside of the hotel for a cheaper meal.

O'Poeta has a sports bar atmosphere and is popular with expats. The pizza is large enough for two and reasonably priced. There is also quite a large variety. The ingredients are fresh with finely sliced tomatoes being used at the base instead of a sauce. Two pizzas, five beers and two after dinner cocktails cost us $80.

Limoncello wins, hands down! The atmosphere is lively and the pizza is delicious! This is not only a great place to enjoy the company of friends, colleagues but also to bring a date. You have an option of eating inside or outside on a large patio. There is also a very nice wine list and might I suggest sorbet for dessert. The pizza is big enough to share with another person and so dinner, plus a nice bottle of Chianti with dessert cost us $90.

Grand Hotel offers a small restaurant alongside their pool with a live band during the week. In addition to wood-fire pizzas this restaurant also offers beef, chicken and fish kabobs. There is also a light snack menu available as well. Nice place to go for a drink and light dinner. The prices are pretty high - dinner for 2 plus beers cost us $100.

The kabobs were also delicious!

Chez Philo: This was one of our favorites with two visits in one weekend! The reviews you find online are accurate. Reasonably priced HIGH QUALITY food! While my colleague enjoyed the tender beef brochette, both times I enjoyed "filet pur de boeuf" - "pure beef filet" (which, even cooked well, I could cut with a butter knife), topped with peppercorn sauce, rice on the side. We also enjoyed a nice bottle of French wine each time: Medoc the first evening and a Bordeaux Superior the second time around. Dinner for two, plus a bottle wine as well as an additional glass each cost us $90.

Table cloth embellishment

Butter knife is all you need ...

Chez Maman Colonel: This was our favorite! Chez Maman Colonel is known for it's rotisserie chicken. It is made to order so we waited 30 minutes but when we received our meal it was worth the wait! The meat was tender, well flavored, juicy, succulent ... the skin was perfectly crispy which I was not expecting. We demolished our meals! Dinner for two, plus a bottle of wine cost us $80. The location is a 15 minute drive from our hotel but I wish I had the time to return for the grilled fish ... I can only dream *food sigh* next time!

Grilled plantains

The BEST chicken I have ever tasted! (Sorry Mom)

Demolished ... #nothingbutbonesleft

La Piscine: Specializing in Grecian food, was quite good and much better than Eros (not blogged because it was pretty blah). We ordered quite a few appetizers, bottles of white wine and main courses. The atmosphere was peaceful. On Sundays this restaurant is popular with families who bring their children to splash around in the pool while they await their food. For four people: 2 bottles of wine, 3 apertifs, 5 appetizers, 4 main courses and 2 salads our bill was $300.

Taramosalata - Carp Roe spread made with cured cod eggs

White cheese with cucumber and wild onion

Warm baguette with cheese and olive oil

Spicy prawns

Bon apetit!

DANCE & PLAY:

Jazz Bar at Fleuve Hotel: Boring! Seriously, skip it. The only time I spent there was for an after dinner drink with my colleague.
Fiesta Club: Should be named "Siesta" - snooze! The club was empty at 1am and I know why - the DJ is horrendous, spinning old, lame 80s and 90s ballads (think Eric Clapton, not Jodeci). Also, you can only buy wine by the bottle and it is old. When we tried to have it replaced they offered cheap cognac in it's place.
Club Ntemba: A great place to hear and dance to local music! Fun crowd, large dance floor and great music. This is a place you must visit if you are ever in Kinshasa over the weekend.

Kwilu Bar: I have mixed feelings about this bar. On the one hand it plays great music from 70s to present (think everything from The Gap Band, Earth, Wind and Fire to Michael Jackson, Prince to R.Kelly, Jodeci and present skipping Justin Beiber and One Direction *thank God*). Great energy and popular. On the other hand it is popular with expats who get pretty drunk. It is a great place to start the night and once you have hopped around and are pretty drunk a great place to end the night as well. Warning: at the end of the night those expats will be barefoot and doing swing to every song, including a R. Kelly ballad LOL

A local beer which I quite enjoy