If you are visiting the Victoria Falls, you cannot miss out on a romantic dinner at the Livingstone Room at the elegant and historic Victoria Falls Hotel.
By Le Connoisseur
The dress code is smart — men, collared shirts, no jeans and no sneakers. For the ladies, it’s one of those rare chances to go for it and really dress up for dinner!
Walking into this restaurant, I was struck by its old world charm; its high-pressed ceilings, décor and ambience that feel like a movie set from a bygone era.
The Livingstone Room is located in the portion of the hotel built between 1914 and 1917. We were warmly welcomed in by the Restaurant Manager who has been with the hotel since 1968 — an incredible 44 years! Phillip James really understands five-star service, and indeed, very deservedly won Service Personality of the Year at the last Zoap Awards.
We chose to order from the à la carte menu, which really stirred our appetites for fine food, with its divine descriptions. For starters, we ordered the Loch Duarte Scottish salmon with an avocado, fennel and red onion salad served with chive hollandaise, and the chicken liver parfait with toasted date brioche, home-grown herbs, shallot jam and aged balsamic vinegar. For our main courses, we went for a veritable feast, with the aged Zimbabwean beef filled with bubble and squeak, slow roasted balsamic tomato, rocket and parmesan salad, time butter and pepper corn jus and the pan-fried cod filled with comfit, new potatoes, pea purée, wild mushrooms, asparagus and tomato deurre banc.
The list of desserts was endless and very enticing, once again, making choosing quite a challenge! We simply could not resist the dark and white baked chocolate cheesecake with honey macerated strawberries, and the warm crêpes filled with dark chocolate sauce served with vanilla bean ice-cream and strawberries.
Our dinner was quite simply superb, with each sumptuously described dish entirely living up to the expectation (and salivation!) created with these imaginative descriptions and lavish sounding recipes. The service was excellent too. We were thoroughly pampered and made to feel very special. Restaurant offers wide selection of wines The wine list is seemingly endless, and very impressive indeed in its scope and variety. For those who really enjoy their wines, the seven course degustation menu is a gastronomic adventure, offering a selection of the chef’s signature dishes in one sitting, accompanied by wines specially selected as the best complement for each course. All the wines served with this menu are of South African origin, while there is also an amazing, almost bewildering selection of wines from around the world included in the wine list.
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Refurbishment overdue, wine prices steep at Livingstone Room If one were to criticise Livingstone Room at all, it would be to remark that some general refurbishment appears due. However, this is already scheduled and underway in the hotel generally, so no doubt, the requisite “spit and polish” will soon take place in this top-notch luxury restaurant. It is necessary also to comment upon the wine and drinks prices which are very steep, as they are all around Vic Falls, in fact, and indeed, in quite a number of our restaurants across Zimbabwe. This is often commented upon negatively by visitors. Surely, it’s time for the trade to re-examine this issue — reviewers comment on this all too often?
All told, however, the Livingstone Room offers a truly excellent dining experience in an elegant setting. If you’re in the Falls, you simply have to treat yourself to this!
Deluxe Restaurant 5 Plates Expect to spend US$45 – US$80 per head Victoria Falls Hotel
