A’Zambezi River Lodge has the privilege of being the only hotel in Victoria Falls situated on the Zambezi River and as such, has always had a special ambience.
By le connoisseur
The other day I decided to treat the kids to lunch and they chose to go to Amulonga which is the hotel’s restaurant.
The property has recently been renovated and now has facilities that match its fantastic location. We arrived to be greeted by the resident warthogs mowing the immaculate lawn in front of the hotel.
The entrance has been given a facelift with a new water feature which leads through to the reception area where we were greeted and shown through to the restaurant by well-turned out, smiling staff.
The table setting was simple, which I like —it’s nice to have a bit of space where I can put my keys/sunglasses/phone etc without fear of inadvertently triggering an avalanche of glassware in the process! Drinks were served swiftly and without fuss and we got down to the business of ordering.
My daughter ordered the Sidobe vegetarian pasta, my son opted for the river harvest bream, and I chose the A’Zambezi steak.
Our food duly arrived in less than 10 minutes — impressive! The pasta was passable, the fish, perfectly cooked, but it had not been filleted very well — so had to be eaten with care.
The steak was slightly underdone, slightly cool, and without any discernable seasoning at all. However — after seasoning it liberally myself, it was eaten with relish, since even a half way good steak is better than anything else in my book!
The kids ordered apple pie and chocolate brownie for dessert, both of which were fine if slightly stale but I guess few restaurants offer fresh desserts these days in my experience.
Price wise the entire meal cost US$68 which is about on par for Victoria Falls, the drinks were reasonably priced and they have a reasonable selection of South African wines as well as the usual spirits that one would expect.
In all, the service, setting and ambience are excellent — as you would expect from a resort hotel that caters to international travellers. The food did not really live up to the same standard, in my opinion, but is nevertheless reasonably good value as a family restaurant.
Family Restaurant 3 Plates Expect to spend US$20 to US$30 per head A’Zambezi River Lodge, Victoria Falls
