Despite a scathing review from the Guardian I decided to give Shaka Zulu a try, and I was quite pleasantly surprised! The decor alone makes it worth a visit, every inch of every surface is covered in themed art and the the restaurant is filled with interesting sculptures and wall art. Admittedly, it does seem that some of the sculptures are simply filling space with no real purpose, but it kept my friend and I entertained nonetheless.
Despite the notable interior, the exterior was rather insignificant. In fact the restaurant is quite poorly signposted next to the rather more flamboyant entrance to it's sister restaurant, Gilgamesh. The entrance is merely an escalator, at the bottom of which is reception. We were seated promptly in the restaurant downstairs and the hostess informed us that Shaka Zulu now have a club which opens later on in the evenings, although we did not stay around long enough to assess it's credibility.
I expected that the size of the restaurant would have an effect on the service, but I was pleasantly surprised and our drinks and food arrived in a timely manner, and out waiter was helpful and friendly at explaining the menu and drinks.
Now for the food! I had the buffalo with peri peri wedges, which was very tasty! I hasten to add that I had never before eaten authentic south african food, so have nothing to compare it to. My friend ordered the lobster, and I have to admit it looked a little meager for the price - anyone looking for lobster head over to the Big Easy on the Kings Road(review to come soon). Overall, the mark up felt a little steep for the quality of food, but no major complaints as I felt we were buying into the atmosphere not just the food.
The cocktails were reasonably priced for London and very good so could make a good place for a few drinks before a night out in the future!
The pictures I took for this post came out rather dark so I won't upload them, but if anyone is interested here's the website.
Despite the notable interior, the exterior was rather insignificant. In fact the restaurant is quite poorly signposted next to the rather more flamboyant entrance to it's sister restaurant, Gilgamesh. The entrance is merely an escalator, at the bottom of which is reception. We were seated promptly in the restaurant downstairs and the hostess informed us that Shaka Zulu now have a club which opens later on in the evenings, although we did not stay around long enough to assess it's credibility.
I expected that the size of the restaurant would have an effect on the service, but I was pleasantly surprised and our drinks and food arrived in a timely manner, and out waiter was helpful and friendly at explaining the menu and drinks.
Now for the food! I had the buffalo with peri peri wedges, which was very tasty! I hasten to add that I had never before eaten authentic south african food, so have nothing to compare it to. My friend ordered the lobster, and I have to admit it looked a little meager for the price - anyone looking for lobster head over to the Big Easy on the Kings Road(review to come soon). Overall, the mark up felt a little steep for the quality of food, but no major complaints as I felt we were buying into the atmosphere not just the food.
The cocktails were reasonably priced for London and very good so could make a good place for a few drinks before a night out in the future!
The pictures I took for this post came out rather dark so I won't upload them, but if anyone is interested here's the website.
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