THE BOMA: A SPECIAL DINNER EXPERIENCE IN VICTORIA FALLS THAT EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS
The Cost - $50 per person for the food and show – aside from a welcome drink, drinks are extra. We were invited by Boma to this meal.
The Atmosphere – Set inside a large area within the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge property in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, the Boma Dinner & Drum Show takes place in a large setting that not only features traditional, local decoration, but involves its diners in a celebration of local culture. Upon arriving at the venue, each guest is welcomed and provided with a garment to wear over their clothes. You are then taken to a space where your face is painted (if you want) with a couple of stripes as if you were a local warrior. Finally, you make your way into the main dining area which is nicely decorated. It is a great place to have a group dinner or just a night out for a solo traveler or couple because there is quite a lot of entertainment during the meal. Casual attire is perfectly acceptable and it can get a bit hot inside, especially during the summer months. Reservations are generally required as it is quite a busy place and there is only one seating for dinner so if the restaurant is booked it may not be possible to walk in.
The Boma is one of the most well-known places to go for dinner in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. It features a large buffet of mostly local cuisine with some international dishes as well. The dinner crowd is almost entirely made up of tourists but that is generally the case with all restaurants in the Victoria Falls area. It would normally not be the option I would gravitate toward when visiting a city but the focus on local cuisine was what drew me in.
The Order – 2 Adult Tickets to the Dinner and Drum Show
The Great - I wasn’t sure what to expect when I arranged to go to the Boma Dinner & Drum Show. These types of shows can often be very touristy and feature food that is not only not authentic, but not good as well. I was very pleasantly surprised by both the show portion of the dinner as well as the food. For the purposes of this review, I will focus mostly on the food (because that is what we do best).
A lot of the restaurants around town tend to serve basic, international cuisine with a focus on menu items such as hamburgers, steaks, french fries, pizzas, pastas and similar dishes. That is absolutely not what I came to Zimbabwe to eat. I was so glad to not see a hamburger at the Boma and while there were steaks, they took a back seat in popularity to the made-to-order impala steaks, which were really good and flavorful and were one of my favorite dishes from the meal. The buffalo stew was also another unique meat item featured at the dinner that I would gladly eat again.
To complement the stews and steaks, you had a variety of options such as a delicious typical local cooked spinach with crushed peanuts as well as sadza, a cornmeal side dish that is similar to pap or ugali and is the staple of the Zimbabwe diet. There was also a homemade chili sauce that you could add to the meat or the sides to spice things up in an authentic way.
My other favorite savory dish of the night was the lamb which was spit-roasted in the middle of the venue. It was very nicely done and it was really cool to be able to get the meat carved right off the spit.
The best dessert from the extensive dessert buffet was the malva pudding. Though the dish originated in neighboring South Africa it can also be found in Zimbabwe. The hot, spongy cake-like pudding has some apricot jam in it and feels almost like a lighter bread pudding. However, the best part is that there is a warm liquid custard poured over the pudding that is not too sweet but nicely done and it makes this dessert even better.
It would also not be possible to write this review without mentioning the mopane worm station. It is very common throughout Zimbabwe to eat these worms which offer an inexpensive source of protein to locals. While Boma does make this into a bit of a kitschy activity by offering certificates to mopane worm eaters, it is actually a really amazing opportunity to try this local food that is not generally found in restaurants. The worms were boiled and then fried, giving them a chewy texture and though not something I think I’d eat regularly, I was grateful to be able to try a food unique to this region of the world.
The Verdict - I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food and the diversity of the local cuisine offerings at Boma. I expected a lack of authenticity from the food at the buffet-style meal and that is not what I got. The show was also more enjoyable than I had imagined with excellent drumming and dancing that was fun to witness. After partaking, I really think that the $50 per person price tag is reasonable – between the unlimited food and hours of entertainment, you are paying for a unique dinner experience and great memories. Stick to the local foods over the more international cuisine and you’ll walk out even happier.