The Rock…..
A restaurant literally placed on a rock at sea! You either walk across sand to get there, or have to get a boat –
BTR was lucky enough to experience both.
As dining experiences go, this place is unique and certainly worth visiting if you are in Zanzibar…..but not for the food. Mrs BTR and I arrived whilst the tide was in meaning we took our obligatory pictures and then the boat came from The Rock to collect us. 1 minute across the shallow water and we were walking up the steps of this beautiful restaurant built on a small island at sea. Walking up the stairs you are welcomed by the restaurants sign and look back to see the view of land and surrounding water. We were welcomed by staff as we entered the restaurant and then took a short walk to view the patio area at the rear of The Rock before sitting at our table outside, on the left side of the island as you walk in.
Starters - The staff were friendly and took our drinks and food order. Mrs BTR ordered sweet and sour beef salad for starter whilst I opted for the prawn, squid and zucchini tempura. The selection of tempura was enjoyable, a tasty, light batter used, but lacked substance – only 1 prawn and a couple of pieces of squid. When your paying $19 (£13 approximately) you expect slightly more for your money.…even if I was eating somewhere in Dubai.
Main – I ordered the Swahili chicken skewer (correction from the video – sorry) with Lyonnais potatoes, which also came with some vegetables. Mrs BTR ordered Catch of The Day, with mash potatoes, vegetables and coconut tomato sauce. The thing about The Rock is that the food was ok, but essentially you are paying for the experience and view, as neither dish was particularly great……even though you are paying quite a bit for the food. The Swahili chicken was yummy, but Lyonnais potatoes nothing special, whilst Mrs BTR’s dish was……OK.
Desert – We both opted for the chocolate salami with Zanzibar spiced ice cream. The ice cream was refreshing and yummy, but the chocolate salami was essentially some broken biscuit mashed with cake and chocolate – nothing special. After dinner we sat on the rear patio and enjoyed the scenery with some drinks which was pleasant. During our booking we were informed we had a 2 hour slot, but this doesn’t really apply and the boat between land and island is constantly running so don’t worry about that too much. If you have a private taxi man (from your hotel etc) then I would suggest using him for the return journey, although we had booked our return with the restaurant ($15) which was fine, but on hindsight just as easy to sort it yourself.
Verdict – If you are in Zanzibar then visit this beautifully set restaurant, enjoy a drink on the rear patio and enjoy the view…….just don’t expect to be dazzled by the food.
Check out all the highlights of this unique restaurant in the video below: