Reviewed by Jonathan Nkata (The Eye)
It was my first time to travel to Rwanda and after running around attending business meetings for the past several days our stress levels were at their peak.

We were looking for a restaurant to dine at where we could simply relax and unwind and we were looking for a change of scenery as well, as we had been pretty much holed up in the hotel we were staying at. After making some enquiries we went with the most popular suggestion and that was the Republika Lounge, which is situated in Kiyovu off avenue Grand des Lacs.

As our hotel was a mere five minutes walk from the restaurant we decided to rather walk instead of catching a taxi and so we headed off for a well deserved meal and a few cold drinks.

We arrived to hear the smooth sounds of jazz music that were being played in the restaurant. Our first port of call though was to take a look at the gift shop which is situated below the Restaurant. Surprisingly it has the best collection of gifts ranging from jewellery to clothes to sculptures and while we were browsing we noticed a lot more people had joined us in our window shopping spree.

We climbed the stairs to get to the entrance of the restaurant and we were met by the Manager who warmly welcomed us and directed us to the comfortable sitting couches that Republika Lounge have inside the restaurant. This is an ideal area to simply sit and chat whilst you sip on your hard earned choice of beverage as it is comfortable and spacious. Our waiter for the evening was a gentleman by the name of Albert who showed up rather smartly dressed in what looked like coastal attire with a red bandana tied around his head. He arrived with a smile and handed us the menus – he then proceeded to help us with our orders as they were in French.

The restaurant is well designed and it has a touch of African art and lovely colours painted all over the walls. You can either sit on the deck overlooking Kigali city or around the bar area. Meanwhile you enjoy a wide selection of classical music and alcoholic liquors ranging from wines, beers and spirits of almost all brands .So you never get bored as you wait for your food to be served.

The Menu caters for both Meat eaters and Vegeterians which was a pleasant surprise. l ordered the crispy roasted goat ribs which came with Matooke Chips (Banana plantain) and Kachumbali (this is a mixture of diced tomatoes and onion with hot chili). The food was very tasty and it had a nice aroma to it as well. My colleague is a vegetarian and she thoroughly enjoyed the Vegetable Burgers they had on offer.

After our mains we ordered fruit salad with a glass of sparkling wine each. We were really impressed to see how the owners and managers of the restaurant mingled with the patrons and this just made the entire dining experience at Republika Lounge an absolute pleasure.

The food and drinks at Republika Lounge are very reasonably priced and their bathrooms are clean. It is also the ideal meeting place to meet friends, family or business colleagues for a quiet drink after work.

For more information please contact Republika Lounge on:

Mobile: (+25078) 0830 3030 / 078861 7889
Email: republounge@yahoo.com
P.O. Box 1871, Kigali
Location: Kiyovu off avenue des Grands Lacs