Shaka Zulu

Shaka Zulu, Stables Market, Chalk Farm Road, Camden, NW1 8AB

Nearest Tube: Camden Town (approx. a 7 minute walk from there)

Continuing along my ‘out & about in London’ theme after my second trip to Shaka Zulu I thought I would actually get a review up.

Shaka Zulu is a South African themed restaurant in Camden. The menu is mostly meat based with a large selection of steaks as well as more unusual meats such as Zebra and ostrich. The vegetarian menu however is very limited with only 2 vegetarian main meal choices on the whole menu i.e a vegetable Potjie and a spiced pumpkin ravioli. The meat however is what you come for!!!

On our first visit Mr MusicalTheatreMusings had the game board and this included everything from crocodile, to zebra and from ostrich to chilli boerewors. I sampled a large selection of these meats and each were really high quality. On our second visit we shared the chateaubriand for 2. I have to say this is one of the best steaks I have had in London. The portion sizes were all large. That being said for most of the meats you will need to order side dishes to accompany them as they don’t tend to come with anything. We had a selection of sides including the fat chips, peri peri chips and sweet potato mash, all were rather yummy.

There is also a good selection of starters and deserts. The ice cream for desert sounds fairly simple however you are served 6 flavours in a mini cone each on a long tray – perfect for sharing between 2 of you.

Be warned however this restaurant is not cheap. On both occasions we have managed to get 50% off mains which takes the steaks down to just over £15. However the sides are all £5 which are not normally included in the deals. The starters range from £7- £14 and the deserts are a similar price.

We got the 50% off mains (when ordering a starter or desert) from Open Table. I also know that taste card often offers 2 for 1 deals on main meals and the restaurant section of lastminute.com is also offering the 50% off mains deal so it seems there are plenty of savings to be had!

Cocktails are around the £11 mark although having sampled a few they are all worth it and if you get there between 12 – 7pm the cocktails are half price. The house bottles of wine start at around £25. Even with the 50% off mean menu deal the meal cost us around £50 each including 1 alcoholic drink. If trying to save a little I would recommend skipping the starters as the main courses and deserts are the highlights for me.

The atmosphere is good in there and on the Friday night there was live music in the form of African drummers who made their way around the restaurant. There is also a DJ as part of the restaurant turns into a club/bar (so be warned children are only able to dine there until 9pm). This isn’t the place to go for a quiet meal but a good place for a party vibe. The décor is also really interesting, giant status, carvings of elephants in the walls and murals with zebras – everywhere you turn there is something new to look at.

The service was also very good and on my second visit it was a member of my parties birthday she got a desert with a rather large sparkler in it presented to her.

Overall this is a great restaurant if you are a meat lover looking to celebrate with a lively night out! If you are a vegetarian looking for a romantic candlelit dinner however you might want to give it a miss!!

To find out more about Shaka Zulu visit their website.

If you found this interesting you may also like my review on Evan & Peel and Bounce Bar.