Eating at The Rock Restaurant, Zanzibar
How we found out about The Rock Restaurant and the booking process
We arrived at the Rock Restaurant in Zanzibar full of excitement and anticipation. It was Christmas day, around 30 degrees Celsius, with beautiful blue skies and a very humid atmosphere.
We’d read about the restaurant a few years ago when we were scrolling through the travel pages on the internet—one of our most frequent pastimes. A restaurant located atop a small rock smack bang in the middle of the Indian Ocean. It looked absolutely epic. We knew that if we ever went to Zanzibar, we needed to visit this place.
So, when we made our travel plans to finally visit the beautiful island of Zanzibar, just off the east coast of Africa and an island belonging to Tanzania, I immediately looked up The Rock Restaurant to check their bookings and availability. Although this was in April 2024, our trip was to be in December. As fate would have it, when I clicked on their internet page, they’d just opened their calendar up for bookings for Christmas day.
As soon as I saw that, I thought, “What better place to have our Christmas meal?”, and booked it before I even spoke to Tom – something I do quite often (oops!). We would have our table from 4pm-6pm for a late Christmas lunch. I was so excited, I showed it to everyone in our family and began stalking their Instagram page. Errrr, everyone does that, right?
The day finally arrived!
As we were coming from Nungwi where we stayed on Zanzibar, we had to drive around 1.5 hours to get there. We went by taxi and our driver was so nice – stopping whenever we wanted on the way to make the most of our Christmas exploring Zanzibar.
We arrived at The Rock Restaurant around thirty minutes before our allocated booking time, as we knew that we’d want to spend some time taking some great photos of the restaurant and it’s location out at sea.
We were glad we arrived early, as there was a queue to take pictures by some of their more iconic features such as the swing, and in front of the main building. We also enjoyed a stroll along the beach before we went in to be seated, which gave us a more complete perspective of the architecture of the restaurant. There’s also a cute gift shop and local vendors selling souvenirs which you can visit.
When we finally went in we were starving and very excited. Without asking for it, we’d secured a great table on the outdoor terrace – definitely the better place to be, but mainly consisting of tables for two – we’d recommend asking for an outdoor table if your party is small enough.
The views from the table were amazing and we saw children playing, boats coming and going, and women picking seaweed to make into luxury products, all whilst the sea gently lapped beneath us.
We ordered a bottle of fizz – it was Christmas day! – and then ordered our main meals. Tom went for the catch of the day and I went for a seafood pasta dish. Both were absolutely amazing, but the pasta was mouth-wateringly good, with real homemade pasta; the owner is Italian, after all.
Once we’d leisurely eaten our food, we decided to ask to move, and share a desert and finish our wine on the terrace out the back (or front) of the restaurant, with views out to the Indian ocean as far as the eye can see. The staff graciously obliged and moved our things, and our pistachio tiramisu was delivered with a flourish. Everything we ate was incredible, the staff were fantastic and helpful, and the views were out of this world.
I couldn’t get my head around the fact that we were eating our dinner on a restaurant out at sea, but I didn’t need to look out at the incredible views to remind myself; the ocean was present in all my other senses, too. The taste of the fresh seafood, the smell of the sea, the salt in the air, and the sound of waves caressing the rocks below us.
Heading to Zanzibar? Don’t wait, book your table there now!
Where is The Rock Restaurant, Zanzibar, located?
It’s located in the Indian Ocean, just off the coast of Pingwe on the south-east of the island of Zanzibar
Google maps location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/y7FGeYaJPyikDWtS7
Why go to The Rock Restaurant, Zanzibar?
This is one of the most unique restaurants in the world!
It’s a once in a lifetime experience to dine here
With incredible Italian food on offer, including fresh seafood, and great wines too, you won’t be disappointed
Friendly and helpful staff made the experience even better
The stunning setting and location make for incredible memories and of course, Insta-worthy pics
Three ways to get the most out of your visit to The Rock Restaurant, Zanzibar
When you make your booking, think about the time of day you’ll visit. Do you want to see the sunset from there? Or would you prefer to see it at high and low tide and maybe even get the boat across? If so, consider the tide times for your visit. You only get your booking for a 2 hour time slot, so choose wisely!
The restaurant is quite far flung from places where most people stay on Zanzibar so consider beforehand how you’ll get there. Will you hire a car, use a taxi, or ask your hotel for transportation?
Do what we did and arrive at least 30 minutes before your booking time to ensure that you have enough time to soak up the atmosphere, take your desired photos including those in more popular spots, and you can go for a walk along the beach at low tide.
What sort of food is served at The Rock Restaurant, Zanzibar?
Italian owned and run, of course they serve predominantly Italian food. The cuisine is high quality with beautiful presentation, and is priced to match with portions that aren’t massive. All pasta on the menu was homemade (drool) and most dishes include some element of the nearby resources from the sea – fish, seaweed, etc.
It was one of the best meals we had in our time on Zanzibar, so we’d recommend pushing the boat out and ordering whatever you like!
Top tips for a visit to The Rock Restaurant, Zanzibar
Consider your booking time slot carefully – think tide times
Try and tie it in with an occasion as the food is quite expensive so it feels like a treat
Don’t get frustrated by people taking photos; they’re just excited and trying to make their family and friends jealous!
Consider your carbon footprint; if you’re travelling a long way to get to the restaurant, can you combine any other activities on the same day? We went to the beach at Paje beforehand to make it more worthwhile
Enjoy every second – who knows if you’ll ever dine on a rock in the Indian Ocean again?!