Although Moshi might be a rather small town, you’d be surprised by the amount and variety of restaurants to choose from. From local Swahili-style food to Indian and Italian cuisine or even a combination of different styles, there is a world of food to be found in Moshi.
Most often you will find a combination of Italian and Indian foods as these are the two most popular foreign cuisines in Tanzania. This combination can be found at Indoitaliano Restaurant (as the name already suggests) located in Moshi town. In Shanty town (a district of Moshi) 10-2-10 restaurant also serves Indian-Italian style food.
If you are looking for ‘real’ Indian food I would suggest one of the restaurants which only serve Indian dishes as they are normally more authentic. One of these restaurants is the Sikh Club which offers authentic Indian dishes for a reasonable price.
If you are a vegetarian or have already had enough meat for the week, then I would recommend the vegetarian restaurant Milan’s which offers well spiced Indian dishes for a very good price – paneer masala for 5000Tsz ($2.40).
The El Rancho restaurant is probably the most expensive Indian style restaurant in Moshi but of course you also get something in return: the famous drumsticks are 12 000 TZS (about $6) and are most likely the best that you will find in Moshi and maybe even in Northern Tanzania.
Another restaurant that serves Italian dishes like pizza and pasta is Italian Passion – also known as Leopard Hotel as it belongs to the hotel. At this restaurant free bruscetta is served with your food order!
If you are a fan of Asian cuisine, then the fairly new Kaliwa Thai restaurant located next to Uhuru Park will fulfill your needs. They serve Thai dishes you will not find anywhere else in town. Also try the Chinese dishes from the Kilimanjaro Coffee Shop. They also offer burgers, sandwiches and, as the name says, good coffee.
In case you feel like a hungry lion, “Green Bamboo” in Shanty Town would be your restaurant of choice. Just order the full menu and you can eat as much meat – chicken, pork, lamb and beef – as at the very similar and famous “Carnivore Restaurant” in Nairobi. This is served with a variety of different sauces and salads.
There are also a lot of good places if you are only looking for simple dishes like chicken and chips. “Glaciers Pub”, a bar in Shanty Town, offers great kuku choma (BBQ chicken) but the order could take some time especially in the later hours as this bar is also very popular on weekends.
Another restaurant-bar that offers only simple dishes is Chrisburger (also known as Pub Alberto). This restaurant turns into a nightclub later at night and is very popular.
A good selection of Swahili-style dishes, burgers and sandwiches can be found at Pamoja Café.
The two newest options for dining in Moshi are Hungry Joe’s and La Fuente Gardens. Hungry Joe’s offers good burgers, steaks (even imported steaks from Kenya) and a variety of cocktails.
La Fuente Gardens serves delicious Mexican dishes and sweet desserts in a very nice garden setting.
Of course most of the mentioned restaurants also serve some local Swahili dishes. You will find things like pilau – spiced rice with vegetables and/or meat/fish, mishikaki – grilled meat skewers, or ndizi nyama – a beef stew with bananas and vegetables.
In Moshi, the ‘trekking capital’ of Tanzania, you may find travellers from all over the world, but also food from all over the world. Mlo mwema – Bon appetit!
By Christian Seifert