Food guide
What to Eat in Zimbabwe, From Sadza to the Safari Table
Zimbabwean food is home cooking built on maize: sadza, a firm white porridge eaten with the fingers, comes with a relish of stewed meat, beans or greens at almost every meal. Around it are the grill, the fish of the lakes and rivers, the fruit of the season and, on safari, the dinners of the bush camps. Visitors meet the local table in the towns and at the markets, and the camps serve both their own menus and sadza.
Updated 2026-10-08
Sadza and its relishes
Sadza, made from white maize meal cooked until stiff, is the staple of Zimbabwe, rolled into a ball in the right hand and used to scoop up the relish. The relishes are stewed beef, chicken or goat, beans, and greens such as covo, a leafy kale, or pumpkin leaves, often cooked with tomato and onion or enriched with peanut butter.
Nyama and the braai
Nyama, meat, is the centre of a celebration, and the braai, the barbecue, of beef, chicken and sausage over wood or charcoal is a weekend ritual. In the towns, Harare and Bulawayo among them, grill stands and simple restaurants serve nyama with sadza and salad, and game meat appears on the menus of lodges and city restaurants.
Fish from the lakes
Bream from Lake Kariba and the dams, grilled or fried whole, is a favourite, and kapenta, small sardine-like fish caught by night on Kariba and dried in the sun, is cooked into a relish with tomato and onion. On the lake, tigerfish and bream caught from a houseboat go straight to the grill.
Fruit, snacks and drinks
The markets sell the fruit of the season, mangoes, bananas and avocados, and in the dry months mazhanje, a small wild fruit sold at the roadside. Maheu, a thick, slightly sour drink of fermented maize, is sold everywhere, and mopane worms, dried caterpillars of the mopane tree, are a traditional snack, fried crisp. Tea, local beers and the wines of southern Africa are served in towns and lodges.
Dining on safari
The camps of Hwange, Mana Pools and the Zambezi valley cook for their guests, often in a bush kitchen, and dinner is served around a fire or at a long table under the stars, with sadza and the local relishes alongside the camp's own menu. Breakfast before the morning drive, a meal at midday and a drink at sunset frame the safari day.