Eat
How to eat here
Start in Stone Town, where Zanzibar’s Swahili, Arab and Indian Ocean histories show up in rice dishes, curries, grilled seafood and spice-led cooking; Darajani is the best place to see the everyday ingredient economy, while Forodhani is the essential sunset snack stop. For the broadest beach-town choice, Nungwi and Paje are the strongest alternatives, but expect more tourist-oriented pricing and menus than in the city; quieter bases such as Matemwe, Jambiani, Fumba and Mangapwani have fewer independent options.
Zanzibar mix: a spice-rich rice-and-meat or seafood dish, typically built around pilau/biryani-style rice, curry, potatoes and fried accompaniments. · Urojo, the tangy, turmeric-yellow Zanzibar soup/street snack, often assembled with fritters, potato, noodles and chutneys. · Fresh grilled Indian Ocean seafood—especially octopus, fish, prawns and squid—best treated as a Zanzibar staple rather than a generic resort platter. · Zanzibar pizza: a thin, folded-and-griddled street-food parcel with savoury or sweet fillings; seek it at the Forodhani evening market. · Spice-forward cooking and drinks: cloves are the island’s defining crop, alongside cardamom, ginger and nutmeg. Taste them in tea, curries and fresh juices rather than buying only packaged ‘spice tour’ souvenirs. · Sugarcane juice, often pressed to order, and tropical fruit are ideal heat-weather orders. · Forodhani’s evening food-market tradition: go for grazing, people-watching and the waterfront at sunset, not for a hushed or refined dinner.
- Make Darajani Market your daytime food orientation: it is the useful counterweight to the visitor-facing waterfront, with produce, spices and the everyday pace of Zanzibar City. Go with patience and awareness of crowds rather than expecting a polished food hall.
- At Forodhani, inspect what is being cooked, ask the price before ordering, and favor busy stalls with high turnover. The setting is unmissable, but the waterfront market is more spectacle than a calm meal and nearby restaurants can be touristy or overpriced.
- Stone Town’s interior lanes generally offer better value and more atmosphere than the most conspicuous waterfront addresses; Shangani/Forodhani is best for sunset views and a drink, not automatically the city’s best-value dinner.
- Eat early enough to catch Forodhani at sunset, then use a proper Stone Town restaurant if you want a relaxed, seated meal. Do not plan a Nungwi or Paje dinner as a spontaneous add-on to a Stone Town evening: road time makes it impractical.
- Book ahead for a destination meal at a popular hotel or restaurant, especially in the small beach bases where independent choices are thin. In Matemwe, Jambiani, Fumba, Mangapwani and Kizimkazi, check what is open near your lodging rather than assuming a walkable restaurant strip.
- Dress and conduct should respect Zanzibar’s predominantly Muslim, lived-in city and village settings: cover up away from the beach, ask before photographing vendors, and be discreet about alcohol outside tourist-oriented venues. During Ramadan, be particularly considerate about eating and drinking conspicuously in public by day.