I’m a profession eater and there are two more places I enjoyed dinning in Johannesburg: Carnivore Restaurant and Lucky Bean.  Carnivore is an award winning restaurant (Best Traditional Restaurant, Runner-up Restaurant of the Year) and the dramatic entrance consumes you with anticipation with various African animal statues.  You can have a photo shoot with everything they have on display from a larger then life Nelson Mandela Statue, Zulu Kingdom thrown and statue of King Shaka Zulu.

Once you finally get to your table the party is ready to begin as long as your South African flag is in the up position.  The restaurant is set up like a Brazilian style churrascaria and the waiters will keep bringing you every meat imaginable.

After the waiter explains the dinning rules a carrousel of severs approaches your table offering 13 different meats.  The roster includes: chicken livers, chicken yakitori, pork sausages, pork spare ribs, rump steak of beef, leg of lamb, leg of pork, venison meat balls, venison sausage, gemsbok, zebra, impala and crocodile.  You also get soups, salad and sides: baked potato, pumpkin (sweet potato), honey bread and phutu pap & sauce.  The dinning experience was delicious, some meat was better then other but my favorite was the tenderly cooked Zebra.

Later in the evening after that protein war at carnivore, dinner was at Lucky Bean, a South African bistro, in the Melville neighborhood.  The laid back restaurant, bar and lounge felt like an oasis for great music and food.  Lucky Bean is definitely a change of speed for the grown and sexy to come enjoy a contemporary evening in Johannesburg.

The restaurant has loft seating with a patio extension that makes for a great view while taking in a live performance.  The food is delicious and the ostrich bobotie spring rolls will have you running back here every time you visit Johannesburg.  The décor is creative in how the tree mural has leafs protruding from the wall with lights inside.  The effect is very charming and the perfect backdrop for the evening.  The special treat for me was meeting Nokuthula Zulu, she is a direct descent of King Shaka Zulu.

 

 

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