Meat off the grill is clearly a popular choice in Kigali and continuing the trend is Choma’d, an appropriately named new grill and bar located in Nyarutarama.

Barely three months old, Choma’d brings a new type of grill experience to the Kigali Gastro culture.

Here, you will not find your typical brochette or whole leg of goat or quarter grilled chicken but more of a Western/American menu that includes the world famous Philly cheese steak which is one of the signature dishes here.

As is typical in Kigali, new places with novel ideas attract crowds and Choma’d is no exception. It is a busy place and is the scene for the corporate and middle class Kigali residents as well as a sizable foreign patronage. This is not by chance because despite the usual incidents that go hand in hand with opening a new place to the public, Choma’d seems to be settling into its groove and providing a different option for Kigali’s dining and night life.

Choma’d is designed on a premise of simplicity. Simply taking a look at the park/garden style tables and benches attests to this. The bar counter was a clever and inspired idea and was built around an existing structure. This also points to the design simplicity that the Choma’d team were going for.

The service has improved by leaps and bounds in comparison to day one. This is a most natural occurrence as the wait staff have settled into their roles.

The bar offers a variety of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails and the kitchen produces a small fixed menu as well as daily specials, all consisting of animal protein although the vegetarian is also accounted for.

Once ordered for, food is served in rectangular wooden trays with the Choma’d logo etched into them. This too is another new idea and Choma’d is proving to be quite the trendsetter in some regard. The adjacent gardens lie unused but well kept and I certainly do hope that the creative minds behind Choma’d do have a plan for this.

You probably guessed by now that I did opt for the Philly cheese steak. This is a typical American menu item that consists of thinly sliced steak with melted cheese in a bread roll. Depending on availability, the Philly cheese steak consists of American cheese and rib eye steak. None of these were what my cheese steak was made out of but it was indeed a tender cut and melted cheese with the usual veggies that complete this item. The Choma’d fries, which are spiced, made up the sides.

It does take a bit of practice to get this right as it would for anything else in life but for a new place, this was a decent effort and I was appreciative of the good meal. It did take a bit of time to get to me but as I earlier mentioned, this probably came down to the Choma’d staff finding their feet.

Choma’d is located right behind Haute Baso on Kg 9 and is open from noon till late. If you appreciate an American /Rwandan grill menu, please be sure to check out this spot.

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