Kigali Cuisine Professionnelle is one of those word-of-mouth places in this city. Word of mouth in that the only way you will know it exists is through a third party. 

Otherwise, there is no signpost, banner, poster –anything to announce its location. 

Located within the Ministry of Justice (Minijuste) premises in Kimihurura, Kigali Cuisine Professionelle is one of those places that I discovered while hunting for a cheap and quick lunch buffet.  

It has a cafeteria feel about it, with huge circular pillars, an abundance of white floor and wall tiles, and basic plastic chairs and tables draped under Mutzig beer table covers. Incidentally, they are the only sign that beer is on the menu, although they only serve alcohol strictly after 5:00 pm. 

The box-shaped building in which it is located houses the dining hall, which takes in 11 tables of 4-5 people each. Come lunch time, the buffet springs up at one corner, and the crowds of office workers start trickling in. 

The people who eat here are the white collar workers in the Minijuste area and nearby office blocks, and those visiting the Supreme Court. If you happen to visit at the peak of the lunch rush hour, expect a full house as office lunch outings take center stage.

The good news is that down through the kitchens at the back of the building is a huge white tent with extra seating. 

The African buffet is surprisingly cheap, which perhaps explains why the place retains an office canteen aspect about it. Where else in the prime Kimihurura area will you find a neat and hot buffet at 1,000 Rw f? Similarly, the beverages (soft and hard) go at retail rates. 

The buffet is nothing out of the ordinary; just good enough for the Rwf1,000 fee. 

Once one is done with their meal, one of the many brown waitresses then comes to your table and asks you what you consumed, then quietly scribbles down your bill on a small coupon. It is this coupon that you present at the cashier’s counter as you pay up for your meal. We only hope that one day, people who eat here team up against management to throw out this coupon arrangement because who wants to eat on a coupon?

For breakfast, there is a choice of coffee, tea, fruits, eggs, Samosa and boiled meat.