Eatingout: Heaven is a place in Kigali

An ethical restaurant to up the standard American Alison Ruxin along with Kigali’s top architect and restaurateurs from New York has opened what is without a doubt Kigali’s most impressive restaurant. ‘Floating above Kigali,’ Ruxin explains, Heaven is designed as a peaceful sanctuary. Boasting a perfect view of the city the restaurant indeed feels like a haven of sorts. Will its name offend? At least one person has commented that ‘Heaven’ is not a suitable name for somewhere that serves alcohol. The restaurant’s enormous wooden platform with dramatic roof is simultaneously cutting edge and traditionally African. Art works from Ivuka Studio brighten the walls. A large wooden bar offers glamorous cocktails while the terrace is decked with impressive wooden thrones. Married to the director of the Millennium Village, Ruxin explains that everything, from place mats to chairs, is sourced from local craftsman and will eventually be available to buy. Staff (themselves sourced from ‘particularly vulnerable backgrounds’ the blurb informs) in pale blue t-shirts, greet with wide smiles and offer cosy blankets to girls in skimpy tops. So far, so good. The menu (all sourced locally, of course) is enticing. To start there are pumpkin samosas, slow roasted aubergine, and quesadilla with lamb merguez and goats cheese. Mains sound even more tempting: cornmeal-crusted talapia with mango salsa, stuffed peppers braised in tomato, dry-rubbed pork spare rib with pineapple. And there’s a tropical strudel or vanilla custard tart to round things off. Undoubtedly a welcome change from Kigali’s favourite pizza or pasta! High prices stood out, (Frw4,000 for a starter and up to Frw7,000 for a main) but by this point our anticipation had got the better of us and we barely noticed. Going from strength to strength, perhaps most impressive was the fact that the food arrived promptly. “20 minutes, not bad”, my dinner partner exclaimed; all too used to a one or even two hour wait. It was opening night, so perhaps we ought to be forgiving but just when we thought it was all too good to be true the food turned out to sound somewhat better than it tasted. The hefty prices no longer seemed irrelevant. To be fair the food was enjoyed but it would perhaps have tasted better had we thought the prices matched the quality. Not to be put off, the restaurant’s shortcomings were fast put down to teething problems and we all promised to come again. At least we knew the menu was to change with the seasons! And indeed at least one of the party has eaten there three times since! Heaven, while perhaps not yet utterly divine, has every chance of becoming a food lover’s paradise. Heaven, in Kiyovu, is closed on Tuesdays. Ends