The Stables,
Chalk Farm Road,
Camden,
London,
NW1 8AB
(020) 3376 9911
The ViewLondon Review
Despite huge fanfare, a £5.5 million spend-up and a launch party featuring London’s finest C-listers, Shaka Zulu didn’t receive much glowing praise when it opened. Thankfully it’s improved enough to make it worth a visit, though quite a bit of work still needs to be done in the kitchen.
The Venue
Located in Camden’s Stables Market, Shaka Zulu clearly took a lead from its neighbours over at Gilgamesh, using a lot of money to create somewhere that’s lavish, opulent, extravagant and tacky only to those with the most refined levels of sophistication. Imposing figures of the Zulu king himself are dotted around, standing twenty feet tall and staring resolutely ahead, with everything else in this huge venue being a fascinating mix of mosaics, animals, warriors, carvings, leopard prints, authentic seating and African patterns.
Absolutely everything is covered with something or another, bar the unattractive, out of place and strangely illuminated escalator that unites the first floor restaurant and the main bar, inadvertently doubling as a poor choice of centrepiece in the process. It’s undoubtedly an impressive venue though, with meticulous detail given to how it looks – it’ll certainly have tongues wagging.
The Atmosphere
Billed as London’s latest high end venue, Shaka Zulu is unlikely to bring the great and good of the West End party scene over to Camden, but it’s still perfect for those looking for somewhere a little bit different. Consequently you can expect to see plenty of celebrations, plenty of pretty girls in short skirts and plenty of sharp-suited men playing it cool. The restaurant sees a smattering of South Africans looking for a taste of home, as well as groups enjoying a birthday or two and couples bored with the lack of decent eateries in Camden trying out the fare. Service is hugely improved from its early days, with staff being knowledgeable, helpful and authentically accented, so plus points for that.
The Food
Shaka Zulu serves up predominantly South African cuisine, but there are elements from the rest of Africa and beyond too. The choice of cuisine is sound enough, and the menu sounds appealing, but the execution isn’t quite up to scratch just yet, especially considering the weighty prices charged.
Starters don’t begin proceedings particularly well, with the Cape Malay pickled fish (£8.95) boasting nicely cooked fish served with a dressing reminiscent of coronation sauce, but one far too sweet to illustrate any of the delicate flavours that might have been involved in its creation. The doro wat (£7.95), a traditional Ethiopian chicken dish, is too salty and lacks spice, even if the meat is tender and the flat bread passable.
Mains are inconsistent, with a very tasty skilpadjies (£18.50) consisting of decent quality rump steak, calves liver, ox kidney, garlic, onion and herbs. It’s very good, although some might not like quite how offal-heavy it is. The springbok fillet (£24) seems like a good bit of meat but isn’t cooked to medium-rare as requested, so is unfortunately just a smidgeon too dry. The accompanying sweet potato croquette is uninspiring.
Desserts are thankfully a huge improvement, with the melktert (£6), a milk tart with an excellent sweet pastry crust that’s like a traditional custard tart but with a higher ratio of milk to egg making it lighter and milkier than those we usually enjoy. It’s very good though, and served with a creamy and flavoursome vanilla ice cream. The watermelon mint and vodka sorbet (£6) is even better, with a rich watermelon sorbet served in a martini glass, waiting for the mint infused vodka to join it from the shot glass. It works really well.
The Drink
In keeping with the kind of impression it’s obviously keen to promote, Shaka Zulu doesn’t hold back with either the wines on offer or the prices that accompany them. Things go quite quickly up from the decent, if expensive, house white (a fruity Saam Mountain Chenin Blanc 2009 at £22.50) up to a £47.50 Chardonnay, a £55 Pinotage and into the Champagnes, where the odd bigwig will probably be happy to splash out on the £395 Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle. There’s a solid cocktail lists of classics and creations too, with Manhattans, Caipirinhas, Mai Tais and Margaritas (£9.50) offered alongside the Ultimate Martini (£15), a Deluxe Daiquiri (£15) and one for two called Mandela’s Guests (£25), though perhaps only Nelson knows why.
The Last Word
Much maligned by the capital’s critics, Shaka Zulu’s really not that bad. You should probably only head there for drinks though, until they sort the kitchen out.
Shaka Zulu has been reviewed by 67 users