The meal
Nyama Choma: The Meal at Lesedi
What's on the buffet, the three regional sections, and how to handle dietary needs.
See the Lesedi visit on GetYourGuide ↗What's on the Nyama Choma buffet
| Section | Style | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| South African | Traditional South African dishes | Described as including Kalahari lamb |
| East African-styled | A separate themed section of the room | More adventurous options, such as crocodile and ostrich |
| North African-styled ("Nile Room") | Floor seating, a different room style | Part of the same buffet, served in its own space |
A buffet, not a plated menu
The meal at Lesedi, lunch or dinner depending on your start time, is served at the Nyama Choma restaurant as a buffet of traditional African fare rather than a fixed plated set menu. That means you choose what and how much to try, which matters if you're visiting with a mixed group of adventurous and cautious eaters. It also means the meal moves at your own pace — nobody's waiting on a kitchen ticket, which matters after the walk and the dancing.
Three regions on one buffet
The restaurant is arranged in sections evoking different parts of the African continent — a South African section, an East African-styled section and a North African-styled room with floor seating — rather than one long serving line. It's designed to be walked through and sampled across, not eaten at a single station.
What's actually on it
Dishes are described as including South African staples such as Kalahari lamb, alongside more adventurous options like crocodile and ostrich for anyone who wants to try them. Expect a genuinely varied spread rather than a narrow "tourist buffet" of the same three dishes repeated. If crocodile or ostrich aren't for you, the South African section's more familiar dishes, including the Kalahari lamb, are there as the plainer option — nobody has to try the adventurous end of the buffet to eat well.
Dietary needs and children
Because the menu is fixed, dietary needs work best raised while you're booking rather than at the table on the day. Families do well here too — the crocodile and ostrich sit alongside plainer, more familiar dishes, so a picky eater still has plenty to choose from.
Timing: after the boma, not before
The meal is served after the boma performance, not before it, whether your start time makes it lunch or dinner — the order is walk, then dance, then table, and that sequencing is part of the programme rather than incidental. If you'd rather eat before a performance than after one, that's simply not how this visit is built — worth knowing going in rather than discovering it on the day.
Drinks
Drinks are not included in this package, so anything you order with the meal, alcoholic or not, is paid for separately at the restaurant.