ELEVEN NATIONS, ONE TABLE
heritage, flavour and hospitality unite
At Zimbali Lodge, we are proud to unveil our new signature restaurant, Eleven Tribes. Inspired by South Africa’s eleven cultural legacies, this culinary journey blends heritage with refined craftsmanship. We invite you to an unforgettable dining experience where vibrant, authentic flavours, created from locally sourced ingredients, come together to tell a story worth savouring.
At the edge of forest and ocean, Eleven Tribes Restaurant at Zimbali Lodge is more than a place to dine - it is a place to belong. Inspired by South Africa’s eleven official languages, each representing a living culture, it brings their spirit to life through flavour, ritual, and story. Every course tells a tale: of ancestry and artistry, of unity and pride.
Guests are welcomed with the ceremonial Flame of Welcome, then guided through a journey of taste that honours each tribe’s culinary legacy - crafted with reverence, plated with purpose, and served with soul. Here, diversity becomes a feast, and every dish a celebration of who we are - eleven nations, one table.
MAKE A RESERVATION
Welcome
By Executive Chef, Malusi Makhize and Restaurant General Manager, Mbali Bandele
Welcome to Eleven Tribes, a place where South Africa’s stories are told not through words but through flavour, memory and the warmth of shared hospitality. Our country is home to eleven rich cultural identities, each with its own traditions, celebrations, ingredients and ways of gathering. This menu is a tribute to that diversity, a tapestry woven from the landscapes, rituals and people who shape our nation’s culinary soul.
In the kitchen, we draw from ancient techniques, indigenous produce, coastal abundance and veld provenance, crafting dishes that celebrate where we come from while embracing the creativity of the present. Every plate carries a story of fireside cooking, heritage grains, migration, spice routes, foraging trails and the deep significance of food in South African life.
As you embark on this journey, you will be warmly welcomed and looked after by Mbali Bandele, our Restaurant General Manager, whose care, attentiveness and passion for hospitality ensure that every guest feels at home. From the first greeting to the final sweet note of your meal, Mbali and her team are here to guide you through the experience with grace, intention and genuine South African warmth.
It is our honour to share this table with you, to explore heritage through dining, to celebrate our shared stories and to redefine what South African cuisine can be.
May each course offer not only nourishment but connection.
Welcome to Eleven Tribes. Welcome to our story.
Signature Experience
The Eleven Tribes Dinner Menu
UKUQALA
The Beginning.
Trio of Heritage Breads:
Zulu stone-ground corn bread, Tswana fire-griddled flatbread and South African Indian puffed poori.
Served with the our signature cultured butter candle infused with wild coastal herbs and aromatics.
A ceremonial beginning, honouring bread as the first storyteller of every tribe.
SHARING PLATES
In true South African spirit, food is meant to be shared/passed around the table, enjoyed together, and used to spark conversation. Our sharing plates honour that tradition. We recommend choosing two to three dishes for every two guests, allowing you to experience a range of flavours and stories before the journey of your main course begins.
EAST COAST FRIED SARDINES R169
Crisp sardines with white anchovy, confit red peppers, green chilli and coriander oil.
A coastal memory reborn: the flavours of Durban’s shoreline and spice markets carried in one bite.
XIKOWAKOWANA R190
Wild Mushroom and Peanut Muroho
Creamy wild herb and peanut relish, served with grilled foraged mushrooms.
An ode to Tsonga hearth cooking: earthy, grounding and deeply soulful.
MOROGO WA LENONG R95
Honey-Roasted Baby Carrots
Caramelised baby carrots with toasted pine kernels and herb-infused cream cheese, finished with citrus-mint yoghurt.
A joyful celebration of indigenous greens, colour, and freshness.
UMBHIDA R120
Charred Grilled Broccolini
Grilled broccolini dressed with chilli, garlic-parsley salt and local vinaigrette.
A modern tribute to bitter greens enjoyed across the northern tribes.
GRILLED CROCODILE KEBAB R165
Grilled Crocodile kebab, grilled peach and rocket salad green peppercorn sauce.
A tribute to the majestic Limpopo river region.
GO GADISA NAMA YA KOLOBE R165
Pulled Pork Trotter
Mash potato, silky rich sage butter sauce, finished with bacon dust.
A playful reinvention of Setswana pork traditions, fire and feast.
SALDANHA BAY PRAWN SALAD R195
Cajun-spiced prawns tossed with creamy avocado, marinated quinoa, heirloom tomatoes and mango gel.
A meeting of coast and continent: bright, fresh and full of movement.
AFUKHADA
Complimentary Avocado Sorbet with every main course
Silky, salted and kissed with lime.
A cleansing pause before the next chapter: a palate reset rooted in African fruit traditions.
PAMPOEN KOEKIES R95
Traditional Pumpkin Fritters
Golden, pillowy pumpkin fritters lightly crisped on the outside and soft within, served with a warm cinnamon caramel sauce.
A nostalgic classic found at countless South African family tables: sweet, comforting, and irresistibly familiar.
THE MAIN EVENT
CAPE OF GOOD HOPE R260
Butter-poached West Coast sole, saffron potatoes, pink prawn, roasted red pepper, clams and shellfish velouté.
A refined tribute to South Africa’s maritime cross-cultural history: European technique meeting Cape waters.
MFANA WEZINYONI R285
Smoked Game Bird: Duck or quail depending on availability
Wood-smoked wild fowl nested in a crown of burnt twigs, with Bambara beans, sun-dried maize and Old Brown Sherry jus.
A Zulu tale of the hunt: smoke, earth and slow ritual around the fire.
WILDSVLEIS R295
Venison loin
Braaied venison with a biltong crust, cured turnip, turnip mash, heirloom carrots, burnt black garlic and caramelised onion marmalade.
Finished with a Klipdrift-and-Coke reduction.
A proudly South African fusion: tradition told with a wink.
LINKU R350
Dou Of Hogget Rump and Neck
Grass-fed slow braised hogget neck, grilled hogget rump with Free State foraging fermented sorghum pumpkin mash, char grilled pearl onions rich mutton sauce.
An honouring of the Highveld: grain, grazing land, and quiet strength.
SWEET ENDINGS
MILO BURNT CHEESECAKE R110
A nostalgic South African classic reimagined, enriched with a silky pistachio mousse.
Childhood meets indulgence.
LATE HARVEST SHERRY POACHED PEAR R90
Cape pear poached in late-harvest sherry with pear crumble, star anise and pear gel.
A soft, fragrant ending shaped by Cape sweetness.
CAKE OF THE DAY R99
A delicately crafted daily creation
A surprise whispered by the pastry kitchen. Ask your server.
AMARULA ICE-CREAM & INKOMAZI MOUSSE R140
Amanganu Amarula ice-cream, baobab and lavender maas mousse, wild mango gel and African bee honeycomb.
A dessert rooted in land, memory and celebration.
All prices are charged in ZAR per and include 15% VAT.
Menu may contain allergens and pork. Please check with your server. The Chef reserves the right to alter or change menu items according to seasonal availability.
CONTACT THE RESTAURANT DIRECTLY
T: +27 (0) 32 001 0550 | E: ElevenTribes@zimbali-lodge.co.za
