Arusha, the sprawling town that acts as the base for the majority of Tanzanian safaris to the legendary Serengeti, is a bustling, crowded place that isn’t much known as a destination in its own right.
But new hotel (or rather ‘restaurant with rooms’) the Bay Leaf Hotel is putting Arusha firmly on the map, not least because of its top gourmet food. The breakfast menu is a case in point. Guests can choose between the Spa breakfast, Cretan breakfast (owner Mary Chatzifotiadi is Greek-South African), Joie de Vivre breakfast and Full Monty breakfast. It would take all day to list the contents of these glorious breakfasts, but the spa option, for the super healthy, includes lemon and lime cleansing water and carrot, apple and beetroot juice (the spa itself is due to launch later this year). The Cretan option includes Greek yoghurt with local honey and walnuts, and fresh bread with feta cheese, olives and spanakopita. The Joie de Vivre is an incredibly sinful combination of Belgian hot chocolate, crme brul French toast, crispy bacon and warm Brie, as well as pain au chocolat. The Full Monty is a more conventional cooked breakfast. All sorts of side orders are also on offer, from a chorizo omelette to spicy lamb koftas or eggs Benedict.
And that is just breakfast…dinner specials for the tasting menu I sampled included options such as an open lasagna of butter poached rock lobster with lemongrass cream and candied lime, or pan-fried fillet of organic Kenyan beef topped with braised 20-hour oxtail, with kiev cabbage, crispy parma ham and merlot sauce, accompanied by excellent wines.
If you have been roughing it in the bush and enjoying the simple pleasure of a bucket shower and toast burnt on an open fire, the Bay Leaf, a boutique hotel with only three suites and three rooms, is the perfect complement – a gentle return to cosmopolitan city living and haute cuisine. Meanwhile, from Arusha you can access exciting new cultural tourism options – visit the Tanzania Tourist Board office on Boma Road for more information, or visit one of the mines where tanzanite, the stunning blue-violet precious stone only found in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, is mined.
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