Best Restaurants: Alt München

While the main restaurant is indoors (at left) they also have an outdoor seating area.

Coming from German heritage, one of the most pleasant surprises was to hear about a German restaurant in Togo. 

Alt München, situated near the port just next to the Seamans Mission, definitely helps fill the craving for German cooking. 

From the European styled facade, to the booth seating and selection of German beverages -- Alt München is the place to go if you're looking for German food. It's also the only place in Lome. 

To be honest, we've both got our favourite dishes and don't stray far from those.

The cote de porc forestiere (Jägerschnitzel) is smothered in a mushroom gravy and served with spätzle and red cabbage. Yum.

N's favourite is the cordon bleu. It's a huge portion and best of all the meat is soft and chewable!

Deserts are also very tasty (try the flambeed cherry ice cream -- no idea what it's called on the menu) but usually we are too full to order. 

And if you're not itching to go yet: they've got free wifi. 

Cote de porc forestiere.

Talk to the owners about whale watching (September through November) and deep sea fishing opportunities. 

Notes:

Closed Wednesday. 

Telephone: 22 27 63 21

And at this point in our restaurant reviews it's worth noting a few things: This is Togo. We're not giving reviews by western standards. Food at all the places we review will be edible, tasty and not make you sick. We're not promising perfect presentation, or even the best cuts of meat.  Also, many restaurants employ several chefs -- and sometimes one is much better than the other, so going at lunch may yield totally different results than dinner for the same dish. 

Restaurant review: Cote Jardin

The spacious bar and dining area at Cote Jardin provides a relaxing atmosphere

 There are a few places in Lome that can make you forget where you are. 

And no matter what kind of day you've had, going to Cote Jardin and eating a scrumptious meal in their nicely decorated restaurant makes it all a bit better.

Tucked on a side street just off of the circular (officially Blvd 13 Janvier) near the beach, Cote Jardin is definitely on the upscale end of restaurants in Lome, but when you compare it to western restaurants: paying $15 (approx 7000 cfa) for a main dish still isn't that bad at all. 

Charcoal grilled chorizo

The food is tasteful and can also be on the creative end of things. Deep fried baby barracuda and antelope stew can be had along with more 'normal' dishes like charcoal grilled chorizo and steaks. 

Cote Jardin is also the place where we accidentally ordered cows tongue. It's a long story, but lets say we were tired, we felt pressured to order quickly and in a panic we pointed to an item from the beef menu. A moment after the waitress left, our French brain kicked in. Langue. What is langue. Tongue. Ahhhh! 

Let's just say that we're glad we ordered it at Cote Jardin, because they still managed to make it taste quite good. 

Directions:  5 Rue Simone-Dogbe, Quartier Ocam.

Telephone: +228 22 22 02 20 or +228 98 48 49 04

Website: http://www.cotejardin.tg/

Best Restaurants: Chez Fanny

How many restaurants are worth driving over 100 kilometres for?

Well, we've found one in a lovely mountain town, Kpalime, which lies just over 100 kilometres north of Lome.

In our opinion, it's one of the best restaurants in all of Togo.

Chez Fanny, which is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, also has a selection of excellent (SPOTLESS), air-conditioned rooms.

Avocado Shrimp Salad

While rooms do cost more than other hotels in Kpalime (18 000cfa+) the whole compound is meticulously clean --  enough to satisfy the scrutiny of any German oma. Beds also have springs, and pillows do not feel like hardened sacks of concrete.

The French-Togolese couple who own Chez Fanny are warm and welcoming and their menu boasts scrumptious selections of beef, lamb, chicken and fish as well as a set of daily specials.

Wines are chilled, tablecloths are clean, waiters are very attentive and often bilingual and the cost-per-plate is reasonable compared with your other options in Kpalime. (Entrees range between 4000 - 6000 cfa)

We recommend the avocado shrimp salad as an entree starter and the chicken brochettes, ginger shrimp or lamb as your main course. For those who like steaks, they're supposedly really good. And while we have yet to try it, the French Onion Soup is supposedly amazing.

Beef, ham and cheese roulade special. I wish this was always on the menu! 

It's worth noting that they serve something other than plain omelettes or 'petit dejeuner complet' for breakfast. Tuna, ham and cheese or chicken sandwiches can be had as well as a variety of other egg based dishes. We highly recommend the Bacon and Eggs.  While crepes are technically on the dessert menu, they can be had for breakfast as well!

Additional notes:
Chez Fanny is located at the south edge of Kpalime, on the right hand side of the street if you're coming from Lome. Look for a compound wall covered in flagstones.

Phone number: 24 41 05 79

Chez Fanny closes for the month of June.

Best Restaurants in Lome: Lalibela

What are the best places to eat in Togo?

To date, one of our most favourite places to go for a scrumptious meal in Lomé is Lalibela, an Ethiopian restaurant in the Forever neighbourhood. (That's on the same road as Plan Togo's new office, Av. de Kondona.)

Pros:
We were introduced to the restaurant by some friends of ours, and have yet to stray from their recommended dish: the vegetarian platter. It consists of injera with a variety of vegetarian dishes -- cabbage, bean, salad, etc.

It's huge and cheap (approx. 3,000 cfa) and it is easily shared if you're not too hungry.

And if you desire some meat, the tibs are a decent addition to the vegetarian platter.

Cons:
Power goes out quite regularly in this neighbourhood, so be prepared to sit in darkness as a waiter tries to get the generator going.

Slow. You will likely wait 45 minutes for your food, or longer if there's a few dishes being prepared.

Notes:
Phone number: 22 35 45 91
Closed Mondays