Paje Restaurants

Last Updated on September 11, 2023

During my 10 day visit to Paje Zanzibar, I set myself the challenge to eat at different restaurants in Paje every day! I went to both restaurants along Paje Beach, as well as places in the village. In this post I share 10 Paje restaurants and bars, including what you can expect from the menus, prices and my favourites! Please note that both of my accommodations in Paje provided VERY good varied breakfasts in the room rate, so I only ate out for lunch and dinner.

Disclosure: I do my best to try and keep information up-to-date but please check direct with businesses for current opening times and prices.

Star rating = MY opinion/favourites (based on taste, menu, location & price)

Beachfront Restaurants & Bars

Generally speaking the restaurants on Paje Beach are more expensive than those located in the village. They definitely cater more towards tourists but then you also get to enjoy the amazing beachfront views!

BeachBar Mahali

Out of the beachfront restaurants in Paje, BeachBar Mahali was my favourite! I may be bias because they serve chips/fries that taste just like those that are found in UK fish & chip shops! In all my travels, I’ve NEVER found a place that sells chips that taste the same!

It’s one of my small pleasures in life, sitting next to the sea eating ‘chip shop’ chips, so it filled me with joy. (So much so I went back for chips a second time!)

Beachbar Mahali Paje Zanzibar. Bottle of beer and burger and chips with ocean in the background — Burger and chips at BeachBar Mahali

If you’re not a chip fan, that’s OK! They have sofas that overlook the beach as well as a higher up dining level with regular tables and chairs and larger sofas. Their sign advertised ‘unique burger recipes’, so it would have been rude not to have one.

A beef burger and chips was 15,000 shillings (approx $6), the burger was star shaped came with lettuce, tomato and cucumber. Local beer (Safari and Kilimanjaro) is 5000 shillings, which was the average cost in most restaurants.

Mr Kahawa

Mr Kahawa was ALWAYS busy. If you’re a coffee lover, this is the best place to go. Considering ‘Kahawa’ means ‘coffee’ in Swahili you can’t really go wrong! I had a coconut iced latte for 7000 shillings and potato wedges with salad for 10,000. On the lunch menu, sandwiches are around 15,000 shillings but dinners are upwards of 20,000.

Paje By Night On The Beach

Paje By Night On The Beach was an extension of my accommodation so it was somewhere that I used to hang out at quite a lot. They have giant bean bags set slightly back from the beach, making it a great place to set up base for swimming in the sea and having somewhere to leave your stuff.

On the menu you’ll find ice cream and mostly Italian food, such as pizzas, soups and salads. Most dishes are upwards of 20,000 shillings. I had Bruschetta for 10,000, which was the perfect size for a lunch time snack and a ‘lemon avo’ ice cream milkshake for 12,000 shillings.

Paje By Night On The Beach shuts at 7pm so it is a better option for lunch or an early dinner.

Paje By Night On The Beach Bruschetta with ocean in the background — Bruschetta by Paje By Night On The Beach

B4 Beach Bar

B4 Beach Bar is expensive compared to some of the other Paje restaurants. Local beer is 8000 shillings (3000 more than the average). Cocktails are around 15,000 including yummy ice cream milkshake cocktails. I had one with ice cream, coconut, pineapple and a shot of rum! Their speciality are build your own burgers that are upwards of 20,000 shillings.

Tiki Beach (Bwejuu)

A great thing to do in Paje is to walk up and down the beach, you can walk miles in either direction! Approximately 2km north (30 minute walk from Paje) is Bwejuu. Tiki Beach isn’t hard to miss as they have a giant ‘Tiki ❤️ Beach’ sign in front of their bar.

Again, you’ll find similar prices to B4, beer is 8000 shillings and food is around 20,000 per person. But the beer is cold and the food is good, so could be worth stopping at if you plan on going for a walk!

Tiki Beach bar sign near Paje Zanzibar — Tiki Beach in Bwejuu

Paje Village Restaurants

Rooftop Restaurant

The Rooftop Restaurant didn’t have great reviews on Google, but my group loved our meals and its location is pretty cool! I think it was my favourite restaurant in Paje village! As the name suggests, it’s a restaurant on a rooftop, located on the main road opposite the Shirin Supermarket.

As one of the tallest buildings in Paje, you can enjoy views over the whole village while you enjoy your meal!

Paje Restaurants Rooftop Restaurant — The Rooftop Restaurant, Paje

We all opted for the juice/smoothie of the day which was pineapple, coconut and avocado for 8000 shillings. I also had a huge avocado salad served with flatbread for 11,000. Other menu items include seafood and traditional Swahili dishes.

Paje Rooftop Restaurant avacado salad with flat bread — Avocado Salad at The Rooftop Restaurant in Paje

Sativa Cafe

A short distance from the Rooftop Restaurant, located further up the main road, is the Sativa Cafe (also called Shanti Cafe). This restaurant in Paje specialises in vegan and vegetarian dishes. I’m neither, but I ate here twice after meeting other vegan travellers and it was recommended to them by their hotel!

I thought it was one of the best value restaurants in Paje! They have a large selection of juices for 4900 shillings and almost all of the main course dishes on the menu are 10,000 shillings.

I had the ‘veg noodles’ (noodles with vegetables, like a stir fry…not noodles made out of vegetables!) and the portion size was giant!

Veg Noodles at Sativa Cafe in Paje Zanzibar — Vegan noodles at Sativa Cafe in Paje

Mapacha Street Food Court

You can’t really miss the Mapacha Street Food Court, it’s located right on the main roundabout in Paje. There are several different outlets offering various cuisines. It has an outside seating area around a fish pond with a little bridge over the top!

I ate at Chow Chinese Street Food and had 4 beef dumplings for 5000 shillings and a coke for 3000. They also have larger portion dishes such as chicken noodle soup for 16,000 or egg fried rice with beef or chicken for 18,000.

Paje Mapacha Street Food Court with fish pond and bridge — Mapacha Street Food Court in Paje

The Plants is another vegan/vegetarian friendly food option in Paje, with most menu items averaging 12,000 shillings (noodles, rice etc). Karma Falafel have falafel based dishes between 7000 to 10,000 shillings. Mama Mia Gelato have ice cream for 4000 per scoop.

African BBQ

Africana’s BBQ ALWAYS seemed to be busy! It was popular with tourists, locals and the Maasai, who tend to gather there in the evenings after working the beach! The tables look like long wooden boats where everyone tends to sit together.

None of my group were able to get our legs under the table though, so it was a bit awkward needing to sit sidewards.

African BBQ restaurant in Paje Zanzibar — African BBQ in Paje

The are lots of cheap and reasonable prices options on the menu. It was definitely one of the cheapest restaurants in Paje that I ate at. I had Zanzibar Pilau Rice with a small beef curry for 6000 shillings and a Serengeti beer for 4000 (the cheapest beer during my stay, however it was in a smaller bottle).

Paje By Night

As mentioned above, I was staying at Paje By Night so I used the bar a couple of times during my stay. My go to were Mojito cocktails for 15000 (beer is 5000). I also ate at the restaurant one night.

They serve mostly Italian dishes (after all, the owners are Italian!), I had the spaghetti marinara for 18,000 which also came with 2 bread rolls.

On a Friday night they have live music from 8pm until 10pm. During my stay they set up tables around the pool for candle lit dining too!

Paje By Night Vegan Breakfast with Avocado Toast — ‘Vegan Breakfast’ with fruit, vegetables, dates, cashews and avocado toast

Paje By Night also offer their breakfasts to non-guests for 20,000 shillings. There are 4 ‘packages’ with customisable options. My favourite was the ‘Yogi Breakfast’ which had tea or coffee, fresh juice, yoghurt with muesli and honey, fresh fruit and then a choice of items such as a herb omelette or Nutella crepes.