Emerson Spice Tea House — Zanzibari Seafood / Spice, Stone Town
The Tea House at Emerson Spice is the best restaurant in Stone Town — a signature seafood rooftop restaurant offering an informal fine dining tasting menu with the freshest local seafood, a creative use of spices and indigenous plants. The first course of dinner is served promptly at 7pm and advance reservations are required; the rooftop view of Stone Town at sundown, with the minarets and the labyrinthine streets spreading below, is among the most extraordinary dining views in the world.
The tasting menu moves through the Zanzibar spice tradition with genuine culinary intelligence: the cloves, the cardamom, the cinnamon, the black pepper, and the turmeric that have defined the island’s cooking for a thousand years of Indian Ocean trade appear in dishes that honour the tradition rather than simply referencing it. The seafood — fresh from the Indian Ocean waters visible from the rooftop — is the primary ingredient; the spices are the language in which it is spoken.
The wine and drinks programme reflects the Zanzibari tradition: the fresh fruit juices of the tropical island, the spiced teas that the Arab trading tradition brought, and the South African wines that provide the international dimension.
Emerson Spice is the restaurant that makes Stone Town a dining destination rather than simply a heritage site. The rooftop view, the spice tasting menu, and the Indian Ocean at sunset together produce the most memorable dining experience available in East Africa.
Best Occasion: Proposal
The rooftop above Stone Town at sunset, the minarets and Indian Ocean visible below, and the finest spice-driven tasting menu in Zanzibar: Emerson Spice provides a proposal setting of extraordinary beauty and cultural resonance.
Best Occasion: Impress Clients
The best restaurant in Stone Town, with the finest view in Zanzibar and a tasting menu that takes the spice island’s culinary heritage seriously: Emerson Spice is the most impressive dining experience available in the Zanzibar Archipelago.