The building that houses Livingstone Beach Restaurant was, for most of the 19th and early 20th century, the British consulate — a fact that explains both the architecture (colonial, austere in its confidence) and the positioning (prime waterfront, commanding views over the harbour approaches). The conversion to restaurant has been executed with the lightness of touch that history occasionally deserves: the colonial bones are preserved and made comfortable, the terrace extended toward the water, and the whole thing directed at the single best use such a building can serve — a place to watch the Zanzibar sunset with a glass in hand and nowhere to be for several hours.
Livingstone describes itself as the house of live music in Stone Town, and on most evenings this is accurate. The resident band performs throughout dinner and after, playing jazz-inflected material that draws on East African and Caribbean traditions without belonging entirely to either. The music is not intrusive — Stone Town's characteristic sea breeze ensures that it blends into the ambient texture of the evening rather than dominating it. From approximately 6pm, as the sun descends behind the Old Fort and the sky turns the particular shade of burnt orange that Zanzibar's coastal position produces, the terrace fills. By 7pm, it is full. Arriving early is not optional; it is the strategy.
The menu works its way through reliable international seafood territory — kingfish with coconut sauce, grilled prawns, Zanzibar octopus with tamarind, pasta with Indian Ocean catch, straightforward grilled meats for those who require them. The kitchen executes with competence rather than flair, which at a restaurant with this setting is entirely the correct calibration: trying too hard at the food would distract from the reason people are here. The Zanzibar Octopus is consistently the best dish on the menu; the cocktail list, led by a solid Zanzibar Spiced Gin & Tonic, justifies the sunset hour.
Livingstone is not the most technically ambitious restaurant in Zanzibar. It is, however, one of the most reliably satisfying — the combination of location, music, and the particular quality of the light at this hour of the day creates evenings that exceed the sum of their components. For visitors spending one or two evenings in Stone Town, this terrace at sunset is non-negotiable.