Taste of Africa Food tasting Experience

I really enjoyed my Taste of Africa Food Tasting Experience. My guide, Joe, explained that "no one is from Johannesburg" because it is a city that developed around the gold mines. As such, there isn't really a local cuisine, but dishes/food culture from many regions of Africa are represented in Johannesburg's neighborhoods. Joe interwove Johannesburg history with visiting restaurants from 4 different African countries, such as Ghana and Ethiopia. I've eaten Ethiopian food before, but the experience of having a woman make coffee for me over a charcoal stove on the floor was new to me and very interesting. (The coffee was superb.) I loved all the different food we experienced and Joe made me feel comfortable even though I was solo on the tour.

Food was OK, we were picked up on time but waited almost 45 minutes for another group to decide if they were going. We finally started almost an hour late. Other people didn’t speak English so at the last Minute our tour guide brought in someone else who spoke English for our tour. Restaurants not very clean.

This experience puts you into the REAL Africa suburb. The Yeoville area we visited is strictly very genuine… good , bad, and beautiful. A melting pot of African countries . Would recommend but would say the earlier excursion would be best in winter when sunset is at 17:30 pm. There are no streetlights. I’m was not afraid but some could be. Our guide Joe was wonderful

Having never tried African food, I signed up for this tour. Pick up was smooth with the driver calling early to tell me he was on his way. I was dropped off in Yeoville where I met our guide Jo. Jo was an excellent guide, explaining the history of Yeoville. We started our tour walking through a market before stopping at our first restaurant which was Ghanaian. The Jollof was good and the Shito brought the heat! Next was a short walk through Yeoville, passing the library and recreation centre where Jo explained about the migrant communities. Our next stop was at an Ethiopia eatery, where we had Injera with strong Ethiopian coffee. Eating with hands only was an experience! Back on the bus, we headed to Maboneng where Jo told us about the revitalization of the area after the 2010 world cup. Our 3rd stop was Nigerian food, which was Jollof and beef stew. Walking through Maboneng, Jo highlighted the many street arts along the way. Our final stop was at a South African restaurant, where we had Mieliepap with Boerewors. Rolling the hot Mieliepap in my hand was a challenge! Overall it was an enjoyable day, about 3 hours long. There was some walking involved but it did help with digestion in between stops!

The pre tour comms was lacking resulting in me having to call the provider on the morning of the tour to confirm that they had our booking and what time they would pick us up. Once on the tour it was clear that Joe is very passionate about his community and sharing it with people. Also it is clear that he is well known and respected in the area with many locals greeting him as we were walking. The different foods tried were interesting and tasty though perhaps too much - it was impossible to get through everything!

It was an intimate experience hearing stories of inner Johannesburg, its mixed ethnicity and then tasting foods from 4 cultures. (Plus beer) I thoroughly enjoyed it. Jo was knowledgeable and showed us highlights as well as explaining how the Maboneng area has had its ups, downs and now more ups.

Our tour guide Joe made the trip amazing. He told us the history of the areas and took us on a sightseeing tour. The food was not really impressive as I thought it would be. Out of the four taste locations that we traveled to, the food was cold except the South African restaurant (which turned out to be my favorite one). I would recommend the taste tour with the advice of enjoying the conversation with the tour guide Joe and the experience but not the food itself.

Tour guide did a very good job of explaining the history of all areas that we toured. It was a very fun experience. I highly recommend.

This was such an authentic experience, walking through two very different districts. The food from four African areas ( Ghana, Nigerian, Ethiopia and South Africa) were fantastic. Jo was a great guide who had such an extensive knowledge of the area.

Make sure that you come hungry as the food serves are large at the 4 restaurants that you visit. I was the only participant on my tour along with the guide, Joe. He talked about South Africa history and the multitude of people from other African countries who live here. We ate at Ghana, Ethiopia, Nigerian and Zimbabwe restaurants. I did take leftovers from the final place to eat the next day. I could have done it at another but didn't bother.