Durban is a buzzing metropolitan city on the eastern side of South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province. It has a unique blend of African, Indian, and colonial influences, which are reflected in, you guessed it, the food!
THE dish to try in Durban is Bunny Chow—a quarter loaf of bread filled with curry. There are a few theories about how the dish came to be. Theory #1 is that Bunny Chow was concocted during Apartheid for indentured Indian laborers working in the sugarcane fields. They needed a calorie heavy dish to get them through the day, and voila! Bunny Chow was born! Theory #2 is that the bread was much easy to handle and eat than roti. Apartheid law prohibited people of color from going into dining establishments, and forced them to go to the side or back doors instead. Bread was like the ultimate take-out container. Voila! Bunny Chow was born!
Fun Fact: South Africa is home to the largest Indian population outside of India!
Regardless of which story (if either) is true, Bunny Chow is an iconic dish of Durban.
And a dish I didn’t try.
I did, however, try some other eats along the streets of Durban!
Here are 3 places to eat in Durban that should be on your must-try list!
1. Roti & Chai
I might not have tried Bunny Chow, but I did try some Indian food from Roti & Chai. We had the Bombay Chicken Paratha ($3.75USD) and the garlic Naan ($1.25USD). The Bombay chicken paratha had a solid flavor and subtle heat that progressively got more intense without being totally palate blowing. The garlic naan wasn’t too impressive—it tasted as if there was a garlic powder sprinkled on top, which made it far to garlicky (and not in the good way!)
We went to the Roti & Chai nestled on Florida Road (which is a popping hub for foodies!) All the dishes coming out looked super tasty, and I would certain recommended Roti & Chai as a good place to eat in Durban.
2. Smokin’ Joes Knockout Burgers
We meandered past Smokin’ Joes on the way to Florida Road. It was one of those spots that deserved a double take, and one of those spots I kept thinking about as we weighed up the Florida Road dining options.
So after an appetizer at Roti & Chai, we meandered our way back to Smokin’ Joes and OH MAN am I glad we did. We each got the Smokin’ Joe which came with 2 x65g beef patties, cheese, caramelized onion, jalapeños, and a secret sauce. The patties had a lovely smoky, charred flavor and were nice and juicy despite being smashed. (For more musings on smashed patties check out THIS article I wrote!) The secret sauce was awesome and the jalapeños added a kick and a crunch. My one qualm was the burger was pretty wet. But the flavors were so darn good I didn’t mind (although I whizzed through 2 dozen napkins.)
The restaurant was packed with people dining in and food delivery drivers flying in and out.
One of the best smashed patty burgers I’ve had, and surely one of the best places to eat in Durban! And oh yeah… each burger was only $4.80USD… fries included!
3. The Bread Mill
No foodie adventure is complete without a sweet treat, and we smelled the delicious aromas spilling out of The Bread Mill before seeing it.
The Bread Mill has earned the title of “Durban’s Best Bakery” more than once, and all it takes is one step in the front door to know why. The cases are full of sinfully delicious looking treats ranging from decadent cakes to flaky croissants to shiny meat pies.
We tried a square creamed filled croissant of sorts (sorry, I forget to take a photo folks) that was amazingly flakey and stupidly tasty. We also got a slice of caramel cake with was HUGE. It wasn’t life changing, and it wasn’t terrible—slightly dry and not much caramel flavor, but on par with grocery store sheet cakes. Plus, it was less than $3USD!
These 3 places to eat in Durban are sure to leave your belly full and wallet still in tact!
And if you try Bunny Chow…. Report back….
