As mentioned in an earlier blog post, I flew up to Johannesburg last Friday for my brothers birthday weekend and my Dad joined us, flying up from the new King Shaka International Airport in Ballito. On Saturday morning I headed the quest for getting out of the house and doing something ‘cultural’ and touristy and Zoo Lake was where we ended up.
Now, I am not scared of a mid morning snack and nor is my Dad – safety in numbers I always say – so we put that option to the rest of the party and after a unanimous vote decided that tea and cake it would be!
On arrival at Zoo Lake we were pointed in the direction of the Zoo Lake Bowling Club but with all due respect I had my reservations about the calibre of the pot of tea on offer and after further enquiries found out that there was a Moyo Restaurant in front of the lake. Now that’s more like it and off we went …
Ahhhh bliss. Ive never been to Moyo at Zoo Lake before and this was just so heavenly. I loved the outside décor with plants in enamel bowls, the wonderful canvas shade cloth to keep the spring time Highveld sun at bay (goodness its already so warm up in Gauteng!), the bright pink azalea bushes and the waitresses in their resplendent feather hats.
My husband and brother decided to try the toasted sandwiches which were served with French fries. My father and I were true to our word and chose something sweet; I had a muffin served with butter and cheese and my Dad scored first prize with the most delicious looking slab of milk tart.
I can’t say slice because it was way bigger than that, it was a slab! We also had freshly squeezed orange juice and cappuccinos. The soundtrack playing in the background (‘One Night at Moyo’) was so good that we bought the CD!
The restaurant itself is large with a great deck area upstairs overlooking the lake. Apart from the normal chairs and tables Moyo also has something similar to a day bed; a wrought iron couch roughly the size of a three quarter bed – perfect for sinking into with a newspaper! My brother was certainly eyeing it out.
Moyo Zoo Lake also has a curio shop and a very well priced curio shop at that. I was most surprised at how reasonable things were. There were lovely things on display from paper mache piggy banks to handbags, jewellery, CD’s and Wonki Ware crockery.
After rather a late, boozy night Moyo definitely put the spring back into our step!
Johannesburg Links
- Johannesburg Attractions
- Things to Do in Johannesburg
- Johannesburg Hotels
- Johannesburg Accommodation
Contact Details
You can contact Moyo on +27 (0)11 646-0058; They are open Monday to Sunday.
