What to Eat in Zambia in 2026: The Best Food and Drink

Zambian food is nshima — the stiff, white maize porridge eaten in balls scooped and dipped into accompanying dishes — and everything that arrives alongside it. Nshima is not interesting in itself but becomes so in combination with relishes: beef and tomato stew, dried kapenta (small sardine-like fish from Lake Tanganyika, fried with onion and tomato), rape (cooked greens) or impwa (eggplant). Kalembula (sweet potato leaves, cooked as a relish) and pumpkin leaves in groundnut sauce are the vegetable traditions. Ifisashi — the Bemba peanut stew with various vegetables and fish — is the most distinctive Zambian flavour profile, warm and earthy in a way that nshima was made to receive. Victoria Falls town carries a reasonable restaurant scene shaped by tourism. Chibuku Shake Shake (sorghum opaque beer sold in cartons, requiring shaking before opening and drinking quickly before further fermentation) is the local beer tradition that the international lager brands haven't replaced. No rush.