Brochettes

Brochettes are Rwanda's favourite bar food: skewers of marinated meat grilled over charcoal until the edges char and the inside stays juicy. Goat is the classic and most popular choice, prized for its rich, slightly gamey flavour, but beef, chicken, and grilled fish (often tilapia from the lakes) are all common. The meat is cut into bite-size cubes, marinated in oil, salt, garlic, and spices, threaded onto wooden skewers, and cooked to order at the grill. The result is smoky, savoury, and a little crisp on the outside. Brochettes are almost always served with grilled plantain, which arrives slightly caramelised and starchy as the perfect foil to the meat, and the whole thing is washed down with a cold local beer such as Primus or Mutzig.

More than a snack, brochettes are central to evening social life across Rwanda. After work, friends gather at neighbourhood bars and grill spots, order rounds of skewers and beer, and linger over conversation late into the night. You usually choose how many brochettes you want, sometimes counted out one by one, and they come straight off the charcoal to your table. In Kigali the bars range from simple roadside grills to lively pubs, and in towns like Musanze near the volcanoes the ritual is just the same. For a visitor, settling in at a busy local bar with a plate of goat brochettes, a heap of grilled plantain, and a cold beer is one of the most relaxed and genuine ways to experience everyday Rwandan life. It is affordable, sociable, and reliably delicious.