AHLAN RESTAURANT TZ Note to selfie: this is the restaurant to head for if you fancy yourself a ‘Gram gourmet
New Dar diner Ahlan Restaurant TZ has become an Instagram hot spot with influencers vying for a selfie by its flower wall. Diners are also finding its food and drink are just as eyecatching.
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hat the Ahlan Restaurant has become one of Dar es Salaam’s prime dining destinations since opening just a matter of months ago is a triumph of communication as much as cuisine. The restaurant on the ground floor of the Staywell Building in bustling Masaki has clocked on to the publicity potential of photo sharing app Instagram and is drawing in Dar diners with its selfie heaven rose petal décor that is almost as tempting as the sophisticated, Europeaninfluenced food.
Feature wall Ahlan’s feature wall of imitation red, white and pink roses has become one of the most striking and sought-after backdrops for Instagram snap shots among the city’s cool crowd. No surprise then that for the restaurant’s launch event in January the cream of Dar’s photogenic online influencers were invited. Among those on the guest list were Tanzanian models Flaviana Matata, Jihan Dimachk and Nelly Kamwelu. More recent visitors have included Style and beauty blogger Nelshah Kanji and model Miriam Odemba. Their combined online following is in the millions so word soon got around of Ahlan’s arrival. The restaurant now has
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more than 10,000 Instagram followers. The man behind the savvy modern marketing is Abbas Devjani, a digital marketing specialist. His elder brother, Mohammad, an entrepreneur and restaurateur with a portfolio of ventures across East Africa. founded Ahlan Restaurant TZ and Abbas joined him. “Ahlan has always been a favourite spot for Tanzanian bloggers and supermodels,” Abbas tells me. “We have also been visited by Kenyan blogger Nancie Mwai [founder of fashion label New Level]. It brings us a lot of attention from the public. We are one of the most followed and fastest-growing restaurants on social media.” Of course, all the interest generated by the photogenic décor would soon wane if the food on offer did not match up, but Ahlan Restaurant has plenty to offer whether you are after a hearty meal, a light snack, a sweet treat or just to kick
A range of mocktails are available
The restaurant’s rose wall is a popular feature
