WATCH: New ‘dark kitchens’ add variety and spice to Joburg

Ordering in has become a preferred option for many consumers, and food service apps have become a lucrative business. 

Some South Africans would consider the offerings on food delivery apps not diverse enough, and this is how Dhaba and Gimba dark kitchens came into play. 

They are two new food delivery brands offering South African favourite dishes cooked up in dark kitchens. 

Dark Kitchens are a phenomenon seen globally brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s a concept where food is prepared in a home-based setting or an established kitchen for the sole purpose of delivering directly to clients. 

During the launch of Dhaba and Gimba in Hyatt House Sandton earlier this month, the two food delivery brands served cuisine from South East Asia to local kasi meals.

Watch: Dhaba and Gimba hope to add variety and spice to Joburg food scene

These new offerings are the brainchild of Millat Investments and CEO Hamza Farooqui.  Farooqui explained the reason they chose Rosebank and Sandton areas was to use the Milat Investments facilities to get more bang for their buck. 

Dhaba and Gimba are also in partnership with Uber Eats. Mxolisi Bhebhe, Gauteng territory lead at Uber Eats, said it is a great way for the company to support local cuisine on the app.

Farooqui further told The Citizen the names of the food brands keep them authentic. 

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Dhaba is a term referring to a world street café. The restaurant is inspired by South East Asia street foods, offering pilau burritos, kebab sandwiches, butter chicken burgers and masala-loaded fries. 

We tasted some of these detectable foods. The pilau kebab is a stuffed flavoured pilau rice with either lamb or chicken and has tomato and coriander salsa.

It was my personal favourite as it reminded me of Mexico’s burrito. 

The butter chicken, while it looks great in colour, lacked the flavours of the traditional butter chicken which is known for its packed spices.

On the other hand, the Gimba menu is proudly South African making shisanyama accessible to suburban areas.

The meals are hearty, the menu includes pap and nyama (meat), magwinya (vetkoek), chicken and dombolo (dumplings), kotas and even a seven-colour Sunday box. So if you are missing home or your mom’s cooking ordering these dishes can fill that void.

Both menus are simplistic and small, making decision-making easier for a user. 

The prices are higher than average and considered as pricey for some. Items such as the butter chicken burger costs R145 without chips. 

Dhaba and Gimba are available on UberEats.