Italian technique applied to Zanzibari
Two Italian chefs spent three months training our culinary team on-site.
Kaio is a newly opened beachfront Zanzibar restaurant in Paje, on the island’s east coast. Offering two open-sided floors of beachfront dining, the venue treats guests to unobstructed views across the shallow turquoise lagoon to the outer reef and the Indian Ocean beyond.
Our kitchen program was established by two Italian chefs who spent three months training our culinary team on-site. Together, they built a food program grounded in fine Italian “00” flour, authentic imported pasta, and rich olive oil, balanced with ocean-fresh seafood selected each morning directly from the traditional fishing boats working the lagoon just a hundred meters down the shore. From morning favorites served at 7:30 AM to hand-stretched pizzas, signature pastas, whole grilled catches, and crisp salads at lunch and dinner, our menu is designed for a full day on the coast.
A from-scratch mocktail and La Cimbali espresso program runs all day. As a proudly alcohol-free venue open to everyone, no resort booking is required to dine with us. We are open seven days a week from 7:30 AM to 10:00 PM with no midday closures.
Paje sits on a working lagoon. The tides govern the local fishing boats, the morning wind determines which fishing grounds the captains can reach, and the afternoon light tells you the hour by the colors turning over the reef.
Kaio was built around the specific conditions of this beachfront: the daily catch available, the natural flow of the island day, and the travelers who arrive from the water looking for a meal that earns its setting. The food here is the product of Italian technique applied to Zanzibari ingredients, served in a dining room close enough to the tide that you can hear the waves.
Our service begins at 7:30 AM. Our full buffet and sophisticated à la carte menu feature nourishing healthy bowls, artisanal toasts, eggs prepared to order, and warm fresh-baked croissants. Your morning coffee is pulled on professional La Cimbali machines. Watch the traditional fishing boats returning to the south with the morning’s catch, the very same seafood that inspires our lunch and dinner menus.
Kaio is intentionally alcohol-free, and our beverage program is an elevated upgrade. Our mocktail list is developed from scratch using fresh coastal botanicals and house-made syrups. The Lagoon, made with lime, cucumber, mint, and ginger, is the drink to order straight off the beach. Our premium coffee program runs seamlessly from opening until close, featuring Italian-roasted beans and an irresistible house affogato.
Our pizza dough undergoes a patient, low-temperature fermentation process lasting between 24 and 48 hours. Each batch is hand-stretched to order before being fired in a high-end Italian electric oven at 450°C. While our classic Margherita stands as the truest measure of our kitchen’s discipline, our signature Pizza Lagoon – topped with prawns from the morning catch, is the ultimate expression of a Neapolitan program working hand-in-hand with a Zanzibari shoreline.
Premium imported Italian pasta is cooked to a flawless al dente, finished directly within its sauce to marry the flavors. Indulge in our Linguine ai Gamberi, featuring succulent prawns sourced directly from the morning’s boats, or savor the Spaghetti al Polpo – a dish of slow-cooked octopus with rich tomato, olives, and capers.
Our salads and healthy plates are structured as substantial, standalone meals. Our vegetables are gathered from local island farms, harvested the very same day they reach your plate. The Surf Bowl – a vibrant combination of grilled fresh catch, creamy avocado, and edamame – is the natural choice after a morning spent swimming. The Power Bowl is the most-requested dish from the kitesurfing crowd.
Our kitchen team walks down the sand each morning at 9:00 AM to hand-select the finest catch directly from traditional wooden boats. Local favorites like red snapper (Pwedi), grouper (Tewa), yellowfin tuna (Jodari) and tender octopus (Pweza) are prepared simply – grilled over charcoal and finished with sea salt, rich olive oil, and fresh lemon.
Two Italian culinary experts spent three months on-site training our team, returning twice a year to audit our kitchen and ensure our standards never waver.
Our seafood bypasses industrial supply chains. We select the catch directly from the Paje lagoon at 9:00 AM daily.
Kaio is the most ambitious project yet from a team with years of experience running beachfront kitchens, following Hello Capitano Gili Trawangan and Hello Capitano Paje, both still operating.
Our alcohol-free environment fosters a relaxed, inclusive lifestyle. It creates a welcoming setting where families, active travelers, and couples feel completely at ease.
Fine “00” pizza flour, dry pasta, and extra-virgin olive oil are imported directly from Italy, paired with the freshest local yields picked that morning.
The magnificent east coast of Zanzibar offers a wonderfully authentic alternative to the isolated resort corridors of the north. Paje sits on a dramatic, shallow tidal lagoon. Blessed with consistent trade winds, Paje has earned global fame as a premier kitesurfing destination. The culinary culture here naturally reflects this active energy: our diners are globally traveled, adventurous, and arrive at our tables directly from a day spent out on the water.
The ground floor is open-sided and on the sand, shaded, suited to families and longer lunches. The upper terrace is a covered, elevated deck with panoramic views across the lagoon to the reef. Both floors serve the full menu at all hours.
Breakfast and lunch are easy to walk into most days. Dinner in peak season (December to February and June to September) fills, particularly seaward-edge tables on the upper floor. One to two days ahead is advisable.
The day’s available fish is posted at the entrance, updated at 9:00 AM as our team returns from the boats.
Start with a salad, share a pizza, follow with a pasta. The breakfast buffet and à la carte run simultaneously with no need to choose between them.
Kaio faces east. Pale silver at breakfast, vivid turquoise at midday with the kites on the water, gold and jade at dusk, lantern-lit dark at dinner.
View the full photo gallery →
Explore our curated visual gallery featuring sun-drenched lunches on our ground floor, golden hour celebrations on the upper terrace, our skilled culinary team at work, and the breathtaking lagoon views that make our oceanside tables the most sought-after seats in Paje.
Kaio is on the beachfront at Alaia Beach Resort in Paje, East Coast, Zanzibar. Free parking at the resort entrance, three to five minutes through the gardens to the dining room.
Kaio is a Zanzibar restaurant crafted specifically for travelers who take food seriously and want an unforgettable beachfront setting that matches the quality of the meal. Our kitchen fires continuously from 7:30 AM to 10:00 PM every single day, taking you from a peaceful breakfast on a glassy morning lagoon to a vibrant lunch watching kitesurfers catch the wind, and finally to a warm, lantern-lit dinner under the stars.
We invite you to step through our gardens, sink your feet into the sand, and discover what our team has built.
No. Kaio is completely alcohol-free, a deliberate lifestyle and atmosphere choice. We use no alcohol in the dining room or in our cooking. In its place: fresh-pressed juices, house-made sodas, a serious mocktail program built with real botanicals, and La Cimbali espresso.
Not at all. Kaio is fully open to the public. Between a third and half of our diners on any given day are staying elsewhere along the east coast or visiting from Stone Town.
Our kitchen operates every day from 7:30 AM to 10:00 PM with no break between services. The full menu is available at every hour. Last orders are at 9:30 PM.
The ground floor is on the sand: casual, open-sided, the beach directly outside, suited to families. The upper terrace is a covered elevated deck reached by stairs, with panoramic views across the lagoon to the reef and the Indian Ocean. Both floors serve the full menu all day.
Yes. Our dough ferments for 24 to 48 hours, is hand-stretched to order, and bakes in an Italian electric oven at 400 to 450 degrees Celsius. This meets the standards recognized by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana for certified electric-oven pizzerias.
Directly from traditional fishing boats in the Paje lagoon, roughly a hundred meters south of the restaurant. Our team selects the morning catch at 9:00 AM each day.
One to two days during peak season (June to September and December to February), especially for upper-floor seaward-edge tables. Breakfast and lunch can generally be walked into outside major holiday weeks.
Yes. The alcohol-free atmosphere, a kids’ menu of real food in smaller portions, high chairs, and a wide stretch of sand directly outside the ground floor make dining with children relaxed and easy.
