The Zomba Gymkhana Club is one of several surviving colonial social clubs in southern Africa, set in mature gardens just below the State House. The buildings are unremarkable but the setting — wide lawns, a swimming pool, a tennis court, a bar with old photographs on the walls — preserves a small slice of the world that ran Nyasaland until 1964.
Non-members can use the bar and restaurant on payment of a small temporary membership fee. It is one of the better places to eat in central Zomba, with a longer menu and cooler drinks than the lodge bars elsewhere in town. Worth a visit even if just for the colonial atmosphere.