After a dreamy, cinematic takeover of the Chobe River, the Long Table Experience is heading back to Gaborone, promising a new kind of magic where design, culture, and connection take centre stage
GOSEGO MOTSUMI
Some dinners are forgettable. Others move you, literally.
Between U & I’s Long Table Experience has never played it safe, but its recent edition? It floated. Set against the cinematic beauty of the Chobe River near Chobe National Park, guests found themselves dining on water, surrounded by wildlife and a horizon dipped in gold.
WHEN THE WILD SETS THE TABLE
Imagine this: a long, elegantly styled table aboard a boat, drifting past the wildlife-rich edges of Kasane. Conversations unfolding as animals bask nearby, birds slice through the sky, and the river hums beneath you.
“The atmosphere was almost cinematic, with the environment doing much of the storytelling,” founder and curator Uyapo Ketogetswe told Time Out.
This Chobe edition didn’t just elevate dining, it reframed Botswana’s tourism narrative, placing food, culture, and human connection right alongside its iconic wildlife.
NOW, THE CITY TAKES A SEAT
On May 2, 2026, the table returns to Gaborone and the story shifts. Out goes the wilderness. In comes the pulse of the city.
“In Gaborone, the story becomes more about people, culture and the evolving identity of the city itself,” Ketogetswe explained.
Expect curated menus, bold design, and a sensory-driven atmosphere that transforms an urban space into something unexpected. The wild may be gone, but the sense of discovery? Still very much on the menu.
WHY WE’RE CRAVING CONNECTION
Here’s the real twist: the food is only half the story.
At its core, the Long Table Experience is about strangers becoming something more — collaborators in a shared moment. In an age of screens and scrolls, sitting side by side, breaking bread, and actually talking feels almost radical.
MORE THAN A MEAL
With partners like Woolworths Botswana, Naledi Motors Francistown, and Bushtracks Safaris for the Chobe edition helping bring the vision to life, this isn’t just an event — it’s a blueprint for how Botswana experiences itself.
From riverbanks to city lights, one thing remains constant: the table. “One thing guests have learned about the Long Table Experience is that no two editions are ever the same,” said Ketogetswe.
“We like to say that the location sets the stage, but the people around the table bring the experience to life. And that’s what keeps guests coming back: the curiosity of discovering what the next table might look and feel like.”