The best bars and cafés Dar Es Salaam

Here's one of Dar es Salaam's most popular places to go for a drink or a late night out. This beach bar is frequented mainly by Tanzanians, but also by expatriates and tourists. Well placed for sipping a cocktail or nibbling on a plate of seafood (fish, squid, prawns) with your feet in the sand, with the tip of the Msasani peninsula in your sights. Clubbing every evening and swimming during the day (at high tide to avoid damaging your feet on the coral).

Located on the ground floor of the guesthouse, this is a warm and musical bar. The beer flows freely, especially on the evenings of sports broadcasts on TV. Concerts are held here at the end of the week. There is a good general atmosphere, despite the growing presence of young daring women looking for love. The good news is that the bar was completely renovated in 2021, and the outdoor area with its convivial bench tables is very pleasant.

This well-located youth hostel on the Masaki Peninsula has a large, refreshing garden with large tables for lunch or dinner. On the menu, a good burger from a long list of compositions (but you can also compose your own) or some simple dishes. Not great food, but it's good, fresh and affordable. Likewise, the inn is a good place for breakfast. In the evening the friendly and cosmopolitan atmosphere, the functional wifi, the nice background music and the large open air space invite you to have a drink here.

This bar is a music hotspot in Dar es Salaam, and it would be a shame to miss out. Elements produces many live concerts and local DJs. The lounge bar comes alive in the evening, the local golden youth sweats on the dancefloor on urban Tanzanian tracks, afro wave, Naija and Bongo Flava but also hip-hop... The place is open air and very Instagramable as a big "I love Dar" invites you to pose for a selfie in the evening. This is a trendy place in Dar that is worth discovering, especially on weekends.

This beautiful, trendy café is located in front of the Protea by Marriott hotel, on the city's northeast coast, on the same street as another café in the same style, Aroma café, on the famous Obama Drive, a pleasant street to visit. Here, you can drink Tanzanian coffee and eat the usual international dishes: salads, wraps, pasta and pizza, rice bowls. It's a menu you'll find just about everywhere in town, with many vegetable-rich compositions. The setting is superb, with lots of wood, well-designed lighting and cool frames on the walls. Good wifi.

A lovely place for a sweet or savoury break on the northwest coast of the Msasani peninsula, not far from the Cape Town Fish Market. A residential house converted into a café-resto. The outside terrace under the trees is really nice, as are the round wax armchairs inside. We come here for an excellent breakfast (with real espressos and freshly squeezed juices), to enjoy a cake, salad or wrap, and to take advantage of the wifi.