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Best coffee shops and cafés in Harare
Barista coffee, garden tables and French pastries, from Avondale to Sam Levy's Village.
Harare's coffee culture has grown up around gardens. The cafes people return to are the ones with tables under trees, somewhere for children to run and a barista who takes the cappuccino seriously, and the good news is that there are now enough of them that each suburb has its own. Wi-Fi is common, so the laptop crowd shares the space with weekend brunch tables and mothers meeting after the school run.
Avondale has a strong cluster. Cafe Nush on King George Road is the original of a group that has traded since 2010 and roasts its coffee through trained baristas, and Cork Road Cafe a short walk away roasts on site and shares its premises with a gelato parlour. Across the boundary in Mount Pleasant, The Vanilla Moon spreads its tables through a leafy garden. Borrowdale is the other hub, with Freshly Ground's two counters at Sam Levy's Village, Cafe Pistachio's French pastries at the entrance to the same mall and Mugg & Bean's bottomless filter coffee beside the water feature.
Mornings are the busy time, particularly at weekends, and the mall cafes are easiest for parking. Most run from early morning to mid or late afternoon, with Cafe Nush and Mugg & Bean going on into the evening. Prices where published sit in the $10 to $20 band for a meal, and lower at Elephant & Pineapple in Newlands, where the health-focused menu comes in under $10 a head. Freshly Ground is a stop-in rather than a place to eat, and almond and soy milk are on hand.
For something sweet with the coffee, the patisseries earn a detour: Cafe de Paris on Churchill Avenue has a Parisian patissier, Cafe Veldemeers at Arundel Village sells the Belgian chocolate it has made in Zimbabwe since 1997, and Cafe Pistachio has been halal-certified since 2012.
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Freshly Ground Coffee Bar
Coffee bar at Sam Levy's Village, also listed at Sammar Gallery.
Freshly Ground has a strong following among the city's coffee drinkers, with two counters at Sam Levy's Village: one in the main village and a quieter one at the back off Piers Road. Cappuccinos are the focus, almond and soy milk are available, and cold coffees suit hot days. Open seven days, as a stop-in rather than a meal.
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Cafe Nush Avondale
The original Cafe Nush has traded from the Avondale Shopping Centre since 2010, with trained baristas, warm wood-panelled rooms, Wi-Fi and a halal all-day menu of breakfasts, toasties, pizzas, pastas and baked goods. Remote workers, families and friends all use it, and it opens early and runs into the evening.
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40 Cork Road Cafe
Cork Road Cafe and Bakery roasts its coffee on site at number 40 on Cork Road in Avondale, with most tables outside under trees where brunch groups settle. Breakfasts, halloumi and avocado salads, cakes and homemade lemonade come in generous portions at moderate prices, and an Italian gelato parlour shares the premises.
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Cafe Pistachio
Cafe at the entrance to Sam Levy's Village, known for French-style pastries.
Cafe Pistachio has stood at the entrance to Sam Levy's Village since 2012, halal-certified and known for French pastries and desserts alongside specialty coffee, salads and toasties. Seating splits between a bright indoor room and the mall courtyard. Weekday hours run 7am to 5pm, Saturdays to 2pm; busy at weekend brunch.
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Cafe de Paris
French-style cafe and patisserie in Alexandra Park.
Cafe de Paris on Churchill Avenue in Alexandra Park is a French bakery first: croissants, brioche, tarts and macarons made by a patissier from Paris, with a short light-lunch menu and coffee ordered at the counter. The room is small and simple. Come for weekend brunch, a takeaway box of pastries or a quiet weekday coffee.
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Cafe Nush Village Walk
All-day cafe serving artisan coffee, at Village Walk.
The Borrowdale branch of Cafe Nush sits in Village Walk opposite Sam Levy's Village and keeps the same formula: barista coffee, juices and smoothies, a halal all-day menu, wood-accented rooms and garden seating with Wi-Fi. It works for a laptop morning or a family lunch, with parking inside Village Walk.
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The Vanilla Moon
The Vanilla Moon is a garden cafe on Seagrave Road at the Avondale and Mount Pleasant boundary, with tables through a leafy garden and a jungle gym for children. Coffee, hot chocolate and pressed juices go with breakfasts, burgers and wraps, and a small chocolate and gift shop sits on site. $10 to $20 a head.
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Mugg & Bean Sam Levy's
Mugg & Bean occupies a corner of Sam Levy's Village beside the water feature and follows the South African chain's formula: bottomless filter coffee, big breakfasts and an all-day grill-and-salad menu. Plenty of tables make it easy for a working breakfast, a laptop session or a group brunch, with parking within the village.
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Cafe Veldemeers
Belgian chocolaterie cafe next to Arundel Village.
Cafe Veldemeers at Arundel Village East in Mount Pleasant is run by the Belgian chocolate maker that has produced in Zimbabwe since 1997. Croissants, waffles, artisan breads, tapas and fresh juices come with the chocolates sold alongside, in a small, calm room suited to a slow brunch and a gift box on the way out.
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Elephant & Pineapple
Elephant & Pineapple is a small bohemian coffee shop at 15 York Avenue in Newlands with an all-natural, largely organic kitchen: vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free plates, pressed juices, kombucha and kefir, plus coffee and Peta Lilly teas. Garden and verandah seating, children welcome, and prices under $10 a head. Opens at 9am.
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The Plot Cafe
Garden cafe for breakfast and lunch, with a children's area.
The Plot Cafe sits inside The Plot plant nursery on Carrick Creagh Road in Helensvale, with outdoor tables among the plants, a children's area and Wi-Fi. It opens at 7.30am for early coffee and cake to take away, then does breakfast, brunch and lunch with wraps, burgers and bakes. $10 to $20, with a nursery wander afterwards.
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Cafe Nion
Cafe inside Arundel Village.
CafeNion inside Arundel Village takes its name from the Greek for coffee shop and serves wraps, pies and desserts built on family recipes with a Zimbabwean twist, with coffee through the day. It is a sit-down cafe with attentive table service and a Mediterranean feel, and the shopping-centre car park makes it an easy stop.
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