Photo: Itaisibanda, CC BY-SA 4.0 Guide
Nightlife in Harare: bars, lounges and clubs
Where the city drinks and dances, from Borrowdale rooftop lounges to the basement clubs of the city centre
Harare's nightlife splits neatly in two. The northern and eastern suburbs, Borrowdale, Highlands, Chisipite and Belgravia, have the lounges and restaurant-clubs, where the evening starts with dinner and cocktails and the DJs take over around ten. The city centre has the clubs proper, some of them running for decades in the same basements, where the crowd is younger, the drinks are cheaper and the floor only fills after midnight.
How to choose depends on the night you want. For a group dinner that carries on without moving venues, the restaurant-clubs in Chisipite and at Sam Levy's Village are the easy answer, with tables and bottles booked ahead and a dress code the crowd takes seriously. For live music, the bar-and-grill venues in Borrowdale, Belvedere and Highlands run bands on Fridays and DJs on Saturdays, and you can eat there first. For a proper late one, go downtown, arrive before midnight to get in easily, and expect it to run until three or four.
Days matter more than in most cities. Several venues open only on set nights, typically Thursday to Saturday with a Wednesday or Sunday slot for a themed evening, so check the current programme before you set out. Prices in the suburbs land at $10 to $20 a head for a bar night and $20 to $40 once dinner and drinks are counted at the smarter restaurant-clubs; the city-centre clubs generally come in under $20.
Getting home is the practical question. The shopping-centre venues have their own car parks, but downtown parking is on the street and tight, and more than one reviewer raises vehicle security, so a taxi or a designated driver is the sensible plan for the city centre. Smart casual is the safe dress code nearly everywhere, and the lounges expect a bit more.
The list runs from the suburban lounges and music bars down to the downtown clubs.
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Pabloz VIP & Deck
Upscale club with a late-night menu.
A VIP lounge and club on the upper level of Sam Levy's Village in Borrowdale, built around an open-air balcony deck, bottle service, cocktails and shisha, with a late-night grill for those who stay. Thursday and Sunday run 6pm to midnight; Fridays and Saturdays go on until 3am. Prices sit at the upper end and tables are usually booked ahead.
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Karma Lifestyle Restro-Club
Restaurant-club at Chisipite Shopping Centre: dinner first, then DJs on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays until 3am.
A restaurant that becomes a club at Chisipite Shopping Centre: dinner from an international menu and cocktails first, then DJs on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays until 3am. The crowd dresses up and tables fill early at weekends, with the bill around $20 to $40 a head once drinks are counted. Parking is in the centre.
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Evitro Lounge, Bar and Club
Lounge by day and club by night at Belgravia Shops: DJs Thursday to Saturday into the small hours, reggae on Wednesdays.
A lounge and bar by day at Belgravia Shops, then a club from Thursday to Saturday running 8pm to 4am with DJs, plus a regular reggae night with live acts on Wednesdays. Cocktails and bar food at $10 to $20 a head, a short drive from Avondale and the city centre, with parking at the shops.
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Tin Roof Bucket Bar & Bistro
A rustic-industrial bar and grill at Lewisham Shopping Centre in Highlands, with indoor and outdoor seating, a large bar and a stage for live bands. A bistro early on, with battered fish, rump steak and cocktails, then a dance floor with a young crowd from around 10pm at weekends. Closed on Mondays.
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Pariah State Borrowdale
Afro-chic cafe and resto-bar with live music, near Sam Levy's Village.
The Pomona branch of the afro-chic bar-and-grill chain, with portraits of Zimbabwean music greats on the walls and live jazz-leaning music on Fridays and a DJ on Saturdays. Grills, burgers and pizzas at $10 to $20 a head keep it going from an after-work drink into a late night in Borrowdale.
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The Smokehouse Harare
Bar and grill at Greenfields on the Showgrounds corner, open every day from lunch until late, with DJs and live music at the weekend.
A bar and grill at Greenfields on the Showgrounds corner in Belvedere, with meat platters, cocktails, a bottle list and shisha. Relaxed at lunch during the week, then DJs and live music on Friday and Saturday nights with the party usually starting around 9pm. Open daily from 11.30am until late; bookings online.
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Bar Rouge Restaurant and Cocktail Bar
Cocktail bar and restaurant at Longcheng Plaza with a jazzy feel and regular live music, open every day.
A cocktail bar and restaurant at Longcheng Plaza in Belvedere with a jazzy feel, pitched a little above the average mall bar. An extensive cocktail list and regular live music from local and visiting artists make it a late-evening spot as much as a dinner one. Open every day, with plaza parking outside.
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Olympus Lounge
Upscale city-centre lounge, open twice a week and for private events.
A Greek-mythology themed lounge in the NetOne Building on Jason Moyo Avenue, with plush seating, low lighting and music that leans soulful rather than club-loud. It opens twice a week and takes private events otherwise, so it suits a booked table or a smarter birthday. Around $10 to $20 a head; the crowd is older and better dressed.
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Club Zeus
City-centre club with themed nights and guest DJs, open three nights a week.
The lower level of the NetOne Building in the city centre, below Olympus Lounge, aimed at a younger crowd with chart and local hits, themed nights, guest DJs and a weekly Sunday slot from the Chillspot family. It opens three nights a week, so check the programme. Around $10 to $20 a head for a big, loud night.
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Saints 'n' Sinners
Club, karaoke and sports lounge in the city centre.
A pub, restaurant and lounge on the first floor of Joina City that opens every night and rotates karaoke, live sport on the screens and DJ nights, so one room covers sundowners, the match and the dance floor. Sharing platters, ribs and cocktails with group deals under $20 a head, and Joina City parking.
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Akiz
Long-established underground club in the city centre.
The basement club at Liquenda House that older regulars remember as Archipelago and, before that, Club Tomorrow. Decades underground, with a proper dance floor, a legacy crowd mixed with newcomers and a raw, no-frills feel newer venues cannot copy. Under $20 a head; go late, expect it to get sweaty and do not expect polished bathrooms.
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Club 263 Harare
Downtown club on the Speke Avenue corner, busiest from midnight.
A straightforward dance club on the corner of Speke Avenue and Mbuya Nehanda Street, with DJs mixing local and international music and a floor that fills after midnight at weekends. Young, smart-casual crowd and city-centre prices under $20 a head. Arrive before midnight to get in easily, and arrange a lift home as parking is on the street.
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