Photo: Yves Picq, CC BY-SA 4.0 Guide
Restaurants with outdoor seating in Harare
Garden restaurants, courtyards and lawns for eating under the trees in Borrowdale, Highlands and Chisipite
Harare has the climate for eating outside for most of the year, and its restaurants know it. The northern suburbs are full of converted houses whose gardens are the main dining room, with tables on the lawn, under jacarandas and msasa trees, or in a courtyard off the kitchen. Borrowdale, Highlands and Chisipite have the biggest concentration, and a Sunday lunch in one of these gardens is about as Harare as the city gets.
The choice depends on what the outdoor space is for. A landscaped garden with a stream and a play area suits a family lunch that stretches all afternoon. A quiet courtyard with a few tables is better for a date or a slow brunch over pasta. A garden bar with a stage is for the evening, when the sundowners start and the bands come on. A few of the best are not restaurants in the usual sense at all: a tea garden inside a woodland reserve, or a cafe among the plants at a nursery.
Think about the season. October is hot and dry, and a shaded table matters more than the menu; the rains from November to March arrive in the late afternoon, so an early lunch is safer than a late one, and it is worth asking whether there is cover if the sky turns. June and July are clear but cold once the sun goes, so a garden dinner in winter means a jacket and, at the better places, a heater or a fire.
Booking is sensible at weekends, particularly for the gardens with play areas, which fill with families by noon on Sundays. Prices are mostly in the $10 to $20 a head band, with seafood and steak pushing higher. Parking is inside the gates at the house restaurants and at the shopping centre for the rest, and some of the gardens double as function venues, so ring ahead if you want a corner to yourselves.
Here are the gardens, courtyards and lawns worth driving for.
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Oak Tree Restaurant
Seafood and grill north of Sam Levy's Village.
A seafood and grill restaurant on Rolf Valley Avenue in Borrowdale whose landscaped garden, with lawns, flower beds and a small artificial stream, is what people remember. Seating runs under the trees as well as indoors, from breakfast through to dinner, and there is a children's play area. Book at weekends.
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Alo Alo
Garden restaurant behind Arundel Village, known for its beef.
Behind Arundel Village in Mount Pleasant, furnished by the owners with pieces from their own home so it feels like a house, and with most of the eating done in the garden. Known for its steaks, with oxtail, lamb shank and butter chicken as regulars. A quiet setting for a date or a group dinner.
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Organikks Patio
Indian and African menu, sharing the Masawara Urban Retreat address.
The restaurant at Masawara Urban Retreat on St Michael's Lane in Borrowdale, where seating is mostly outdoors on a patio reached by a path lined with aloes and succulents. Fusion cooking with Indian and African dishes, sushi and a well-known vegetarian pizza, with an emphasis on organic local produce. Parking is inside the gates.
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Queen of Hearts
Multi-vendor cafe set in two acres of garden, with a play area for children.
A food-market cafe set in two acres of garden on Enterprise Road in Highlands, with tables across manicured lawns under trees and an open kitchen doing everything from breakfast to wood-fired pizza and sushi. There is a play area, a full bar and a live band at weekends. Good for a long lunch that turns into sundowners.
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The Jam Tree
Garden bar and grill with live music, on the Vainona side.
A garden bar and grill at Mount Pleasant Sports Club on Bargate Road with seating under the trees and a stage for bands. Relaxed and family-friendly by day, lively in the evening with live acts on Jam Friday. The on-site wine shop sells over 100 wines at retail prices with no corkage, and prices sit at $10 to $20.
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Aroma Caffe
Italian cafe and restaurant in Chisipite.
An Italian-run cafe and restaurant on Enterprise Road in Chisipite with tables spread through a leafy garden courtyard, so it is mostly open-air rather than a formal room. Fresh pasta, panini, pizza and properly made coffee at $10 to $20 a head. Suits a slow brunch or a family lunch; the car park and entrance are wheelchair accessible.
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Fishmonger Restaurant
Portuguese-style seafood in Chisipite.
Seafood in the Italian Club complex on Enterprise Road in Chisipite, with seating split between a cosy indoor room and the garden. Mozambique prawns, crayfish and line fish are the draw, with beef and chicken for the rest of the table. Around $10 to $20 a head, more for prawns, and open Wednesday to Sunday.
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Little Eataly
Italian food and pizza, sharing the Queen of Hearts garden site.
A garden restaurant with its own private courtyard on the Queen of Hearts site in Highlands, run by a husband-and-wife team making fresh pasta, ravioli, pizza and desserts. The outdoor tables make a family lunch easy and a group dinner works just as well, with prices in the $10 to $20 range.
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The Bottom Drawer
Garden tea shop in Belgravia with big portions, animals and a play area.
A tea garden and gift shop on Maasdorp Avenue in Belgravia, with tables spread across a country-style lawn. Breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea with home-made food and cakes, and room for children to run. Wheelchair accessible, women-owned and running since 2013. Prices are in the $10 to $20 range.
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The Plot Cafe
Garden cafe for breakfast and lunch, with a children's area.
A garden cafe inside The Plot plant nursery on Carrick Creagh Road in Helensvale, with tables outdoors among the plants and a children's area. Wraps, sandwiches, homemade beef burgers and bakes from 7.30am, with Wi-Fi if you want to linger. A slow weekend brunch with a wander round the nursery afterwards.
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Seasons (Four Seasons) Restaurant
Chinese home-style cooking with private rooms and a garden, opposite The Hub off The Chase.
Chinese home-style cooking on Wycombe Avenue in Mount Pleasant, opposite The Hub, with outdoor seating in the garden alongside the private rooms that are its signature. The menu stretches to steaks, ribs and burgers for anyone not in the mood for Chinese. Fair prices and attentive staff; open daily from 8am to 9pm.
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Mukuvisi Tea Garden
Tea garden inside the Mukuvisi Woodlands nature reserve.
A small open-air cafe just inside the Hillside Road entrance to Mukuvisi Woodlands on the Eastlea side, entirely among the trees. Light meals, snacks and tea, with bacon-and-egg or steak rolls on Sundays, best combined with a walk on the trails or the game-viewing platform. The reserve opens 8am to 5pm.
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