Photo: lumoplank, CC0 Guide
Where to eat in Mount Pleasant
Garden restaurants around Arundel Village, a Chinese kitchen with private rooms and live music at the sports club
Mount Pleasant is the university suburb on the north-western side of Harare, a spread of large gardens and quiet avenues between the University of Zimbabwe and the northern shopping centres. It has never had a restaurant strip of its own; instead the eating clusters around Arundel Village on Quorn Avenue, with a few standalone kitchens tucked into residential roads off The Chase and Norfolk Road, and the sports club on the Vainona side for evenings with music.
The character of the food here is domestic rather than showy. The best-known places are run by owners who furnished them from their own homes or cook to family recipes, and most meals are eaten outside under trees. Portuguese grills, steak, Belgian pastries, Greek-leaning cafe food and home-style Chinese are all within a few minutes of each other, which is a wider range than the suburb's size suggests. Emerald Hill, just to the south, adds a casual grill with karaoke nights.
Choose by time of day. Several of the Arundel restaurants are daytime places, closing by early evening or shut on Mondays, so a late dinner needs planning; the steak restaurant behind Arundel Village and the Chinese restaurant off The Chase are the safer bets after dark, and both are worth booking at weekends. For a slow weekend brunch, the two cafes at Arundel Village are the obvious pair. For a night out with a band, head to the Jam Tree.
Prices are moderate almost everywhere, mostly in the $10 to $20 a head band, and one of the grills is unlicensed, so take your own wine. Parking is easy at Arundel Village and at the garden restaurants, and most of these places welcome children, with two of them keeping playgrounds. Mount Pleasant alone has only a handful of listings, so this list includes the neighbouring pockets of Arundel, Vainona and Emerald Hill, which locals treat as the same neighbourhood.
-
Alo Alo
Garden restaurant behind Arundel Village, known for its beef.
A garden restaurant behind Arundel Village Shopping Centre, at 10 Forest Row, furnished by its owners with pieces from their own home so it feels like a house. Steaks are what it is known for, with oxtail, lamb shank and butter chicken among the regulars. Suits a date or a group dinner; book at weekends.
-
Seasons (Four Seasons) Restaurant
Chinese home-style cooking with private rooms and a garden, opposite The Hub off The Chase.
A Chinese home-style restaurant on Wycombe Avenue, reached through the Groombridge entrance off The Chase opposite The Hub. Private rooms are the signature and make it a natural group-dinner venue, with garden seating as well. The menu stretches to steaks, ribs and burgers for anyone not in the mood for Chinese. Open 8am to 9pm daily, takeaway available.
-
Alechi
Portuguese and European cooking near Arundel Village.
A Portuguese grill at 21 Quorn Avenue near Arundel Village, cooking piri-piri chicken, grilled seafood and slow stews in the home tradition, with the half-chicken the dish most people order. There is garden seating and a playground, which suits families. Unlicensed, so bring your own drinks; daytime only, roughly midday to six, and closed Mondays.
-
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 tables under the trees and a stage for bands. Relaxed and family-friendly by day, it becomes one of the northern suburbs' livelier music venues at night with Jam Friday live acts and DJs. The on-site Craft Society shop sells over 100 wines with no corkage.
-
Cafe Veldemeers
Belgian chocolaterie cafe next to Arundel Village.
The cafe of the Belgian chocolate maker that has been producing in Zimbabwe since 1997, on Quorn Road at Arundel Village East. Croissants, Belgian-inspired pastries, artisan breads, waffles, pizzas, tapas and fresh juices, with the chocolates sold alongside. A small, calm place for a slow brunch or a coffee and a gift box on the way out.
-
Cafe Nion
Cafe inside Arundel Village.
A Greek-leaning cafe inside Arundel Village whose name means coffee shop in Greek. Wraps, pies and desserts follow family recipes with a Zimbabwean twist, served with table service in a room with a Mediterranean feel. It is a sit-down cafe rather than a counter, good for a weekday lunch or a weekend brunch between shops, with parking at the centre.
-
Chicken Basket
Grilled, barbecued and crispy chicken in Mount Pleasant.
A mobile caterer that grew into a sit-down restaurant on Norfolk Road, doing chicken most ways: grilled, barbecued and crispy bites with chips, plus braai combo packs, Chinese dishes and a traditional local menu on Fridays. The garden is a big part of the appeal and families use it as a hang-out. Open 9am to 8.30pm with free Wi-Fi.
-
Kirytan Grill
Grill restaurant on Golden Stairs Road.
A casual restaurant and bar on Golden Stairs Road in Emerald Hill serving pizzas, grills and local dishes in generous portions at fair prices, with a coffee-shop side by day. Live entertainment and karaoke run Thursday to Saturday, so it leans towards a group night out. It closes between 6.30pm and 7pm depending on the day, so go early.
Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
More guides
All guides →Where to eat in The Avenues
Peri-peri chicken, Brazilian rodizio and the hotel grill rooms on the edge of the city centre
By This Is HarareBest Indian restaurants in Harare
Tandoori, butter chicken and proper vegetarian spreads, from Gunhill to Belvedere.
By This Is HarareBest Chinese restaurants in Harare
Sichuan, home-style and takeaway Chinese, plus the Thai and Japanese tables worth knowing.
By This Is Harare