Photo: lumoplank, CC0 Guide
Where to eat in The Avenues
Peri-peri chicken, Brazilian rodizio and the hotel grill rooms on the edge of the city centre
The Avenues is the grid of tree-lined streets between the city centre and the northern suburbs, named for the long avenues that cross it: Herbert Chitepo, Selous, Fife, Baines. It has always been a restaurant district in a modest way, with old bungalows turned into dining rooms and small shopping parades such as Fife Avenue Mall, and it is close enough to the CBD that office workers, hospital staff and hotel guests all end up eating here.
What defines the area is longevity. The Portuguese restaurant on Selous Avenue has been serving peri-peri chicken for decades, and the newer Brazilian rodizio on Herbert Chitepo has already become a fixture for group dinners. Neither is expensive: most sit-down meals in the Avenues land in the $10 to $20 a head band, and the cafes and takeaways come in under $10. This list also reaches a few blocks south into the city centre, where the big hotels keep the grill rooms and teppanyaki counters that the Avenues itself does not have.
Choosing is straightforward. For a family lunch or an easy dinner with friends, go Portuguese or Brazilian. For a special occasion, the hotel restaurants around Africa Unity Square are the top-band option, and worth booking. For a quick weekday lunch, the cafes near the National Gallery and Fife Avenue Mall do healthy plates, doughnuts and coffee without a long sit-down.
Practical notes: street parking in the Avenues is generally fine by day but is tighter and less secure after dark, so use a restaurant's own car park or arrive by taxi in the evening. Sundays are quiet, and several places close on Mondays. The hotel restaurants and the sports club pub have secure parking and are the safest bet for a business lunch from town.
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Coimbra
Classic Portuguese restaurant, long known for its peri-peri chicken.
A long-established Portuguese restaurant in a tree-shaded bungalow on Selous Avenue. The peri-peri half chicken with chips, bread and sauces is the reason to come, made as hot or mild as you like, with garlic-butter starters, steaks, fish and creme caramel to round it out. Quick, unfussy service at $10 to $20 a head; closed Mondays, takeaways available.
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Chop Chop Brazilian Steakhouse
Brazilian rodizio steakhouse with a cafe, bar and its own bakery.
A rodizio grill house on Herbert Chitepo Avenue where steaks are carved at the table, with a coffee shop, cocktail bar and sushi menu under the same roof. The decor is a talking point and the room suits group dinners and celebrations. Open every day from 7am to 11pm at $10 to $20 a head; reservations by phone or email.
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La Fontaine Grillroom
The grill room of a five-star city hotel, kept for special occasions.
The grill room of the former Meikles, now the Hyatt Regency, looking over Africa Unity Square. It has been the hotel's flagship since 1958, refurbished in 2013, with premium steaks and French-leaning cooking in a Victorian-style room and the Can-Can bar next door. Top-band at $40 or more a head, so book it for an anniversary or a business dinner.
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Kombahari at Rainbow Towers
Teppanyaki and pan-Asian cooking inside Rainbow Towers.
The teppanyaki restaurant inside Rainbow Towers, where chefs cook at the counter in front of you. The name is Shona for eating gathered round the pot, and the menu runs from Far Eastern dishes to African and halal options. Livelier than a quiet dining room, at roughly $10 to $20 a head. Dinner only at weekends.
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The Q Bar
Bar and grill in the Avenues.
A bar and grill on the corner of Fife Avenue and Leopold Takawira Street that shifts from a daytime grill into a late-night venue. The kitchen does grilled dishes with local flavours and the bar covers local beers and cocktails. Open until 11.30pm most days and 2am on Sundays. Go for atmosphere rather than a formal dinner.
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The Gallery Cafe
Healthy cafe, understood to be at the National Gallery.
The cafe at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe on the edge of Harare Gardens, serving light, healthy meals with vegetarian options from 9am to 4.30pm every day. It is one of the quieter lunch spots near the centre and a natural pause before or after the exhibitions. Prices in the $10 to $20 range.
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The Centurion
Sports pub at Harare Sports Club.
The pub and grill inside the historic pavilion at Harare Sports Club, overlooking the cricket ground on the corner of Josiah Tongogara Avenue and Fifth Street. Non-members are welcome. There is a lunchtime buffet Monday to Saturday, secure parking and wifi, which makes it a practical business lunch from town and a natural place to watch sport.
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7 Rings Cafe
Doughnuts, coffee and smoothies at Fife Avenue Mall, with a second branch in Highlands Park.
A small doughnut and coffee shop on the Baines Avenue side of Fife Avenue Mall, with a couple of dozen doughnut varieties, waffles, smoothies and milkshakes, most items between two and five dollars. Halaal certified, open seven days, with online ordering and delivery. Good for a coffee break or a box to take back to the office.
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Yanaya Lifestyle
Plant-based healthy food bar on the second floor of Joina City, with branches in Avondale and the Avenues.
A plant-based food bar on the second floor of Joina City, part of a small chain with a sister branch on Blackistone Avenue in the Avenues. Everything is vegan: whole-fruit smoothies, Buddha bowls, salads and healthy burgers, much of it raw. Counter service and quick, built for a working-day lunch or a mid-morning juice.
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Nando's Samora Machel
Nando's peri-peri chicken on Samora Machel Avenue.
One of the busier Nando's branches in Harare, on a main city-centre thoroughfare a short walk south of the Avenues. Portuguese-style flame-grilled chicken with peri-peri marinades, chips, sides and wraps at under $10 a head. A reliable cheap lunch for anyone working downtown, to eat in or take back to the desk.
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