BLUE REEF FISHING LODGE
Read moreThe beach bars line up and look the same, but this one has our preference, as it offers elaborate smoothies that can be "fixed" with a little rum or vodka in the evening. The place is pleasant with tables facing the sea, animated by dynamic tenders and a reggae funk musical background. We recommend the "healthy detox red smoothie" (beetroot, pineapple, passion fruit, ginger) or the Green Power (spinach, orange, banana, ginger), or the indestructible home-made piña colada. The lodge offers rooms and big game fishing, for the amateurs.
TWIGA BREWERY
Read moreThis is Tanzania's first craft brewery, located in front of the Heritage Cultural Center in Arusha. Twiga is the Kiswahili word for giraffe, the muse of this light blond pilsner. The brand also offers an Ale and an IPA, so there's something for everyone! The design of the label is nice, and it's a good idea for a cool stopover in Arusha, especially as the brewery serves draught beers as well as cocktails for those who don't like beer. A 20-minute tour of the brewery is free of charge.
DHOW COUNTRIES MUSIC ACADEMY (DCMA)
Read moreOn the corniche, on the upper floor of a historic building, the island's best-known taarab club, DCMA, offers regular concerts almost every day to visitors who want to discover the traditional music of Zanzibar. Wednesday is Ngoma music, Thursday is Asilia taarab extravaganza and Sunday is afro-kabisa, an afrofusion-afrojazz style. The line-up changes from night to night, so each concert is unique. A must-see!
BABOO BEACH CAFE
Read moreThis small open-air café, located right by the sea (opposite The Africa House hotel) under a large tree that provides good shade, is interesting for the view from the small terrace tables, over a coffee or a cold drink, all at a low price. You can sip cocktails made of fresh fruit juices. The place doesn't look expensive, it's simple but correct. The seafood and fish dishes are satisfactory, but avoid the meat which is not exceptional. Good welcome from the owner.
MAHALI BEACH BAR
Read morePajé sees new trendy places opening up every year. Mahali is one of these beach cafe-bars belonging to the eponymous hotel, with its feet in the sand and large, shaded chill-out sofas for relaxing. The menu features burgers, sandwiches, wraps, bowls and unpretentious but fresh salads. There's a great young atmosphere here, with festive music playing in the background as the sun goes down. Excellent cocktails are served with fresh tropical fruit juices. Every Saturday, the bar hosts a live concert from 7pm.
MAISHA KHALISI
Read moreThis bar-restaurant is exceptional! You'll have to earn your way to it, and take a boda boda or bajaj to climb up via a dirt track. This multi-storey bar-restaurant impresses with its wooden scaffolding architecture. On the top floor, a supplement is charged for the view of Kilimanjaro's Kivu, sublime from morning to night. The best photo spot in front of the summit before or after the climb! The food is good and the music is African and eclectic. Cornfields and an abandoned dala dala complete the setting.
LIVINGSTONE BEACH
Read moreThe terrace has its feet in the sand, under tall trees on Stone Town's main beach, lit by candlelight in the evening. An excellent spot for a drink, especially during afro-jazz concerts followed by jam sessions. Large canvases by Tanzanian artists decorate a room under high ceilings and around a central bar. We love this slightly dilapidated, totally arty colonial building (the late Livingstone's), with plenty of space and thick walls. On the menu, well-balanced cocktails, Swahili dishes and grilled meats.
MERCURY'S BAR
Read moreIt's secluded on the harbour jetty, and its unique position offers a marvellous panorama. Run by an admirer of Freddie Mercury, this pleasant Zanzibar-style bar-restaurant looks out over the sea as the sun sets, and offers live concerts on Fridays (traditional music) and Saturdays (rock band). Apart from the posters on the walls and a music selection that often includes Queen, there's not much to do with Freddie. Beware, the food is more than mediocre and prices are high. Recommended only for drinks.
PAJE BY NIGHT
Read morePajé by Night is a lively spot on weekend evenings in season, with large, cosy sofas and poufs, where excellent barmaids serve cocktails facing the sea. Underneath its calm exterior, the place quickly becomes festive after dark, especially around the bar. Well-chosen music and swimming pool. The burger restaurant is also a good choice for lunch or dinner. The place also offers double rooms, all close to the beach (800 m away), but the prices are too high for the services on offer. Yoga classes open to non-guests.
WHY NOT CLUB
Read moreIt's the only real club in Pajé, and indeed on the south-east coast of Zanzibar! Why Not Club is located on the premises of Jambo Jambo, where the big Friday night party takes place, but is aimed at those who like electro clubs to extend the evening beyond midnight, with open-air parties turning off the sound early so as not to disturb the neighbors. Here, you're in the acoustically isolated club until late at night! The international DJs who play here are listed on the Resident Advisor website, proof of the quality of the programming.
SUNDAY JAM SESSIONS & BBQ @ RED MONKEY
Read moreThe Red Monkeys is a lodge located at the southern end of Jambiani, towards Makudunchi. Every Sunday, a famous Jam Session is held here, where all the island's musicians and often a guest band take turns singing and playing to an audience of regulars, locals and tourists. The atmosphere is often funk, soul and jazz, and the bar is charming, set in the trees overlooking the beach. Swahili barbecue is on the menu.
BWAWANI KOMBA CLUB
Read moreThis club is a rather special complex: upstairs, an empty abandoned swimming pool with a bar and occasional taarab concerts, a laid-back atmosphere. In the basement, a club takes over when the bars close. If the music is commercial, when the hours turn, the sound is more electro afro flashy, funk and hip-hop. This is the only real club in Stone Town, frequented by a local and underworld population (prostitutes in particular), with a thunderous sound, disco balls and giant screens. Remember to take a taxi as the area is not safe at night.
ZENJI GARDEN CAFE
Read moreIt's an address that's been around forever, and it's one that's gone relatively unnoticed: this small local kiosk and café is located in the Forodhani garden, close to the seafront. All it has is an outdoor terrace sheltered by parasols, not a dining room. A green and calm setting. It serves good coffees (espresso, cappuccino...), fresh fruit juices (the avocado juice is incredible!), excellent breakfasts and light dishes (salads, burgers, wraps, bowls, etc.), at very reasonable prices. We love mixing with the local atmosphere at this address.
KARAFUU COFFEE HOUSE
Read moreThis new coffee shop chain has two stores in Stone Town, the first behind the fort (with a pleasant outdoor space) and the second not far away, in the touristy pedestrian alleyway of Gizenga Street. Here, it's no surprise that you can order an excellent espresso coffee, and all its possible variations: latte, cappuccino, café frappé, etc. There are also a few cakes to choose from under cloches and packets of coffee beans for sale in the stores. Here, we appreciate the wifi, the well-designed lighting and the modern furnishings.
PUZZLE COFFEE SHOP
Read moreA trendy address for fans of a good Brazilian or Tanzanian ground coffee (Kilimanjaro's famous coffee), with ground coffees from all over the world, in a variety of preparation methods from Italy and elsewhere. For those who tire of instant coffee on safari, a freshly roasted espresso awaits you. You'll also find home-made pastries for a gourmet break, and breakfast formulas that are more affordable than in hotels. It's also ideal for a connected break (wifi).
ZANZIBAR COFFEE HOUSE
Read moreAs well as being a boutique hotel in the heart of old Stone Town, this place serves all sorts of coffees, including the spice coffee and the delicious local vanilla caffe latte It sources its coffee directly from the Utengule farm where the Bourbon variety is harvested near the Zambian border. The house also makes fresh juices, lemonades, lassis and smoothies, homemade cakes with exotic fruits... You can enjoy these marvels perched on a rooftop nicely furnished with fabrics and sofas and open on small perched balconies.
B4 CLUB
Read moreFinally an electro club in Zanzibar! It was born in Pajé, where the "fun & cool" atmosphere is blossoming in new places. B4, the latest addition, is a bar-club that pushes sound between the palm trees, with its feet in the sand. What a setting! Even better: it's a kitesurfing club during the day and a boumboum and good cocktails with fresh fruit in the evening. Especially on Saturdays, an international DJ (from Berlin, London, Paris...) plays behind the decks attracting Europeans on a hike, Masai, Tanzanian mainlanders and locals who come to pound the sand together in front of the bass.
WAVUVI KEMPU
Read moreHere's one of Dar es Salaam's most popular places to go for a drink or a late night out. This beach bar is frequented mainly by Tanzanians, but also by expatriates and tourists. Well placed for sipping a cocktail or nibbling on a plate of seafood (fish, squid, prawns) with your feet in the sand, with the tip of the Msasani peninsula in your sights. Clubbing every evening and swimming during the day (at high tide to avoid damaging your feet on the coral).
ZANZIBARBAR
Read moreThis roadside bar in Jambiani is the best place to go out on a Saturday night. Run by David, a very friendly Frenchman who's been here a long time, Zanzibarbar is unique for its festive atmosphere and for the quality of the bands playing on the Saturday night stage. There are plenty of French and Belgian residents, as well as Maasais in the darts area and Swahili on the dancefloor. We love this vast place with its feet in the sand, its beautiful garden and its large swimming pool for an evening splash.
AROMA COFFEE HOUSE
Read moreAt around 800 m above sea level, Moshi is the base for tourists coming to climb Kilimanjaro or simply to admire it. If you're passing through, make sure you visit the Aroma Coffee House. Created by Asia Kimaryo, co-founder of the Woman in Coffee Tanzania organization, it employs 90% women from poor neighborhoods who are responsible for the subsistence of their families and communities. Aroma aims to equip them with specific skills to help empower them. It also has an ecological and ethical objective: the coffee comes from the slopes of Kilimanjaro.