Harare coffee and brunch
Croissants, smoked chicken salads and a good cup of coffee, mostly in a garden.
Updated Sep 2026
Photo: Café de Paris, via Google Maps
Harare takes its mornings seriously. The city's cafés tend to open early, close by late afternoon and put as much care into their gardens as their coffee.
These are the places we'd pick for a slow breakfast or a good cup, from French pastry in Alexandra Park to a takeaway on ED Mnangagwa Road.
Built with help from Kicking It With Mimi, Dontmissmyplate, Financial Gazette and Foodies 263, who've eaten their way around town. Where they've reviewed a pick, we share what they found and link to their full review.
Café de Paris
A French café and patisserie in Alexandra Park. Croissants are the regular order and the fraisier is the showpiece, with breakfasts, light lunches and tables outside under the trees. Open daily.
What the reviewers said
Kicking It With Mimi reviewed it in Mar 2017Older review
A Saturday breakfast soon after opening won her over with light, well-made French pastries from a Paris-trained baker and good coffee. Her one warning is that the best items sell out early.
Read the full review →The Bottom Drawer
The smoked chicken salad is what regulars come for, but breakfast and waffles are rated highly too, with almond-milk lattes and carrot muffins. A garden café in Belgravia, open weekdays and Saturday daytime.
Café Pistachio
A Sam Levy's Village fixture since 2012, in a flower-filled corner by the clock tower, best known for pastries and carrot cake. The menu is halal. Closed on Sundays.
Freshly Ground (Sam Levy's Village)
A Zimbabwean coffee bar serving rooibos 'red' cappuccinos, cold brews and a well-liked bacon and egg roll, with seats inside and out. Open every day, until 13:00 on Sundays.
Platō Coffee Harare
Speciality coffee to take away on ED Mnangagwa Road, with ristretto-based drinks named after Greek philosophers. Come for the coffee rather than the food.
What the reviewers said
Dontmissmyplate reviewed it in Sep 2026
A reliable latte in a clean, calm room that works for meetings or quiet work. Useful rather than worth a special trip; pastries and sandwiches are also sold.
Read the full review →Financial Gazette reviewed it in May 2026
A new South African coffee chain in a calm, minimalist room with friendly baristas. The ristretto-based signature drinks were excellent. Cake was good, though it came in a box with a wooden fork.
Read the full review →Bistro Veldemeers
A garden café in the grounds of the Italian Club in Chisipite, where avocado toast is the breakfast order and the pizza oven takes over at lunch. Open daily from 08:00.
Luna's Restaurant
An all-day breakfast menu with granola bowls, brioche French toast and waffles, served in the gardens of Hunters Moon Estate. Allow time, as the kitchen can be slow.
What the reviewers said
Dontmissmyplate reviewed it in Sep 2026
An easy, family-friendly daytime spot with a large seasonal menu and big portions. Her Buddha bowl had good parts that never quite came together; the sticky toffee pudding made up for it.
Read the full review →The Vanilla Moon
A daytime garden café, now on 2nd Street Extension, where the Full Moon breakfast and the chai latte are the orders. Open daily, until 15:00 on Sundays.
Afrotopia Café
An art-filled café by the National Gallery where breakfast costs around $5. Go mid-morning or mid-afternoon, as the small team gets stretched at lunchtime.
What the reviewers said
Foodies 263 reviewed it in Jan 2026 · 7/10
A cheerful, art-inspired café serving grills, burgers and shakes at gentle prices. The charcoal-bun chicken burger and chocolate frappé impressed; the milkshake was merely decent, and there is no disability access.
Read the full review →
HarareHarare's best garden restaurants
Long lunches on lawns and under trees, from Rolf Valley to a flower farm in Domboshawa.
HarareFamily-friendly Harare: restaurants with play areas
Somewhere to eat while the children play, from a pirate-ship playground to a trampoline among the flowerbeds.
HarareWhere to eat traditional Zimbabwean food in Harare
Sadza and everything that goes with it, from oxtail and road runner to goat, tripe and mopane worms.