Mozambique Restaurants and Dining

(Mozambique, MZ, South-East Africa)



Eating out in Mozambique is generally a good experience. Restaurants, cafes and snack stalls all offer a mouthwatering array of dishes that blend together African, Indian and Portuguese dining. Reasonable prices and warm local hospitality add to the attraction of eating out during your visit to Mozambique.

The majority of restaurants open at both lunchtime and in the evening. Expect to eat lunch between 11:00 and 15:00. Dinner is served between 18:30 and 22:00, although eateries in larger towns and cities may stay open later.


What to Eat

Mozambican food is heavily influenced by its colonial past, with wine, garlic, piri piri and coriander added to many dishes. Basic ingredients include fresh seafood, steak, chicken or beans. Grilled fish (peixe grelhada) makes a frequent appearance on dining menus. Curries are also popular.

Meals are usually served with a staple, such as rice, millet or cassava chips. Bread rolls known as 'paozinho' are served at breakfast, often with an egg. Finally, for dessert, Mozambicans enjoy fresh fruit, which grows in abundance here, including pineapple and papaya. Cassava chips are frequently eaten as snacks.

Where to Eat

Seafood restaurants provide a great opportunity to sample local delicacies. Whilst Maputo has gained a reputation for having some of the best seafood dining around, all along the Mozambican coast there are plenty of places where you can sample grilled prawns, squid, lobster and crab - and admire the lovely sea view. The Costa do Sol Hotel and Restaurant, which is located to the north of Maputo and on the coast, is particularly popular with visitors.

Most larger towns and cities in Mozambique can accommodate diners who are looking for an altogether more upmarket experience. The Rodizio Real in Maputo is largely favoured by the city's wealthier residents and ex-patriates. A la carte dinners are also served by the Hotel Polana's Terraco restaurant, In addition, it's possible to find a fairly good selection of more reasonably priced restaurants and bistros in Maputo and elsewhere. A number of dining establishments also offer a more international-style menu.

For breakfast, or simply as a snack during the day, Mozambique's bakeries sell hot bread rolls. In addition, many towns have at least one cafe where you can generally buy cakes and snacks. Roadside stalls named 'barracas' are found everywhere. They offer snack food for travellers on the most challenged of budgets.