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Café Continental
The grande dame of the city was undoubtedly once grander than it is now - with a down-at-the-heel feel and the original furnishings long since gone - but it makes a good spot to watch the passing scene.
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Café Milano
Just off Rua Augusto Cardoso, with a large, slightly hectic streetside eating area offering falafel, shawarma and other Lebanese snacks and light meals plus the usual array of standards.
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Cafés
The café tradition is one of the nicer things left behind in Maputo by the Portuguese, and the city's cafés have become somewhat of an institution. Most of the older ones have a staid feel to them, and the faded ambience and worn furnishings that you'd expect from places that have been around for decades, while the newer ones tend to be young and lively.
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Dock's
At Clube Naval, with good seafood grills and burgers, and breezy, waterside seating. There's live music on most Thursday (jazz, advance reservations required) and Friday evenings, and a late-night bar. The compound entry is deducted from your meal bill.
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Esplanada Kalú
Good for Maputo flavour, with pick-and-choose salads and grilled meat on skewers, all halal. It's just off Av 24 de Julho.
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Feira Popular
A Maputo institution, where you can mix and mingle with the crowds as you wander amid dozens of small bars and restaurants set inside a large, walled compound. Taxis wait outside until the early hours.
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Gianni Sorvetaria
We think the home-made ice cream at the Hotel Polana Tea Room is the best, but this comes close.
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Hotel Polana
Offers á la carte dining, plus sumptuous weekend dinner buffets accompanied by a Cuban-style salsa band. Saturday evenings feature an excellent seafood grill, piled high with crayfish, prawns and other delicacies.
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Hotel Polana Tea Room
The most genteel of the city's cafés, where you can settle back in plush chairs while sampling an array of delectable pastries and home-made ice cream. They also have a good-value lunchtime salad buffet.
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Jardim dos Mariscos
A good daytime spot for children, with an eatery serving pizzas and an array of standard fare, plus a large playground and lawn.
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Las Brassas Restaurant & Cigar Bar
A good place for Portuguese cuisine, with a suitably dark and smoky Old World ambience and an array of seafood and meat dishes.
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Manjar Os Deuses
Not quite 'food of the gods', but nevertheless quite nice, with tasty cuisine (featuring dishes from Portugal's Alentejo and Algarve regions) served in a pleasant, wood-toned ambience.
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Mercado Janeta
Close to the pulse of the city, with stalls serving up plates of xima (the maize-based staple) and sauce.
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Micasa
A classy, subdued ambience, with candles, water goblets and linen cloths on the closely spaced tables, and nicely prepared seafood, meat and pasta dishes.
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Mimmo's Restaurant
The newer, slicker sister restaurant of Mimmo's streetside pizzeria is also called Mimmo's and has indoor dining.
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Mimmo's Streetside Pizzeria
This bustling streetside pizzeria offers a wide selection of pasta, seafood and meat grills and curries.
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Mundo's
Burritos, burgers, pizzas and other hearty fare - all served up in large portions on wooden tables set around a streetside veranda and cooled by a misting system in the summer months. Mundo's also has all-day breakfast and a play area for children.
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Náutilus Pastelaria
Crêpes, sandwiches and light meals in a glassed-in dining area from where you can watch the passing street scene.
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O Escorpião
O Escorpião, in the Feira Popular, offers a mix of traditional and Portuguese dishes.
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Piri-Piri Chicken
A Maputo classic, with grilled chicken - with or without piri-piri (spicy chilli sauce) - to take away or eat here.
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Pizza House
Indoor and outdoor seating, plus pastries, sandwiches, burgers, grilled chicken and other light meals and a small convenience store. Upstairs is an internet café.
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Restaurante Costa do Sol
A Maputo institution, this large, breezy place just in from the beach draws the crowds on weekend afternoons. There's seating on the large beach-facing porch or indoors, an array of fresh seafood dishes and grills. It's located 5km north of the centre at the northern end of Av Marginal.
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Restaurante El Greco
The long-standing El Greco's has an extensive menu featuring pizzas, pastas and seafood and meat grills, and a steady flow of old-timers clientele.
