Iriba Bar & Terrace

Iriba Bar and Terrace is the main bar at the Kigali Marriott Hotel on KN 3 Avenue. Unlike most bars, it opens from 6.30am and stays open until midnight every day, so it works as a coffee stop in the morning, a meeting place in the afternoon and a bar in the evening. The space is split between an airy, atrium-style interior and an open-air terrace.

The menu is international, so you can eat as well as drink, which makes it a practical choice when you want a light meal and a glass of wine without committing to a full restaurant dinner. The dress code is casual. For a fuller meal, the hotel's Italian restaurant, Cucina, and the all-day Soko restaurant are in the same building, and the Sarabi Pool Bar serves barbecue by the pool until early evening.

Iriba suits travellers who want a calm, reliable place for a drink rather than a club: business travellers winding down after meetings, couples before dinner, and visitors who want a nightcap close to the city centre. The terrace is the better choice on a dry evening, while the atrium is a comfortable fallback when it rains.

Because it is a hotel bar, you will find a mix of hotel guests, business visitors and residents, which gives it a more relaxed feel than a stand-alone bar. Prices are at hotel levels, higher than at independent bars. Call the hotel if you want to be sure of a table on the terrace at a busy time, such as during major events at the Kigali Convention Centre.

Within the hotel, Iriba acts as the meeting point from breakfast through to the last drinks of the night. It is a useful address to give friends or colleagues who do not know the city, since a large international hotel on a main avenue is easy for taxi and moto drivers to find.

The bar is easy to reach from anywhere in the centre, and the Kigali Serena Hotel is on the same avenue if you want to compare. From here, taxis and ride-hailing cars can take you on to Kimihurura's restaurants and later venues in a few minutes. For guests at the Marriott itself, it is the natural place to meet people arriving from elsewhere in the city.