Baraza Café, Grill and Bar

Baraza is the café, grill and bar of the Southern Sun Dar es Salaam, a business hotel on tree-lined Garden Avenue next to the Botanical Gardens. It works as a relaxed meeting point in the city centre where you can drop in for a coffee, a meeting or a full meal.

The space combines a lounge café, a bar, a show kitchen where you can watch the chefs at work, and a sun terrace. The menu is described as Tanzanian food with Arabic, African and Western influences, served at breakfast, lunch and dinner, so it covers everything from an early breakfast before a flight to an evening grill. The bar makes it just as suitable for a drink after a day of sightseeing.

For visitors, its main appeal is its setting and location. Garden Avenue is one of the quieter, greener streets in the business district, the hotel's rooms look over the Botanical Gardens or the city, and the terrace offers a calmer alternative to the traffic of Samora Avenue and Kivukoni Front. It is a good place for a coffee and a rest between the National Museum and the Botanical Gardens, both a short walk away.

Baraza suits business travellers, people meeting colleagues in town and sightseers who want a reliable, comfortable stop. The dress code is smart casual. The Marriott-run Four Points hotel nearby lists Baraza among recommended restaurants in the area, which gives an idea of its standing with business visitors. Prices are in line with the city's international hotels rather than local cafés. The hotel also has a pool lounge, and the café is open to non-residents, so it is a convenient rendezvous if you are staying elsewhere.

From the café it is an easy walk to the Askari Monument, St Joseph's Cathedral, Azania Front Lutheran Church and the Kivukoni waterfront, so it makes a natural start or end point for a walking tour of the old city. Taxis can be arranged at the hotel. As the café is part of a hotel, call the main number to check opening times for the bar and grill and to reserve a table for larger groups or business meetings.