Lulu Café

Lulu Café in Mermoz is part café, part lifestyle store and part workspace, and it is one of the most distinctive cafés in the city. The room is bright and colourful, with an eclectic mix of chairs, sofas and tables that make it easy to settle in for a long breakfast, a working lunch or an afternoon break.

The food puts a Senegalese spin on café classics. Saveur magazine singles out burgers rubbed with local spices and a lasagne made with chilli tomato paste, while Arrival Guides points to the house chicken salad as a regular favourite. Drinks include good coffee, fresh juices and cocktails made with local ingredients such as bissap, the hibiscus flower, and baobab fruit, which gives a tangy, creamy note.

What makes Lulu different is everything around the café. There is a small market and shop selling Senegalese products, from tomato paste to fonio, the ancient West African grain, as well as work by Senegalese artists and designers. An art gallery and a co-working space complete the picture, so it is a good place to work for a few hours with a laptop or to shop for gifts that are more original than standard souvenirs.

Arrival Guides lists opening from Monday to Saturday, 10:00 to 19:00, closed on Sundays, so it is not a breakfast-at-dawn spot; check before going, as hours may change. Weekday lunchtimes are busiest. Expect mid-range prices by Dakar standards. Saveur included Lulu in its 2024 guide to eating in Dakar and Arrival Guides lists it among the city's cafés, so it is well known to visitors as well as locals; call ahead if you want to be sure of a seat in the co-working area. It suits solo travellers, remote workers, couples and anyone interested in contemporary Senegalese design.

Mermoz is a residential district between the city centre and the western corniche, close to Point E and Fann and convenient for the Corniche Ouest. A taxi from the Plateau is quick outside rush hour. Combine a visit with the African Renaissance Monument and the Mosquée de la Divinité further west, or head into the Plateau afterwards for the museums. Shoppers can continue to the Village des Arts on the Route de l'Aéroport to buy directly from working artists.