Brunch in Dar es Salaam: The Best Weekend Spots
Where to brunch in Dar es Salaam: hotel buffets, ocean-view cafés, bakeries and a proper Swahili breakfast, plus the rooftop brunch at Midtown in Masaki.
Dar es Salaam2 min readUpdated 16 September 2026
Weekend mornings in Dar es Salaam are the coolest part of the day, and the city makes good use of them. Brunch here ranges from a hotel buffet to chai and mandazi at a sixty-year-old tea shop, and the best versions come with a view of the water.
Midtown, Masaki
- Area
- Masaki
- Type
- Rooftop brunch
- Kitchen
- Jamaican and Swahili
- Book
- WhatsApp or phone
Full disclosure, this is us. Midtown does brunch on the roof of Magesa Ocean View Apartments in Masaki, open on all four sides so the morning breeze comes straight through. The kitchen runs Jamaican and Swahili, the bar does mimosas — blackberry and passion fruit — and a Jamaican rum punch if the morning calls for one.
Message or call to book, especially for a group.
Hotel brunch
Dar es Salaam Serena Hotel runs a Sunday brunch buffet, the long-standing hotel option in the city centre, with a big spread and a pool. Book ahead, and check the current price with the hotel.
Ocean-view cafés
- Karambezi Café, at the Sea Cliff Hotel on the tip of the peninsula, opens at 6am every day, with an ocean terrace above the rocks. Brunch with the best view in the city.
- The Waterfront at The Slipway sits on Msasani Bay, and the Slipway around it has shops and, at weekends, a craft market.
Bakeries and coffee
- Wild Flour, Masaki — artisan bakery and café, quiet and good.
- Epi d'Or — bakery-café, open 7:30am to 10:30pm every day.
- Kaffé Koffee, Kaunda Drive in Oysterbay — a Tanzanian roaster that roasts every day.
A Swahili breakfast
For something that tastes of the city, go downtown.
- KT Shop, Kisuti Street, open since 1968 — spiced chai, samosas, mandazi and a very good beef kebab.
- Chef's Pride, Chagga Street — since the early 1980s, Swahili and Indian dishes, busy from breakfast onwards.
More in our Swahili food guide.
Practical
- Book weekend brunch, especially for groups.
- Go early. By noon it is hot, even in the shade.
- After brunch, the Bongoyo boats leave from The Slipway. See things to do in Dar es Salaam.
Finish The Day On The Roof
Sunset seating in Masaki, Jamaican and Swahili cooking, and the last of the light over the city. Message or call to book.
Common questions
- Where is the best brunch in Dar es Salaam?
- It depends on the kind of brunch you want. The Serena runs a Sunday brunch buffet, and Karambezi Café at Sea Cliff opens early with the ocean in front of it. Wild Flour and Epi d'Or are the bakery-café choices. Midtown in Masaki does a rooftop brunch. For something local, Chef's Pride and KT Shop in the city centre do a proper Swahili and Indian breakfast.
- What is a Swahili breakfast?
- Sweet, spiced milk tea (chai) with mandazi, fried dough flavoured with coconut and cardamom, or vitumbua, soft coconut rice cakes. Add samosas or a kebab if you are hungry. KT Shop on Kisuti Street has been serving exactly this since 1968.
