Cafeography
Dar es Salaam · Masaki

Cafés in Masaki

Haile Selassie Road, Chole Road and Mahando Street, plus a cliff-top deck on Toure Drive.

Photo: Alex Levis, Pexels License

Masaki is one of five mitaa (neighborhoods) of Msasani ward, a peninsula named after a medieval Swahili settlement and bordered by the Indian Ocean to the north and east.1 Originally Zaramo land, the ward grew into an international quarter as the city spread.1 Together with Oyster Bay and Ada Estate, Masaki forms the high-income suburbs along the city's central beach, northeast of the centre.2

Cafés gather on three streets. Hug a Mug, Bean There Café, Kahawa Cafe and Woodberry Cafe are on Haile Selassie Road; The Ridge Cafe, Luma Whale and Aroma Coffee House are on Chole Road; Café Blanc and Café Blue share Mahando Street. Many of them offer tables both indoors and out.

Local tip: Bean There Café on Haile Selassie Road opens at 07:00 from Monday to Saturday; on Tuesdays, when Café Blanc is shut, Luma Whale on Chole Road serves from 08:00.

At a glance

18Cafés listed
10With opening hours
07:00Earliest opening
23:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Bean There Café, from 07:00 (Mon–Tue 07:00–20:00 · Wed–Fri 07:00–22:00 · Sat 07:00–23:00 · Sun 08:00–22:00).
  • Most listed streets: Chole Road (3), Haile Selassie Road (2).
  • Most common features: outdoor seating (61%), indoor seating (56%), air-con (33%).

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Dar es Salaam.

Getting to the peninsula

The Tanzanite Bridge, opened on 1 February 2022, runs 1.03 km across the water from Oyster Bay to Barack Obama Drive near the Aga Khan Hospital, with a 670 m main span. It was built to take pressure off the older Selander Bridge.3

Britain's travel advice names the Masaki and Oysterbay peninsula, especially Coco Beach, among the places where visitors have been targeted, and reports robberies on Toure Drive. It suggests booking taxis through a hotel or travel operator and not walking alone at night.6

Haile Selassie Road

Hug a Mug, at 102 Haile Selassie Road, serves from 08:00 to 22:30 every day, with air-conditioned seats inside, tables outside, card payment and vegan dishes.

Bean There Café and Kahawa Cafe share the address 1391 Haile Selassie Road. Bean There opens at 07:00 from Monday to Saturday and 08:00 on Sunday, and closes at 20:00 on Monday and Tuesday, 22:00 from Wednesday to Friday and on Sunday, and 23:00 on Saturday; its room is air-conditioned and smoke-free. Kahawa Cafe has seats inside and out. Woodberry Cafe, on the same road, adds a terrace, vegan options and limited wheelchair access.

Chole Road and Mahando Street

Luma Whale, at 21 Chole Road, opens daily from 08:00 to 21:00, with an air-conditioned room, outdoor tables and no smoking. The Ridge Cafe is on the same road, and Aroma Coffee House is at 1826/1 Chole Road.

Café Blanc, at 2 Mahando Street, opens at 09:00 and closes at 21:00 on weekdays and 23:00 on Saturday and Sunday; it is shut on Tuesday. It has seating indoors and out, air conditioning and vegan dishes, and takes cards. Café Blue, at 446 Mahando Street, has outdoor tables, and Café Arabica serves until 23:00 from Monday to Saturday, opening at 07:30, or 10:00 on Sunday.

Toure Drive and the Sea Cliff

Karambezi Cafe belongs to the Sea Cliff Hotel at 10 Toure Drive. The hotel describes it as built on the ocean cliff, with a 180-degree view of the Indian Ocean, a large outdoor deck, an upper deck and a coffee bar, and says it opens daily at 06:00 with a breakfast buffet.4

The Slipway, a former boatyard on the Msasani Peninsula, runs boats to Bongoyo Island, which it calls the first marine reserve in Tanzania.7

Bakeries, roasters and early starts

Kaffé Koffee Pink is on Bains Avenue. Kaffé Koffee calls itself the first 24/7 coffee shop in Dar es Salaam, gives its hours as 24 hours every day and says it roasts its coffee fresh daily.5

Wild Flour Artisan Bakery opens at 07:30 on weekdays and 09:00 at weekends and stays open until 22:00, with a terrace and air conditioning. Bao Café and Masai Time also open at 07:30 on weekdays; Masai Time closes at 18:00 and takes Sunday off. The Lemon Tree Café serves daily from 08:00 to 19:00, and Gesibora is at 32 Maendeleo Street.

Sources

  1. Msasani, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Dar es Salaam, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. Tanzanite Bridge, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  4. Karambezi Café, Sea Cliff Hotel, accessed October 2026
  5. Our Branches, Kaffé Koffee, accessed October 2026
  6. Tanzania travel advice: Safety and security, UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, accessed October 2026
  7. The Slipway, Tanzapages, accessed October 2026
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FAQ

Masaki cafés: questions

Which cafés in Masaki, Dar es Salaam, are open late?

Café Arabica serves until 23:00 from Monday to Saturday, Café Blanc until 23:00 at weekends and Bean There Café until 23:00 on Saturday. Hug a Mug on Haile Selassie Road opens 08:00–22:30 daily, and Wild Flour Artisan Bakery closes at 22:00. Kaffé Koffee says its coffee shop is open 24 hours every day.

How do you get from Dar es Salaam city centre to Masaki?

The Tanzanite Bridge, opened in February 2022, runs 1.03 km from Barack Obama Drive near the Aga Khan Hospital to Oyster Bay on the Msasani Peninsula, easing traffic on the older Selander Bridge. British travel advice suggests booking taxis through a hotel or travel operator and not walking alone at night, especially around Coco Beach and Toure Drive.

Where is Karambezi Cafe in Masaki, Dar es Salaam?

Karambezi Cafe is part of the Sea Cliff Hotel at 10 Toure Drive on the Msasani Peninsula. The hotel says it is built on the ocean cliff, with a 180-degree view of the Indian Ocean, a large outdoor deck, an upper deck and a coffee bar, and that it opens daily at 06:00 with a breakfast buffet.

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