Luanda-Nightlife! Restaurants, Bars & Night Life in Luanda!

Manjara Restaurant (Portuguese Cuisine)

Manjara is located on Ilha, approximately 300 meters after Bob's Burger or the new Esplanada Grill, and 400 meters before Chillout. It is in a green building that you can spot easily from the road.

From the outside, it looks a bit old and this explains why we had never tried it. But after hearing some positive comments about the food there, we decided to check the place yesterday.

There are two dining areas, one downstairs has air-conditioning, and the other one, much nicer, is in the open-air. We were surprised to have live music, which was good but as it often happens in Angola, a bit too loud if you want to have a conversation. Apparently, live music is on Fridays and Saturdays. Guests are invited to sing if they can so it creates quite a friendly atmosphere.

The menu of Manjara has mainly Portuguese dishes, such as grilled garoupinha, bacalhau con natas, bife a portuguesa, etc... First, we ordered some caipirinhas, which were ok but they were not made with crushed ice. For the food, we each had a different dish, for which we paid from 2900 to 3200 kwanzas. The portions were quite big, and we could not finish our plates. I think Manjara is a bit like Veneza, it's best to order 3 dishes for 4 people if you don't have a big appetite. On the positive side, we all enjoyed our food, which was well cooked and well presented.

I didn't have a very good camera with me so no great photos for this time.. At least you can get an idea of how it looks like..

To conclude, Manjara is good for:
- Big portions of Portuguese cuisine
- Simple, friendly place
- Outside terrace
- Near the party places on Ilha
- Live music twice a week

Manjara Restaurant Luanda
Rua Ilha de Luanda Mortala Mohamed
Tel: 222 309 348 /924 251 669 / 929 377 603

Portofino Restaurant Luanda

Portofino is an upmarket restaurant located on the third floor of the building of the Deana Day Spa, on the marginal. If I'm not wrong, the place belongs to Angola's First Lady, the wife of Jose Eduardo Dos Santos (Ana Paula?) and actually, the only time I went to the spa she was there!

We went to Portofino on a Sunday evening, and apart from us two, plus two other customers, it was completely empty. It is brand new, very neat and very chic, but a bit too much in my taste. It may look like a good copy of poshier places, but it doesn't manage to have a real authentic feel...

The waiters were great, among the most professional I've seen in Luanda: Efficient, smiling and smart. I ordered the baby beef, which cost me 3,750 kwanzas and it was good, though overpriced knowing we also paid 1600 kwanzas for couverts + 1000 kwanzas for water we didn't ask for.. My friend had the risotto, which she said was the best she had in Luanda. She said it was a bit expensive but worth it for her. For dessert, we tried the cheesecake (1,600 kwanzas) which was average.. Overall, I think a full meal in this restaurant will cost you well over $100, making it among the most expensive in Luanda.

With some nice lounge music in the background and a beautiful view on the marginal, we had a very pleasant dinner. That is why I would recommend Portofino for a date, or anything intimate between a few people only. More laidback, you also have the Bahia restaurant only a few meters away if you come with a big group of friends.

Practical Information:
- Parking for customers
- Open everyday from 12h to midnight
- Free wifi
- It is also a lounge so you can come only for a drink if you prefer

Click on the map to enlarge

Portofino Restaurant
Morada Av. 4 de Fevereiro, 185
Marginal, Luanda

Tel: 937 24 76 95 / 922 39 40 15 / 929 40 04 69

SoMel Lounge (In CeFoJor or MixFM)

Somel is a lounge and restaurant a bit hard to find, but worth knowing if you leave near the Sagrada Familia as it is only a few hundred meters away. To find it, you need to go inside the CeFoJor, the Journalist Formation Center (you also have MixFM there).

All the tables of Somel are outside, so you can enjoy the calm and the relaxing atmosphere of the center. There is a small garden and trees, a rare sight in Luanda and the main reason you shoud come here.

You always have some chilling/lounge music in the background, with occasionally a live DJ playing. Add to that some top notch plasma screen and sofas, and it makes Somel cool enough to attract many upper class Angolans... I think a big star was there when I took the pictures because his manager came at me very angry and asked me to delete them..

We've been twice there and we had mixed reactions concerning the food. It is quite expensive, about 3000kwz or more for a dish, and I can think of more than one place where you get much better food, or larger portions for this price (Embaixador/Veneza/Naquele Lugar/Asia Lounge, etc..). Personally, I was unlucky the first time, but the second time it was excellent (but too small). The dishes are not very original and consist mainly of grilled fish/meat à la Portugaise. On the positive side, it is well-located in an original venue, and it is very clean and modern so you will feel comfortable (but bring mosquito repellent if you come at night...). Also, the waiters, though not so experienced, were at least smiling...

Click on the map to enlarge it

Somel Lounge and Restaurant
Rua Luther King, 123/124

Marianita Pastelaria (Maianga)

Marianita has become our favourite venue for breakfasts and brunches in Luanda. It is a pastelaria (snack and pastries bar), just like the ones you have in Lisbon. There isn't a big attention paid to the settings, but it is welcoming, clean and efficient.

The dishes are simple but they taste good and you have a lot of choice. No real meals though. I usually go for the freshly-made orange juice + some pastries (among which pasteis de natas of course) + pizzas or sandwich.. The service is fast and you have quite many loyal customers that we see regularly, with one of the newspapers available to read for free. For Luanda standards, I think the prices are OK: You will pay around 1000kwz for 2 snacks plus a drink.

If you live walking distance from Marianita, I recommend you this place. They also do take-away.

Click on the map to enlarge it.

Pastelaria Marianita
Rua Augusto Tadeu de Bastos, 32 R\C
Maianga, Luanda
Phone: 222 335 651 or 912 725 658

Alvalade 61 - Restaurant Grill Wine Bar

As I just came back from holidays, I made some good resolutions, and in particular to write more reviews for Luanda-Nightlife.

Exploration started again, and we found a new restaurant we went to yesterday called Alvalade 61. It is very easy to find, as it is right next to Hotel Alvalade, only 15 meters away.

The place is a grill, bar and restaurant, and it is located inside a sort of basement, so you have no windows. No decoration but it is all new and clean (Alvalade 61 opened only 3 months ago, in June 2010). Soft music is played, giving it a quite intimate and cozy feel. It is still relatively unknown so no too many guests were there, only about 10.

The menu is very common for Angola with many Portuguese dishes like Bacalhau com Natas, Arroz de Mariscos, etc.. I had the Alvalade 61 grilled steak, which I forgot to make a photo of as I was so hungry.. It is basic but well cooked and filling. My friends had the chicken and sole. Both were happy. We paid a total of 4,500 kwanzas each, includung drinks and coffee, which is the average for Luanda.

I think the waiters are still in the process of learning because they seem to be somewhat hesitant.. In spite of that, everyone was very friendly.

Click on the map to enlarge

Contact details:
Alvalade 61
61 Rua Comandante Gika
Luanda

Luanda Jazz Festival 2010

The second edition of the Luanda Jazz Festival will take place this weekend in Ciné Atlantico, from Friday 30th of July to Sunday 1st of August.

The expected line-up features some world-renowned singers and musicians, including Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés, US vocalist Dianne Reeves, Angolan guitarist/vocalist Waldemar Bastos and Filipe Mukenga, and the Cape Verdean singer Lura.

The Jazz festival is a rare occasion to enjoy great music in Luanda and should not be missed. For more information about the schedule and ticketing, you can visit the website http://www.luandajazzfest.com/.

Bico do Sapato (Near Coqueiros Stadium)

Bico do Sapato is a very chic restaurant, so chic in fact that the owner doesn't really care about you finding it. I had heard of the place for at least 6 months but never managed to find it until last Sunday.

We went there yesterday night, very curious about what could be found inside. You have a small terrace in the open air and another, slightly larger interior room. Very secret, very discreet, a good place for bringing a date if you can afford it (but don't offer her to choose the wine, some bottles cost over 5000 dollars!!!).

All the clients inside were smart-dressed and presented well, and they are probably used to come to Bico do Sapato. The restaurant specializes in seafood, but we didn't know that so we ordered meat for all of us. It's only after we looked at other people's tables that we realized our mistake... The meat was great, but twice as expensive as the one in Veneza and almost the same quality. We ended up paying 6000 kwanzas each for our meal = 1 main dish + 1 caipirinha + couvert. It's really more than the average but it's rare to get excellent food in Luanda so we didn't regret it.

Click on the map to enlarge it
Bico Do Sapato
Rua dos coqueiros
In the Stadium, near Entrance 1 (See photo)
Tel: +244 921596666

Open from Monday to Saturday from 5PM to Midnight. Closed on Sundays.

The French wine list of Bico do Sapato:

Lookal - Sao Jorge Beach Club

Lookal is the renovated Sao Jorge restaurant, to which I had never been to. The result is excellent: Lookal puts together a bar, a restaurant, a club and the beach into one single area where you can easily spend your whole afternoon, your evening and your night. There is a DJ in the middle of Lookal playing all day long an original mix of funk/house/brazilian/top 40 songs.

The decoration is perfect and at the time of writing, everything is still new so it really feels like we are in a trendy place in Europe like Ibiza. In spite of that, it is cheaper than Chillout or Caribe for the food and drinks. At night, girls have to pay 1000 kwanzas to enter with one drink and guys pay 3000 kwanzas for 3 drinks. I was a little bit disappointed at night because people were not dancing so much, and at 3AM everybody had left. I didn't try the food yet, but I will update the blog when I do.

Conclusion: Recommended place for a Saturday or a Sunday afternoon, but it doesn't beat my favourite beach bar on Ilha: The Bordão

Lookal Sao Jorge
Av Murtala Mohamed
Luanda (Ilha do Cabo)
Phone Number: (+244) 923 596 114

Capricciosa Pizzaria

Two weeks ago, Luanda-Nightlife announced it had found the best pizzas of Luanda in La Pasta... Since then, we found an even better pizzeria: Capricciosa Restaurant in the Alvalade area.

If you work in Total E&P Angola, it's very close from the Impala/Palanca residences, only 5 minutes walking and you should really try it!

Capricciosa is very tiny, it seems to occupy what used to be a house's garage. There are around 10 small tables in the open air and in the back, a few more tables are under a roof near the kitchen. It's very simple but laid-back and welcoming. The manager even came at our table to ask if everything was OK.

The pizzas are quite expensive (3000 kwanzas and more), but they are made of fresh ingredients and the pizza crust is really thin. We were four people and we only took two pizzas. For once, the pizzas are not called by their typical name: No margarita, no napolitana, no quattro stagioni, each one is specific to Capriciosa. We were still a little hungry after our two pizzas but in the end, we only paid 1600 kwanzas each so it won't cost you so much if you have a small appetite.

Conclusion: Very recommended. They also do take away.

You can click on the map to enlarge it.

Capricciosa Pizzaria
Augusto Tadeu Basto, nº 59 Maianga
Open from 17 to 23h
Tel: 222 393 867

La Pasta - Italian Restaurant - Pizza

La Pasta is loacated just above the Portugalia restaurant, at the entrance of Ilha. It has the reputation of being the best Italian restaurant in town. Luanda-Nightlife had postponed a visit there a few times but we were finally able to make it last Friday to see how it compares with my current favourite Italian place: Don Castellana Elio.

We had heard very good recommendations so we were not surprised to find that La Pasta is very clean and nicely decorated to European standards. There are large windows all around the room that give a good view of Luanda but it's probably better during the day than at night. They had a problem with AC that evening apparently, which caused us to leave quickly once we had finished eating because we could not stand the heat.

The dishes are quite expensive, especially if you take pasta. Pizzas will cost you around 3000 pizzas but they may be the best pizzas in Luanda: Large, lot of cheese, fresh ingredients. My friends who had ordered risotto were a bit disappointed: Their dish was good but certainly too expensive for what they got. In the end, we paid 5500 kwanzas each for just a main dish + wine (1 bottle at 3500 kwanzas). The service was very attentive and, this is the first time it happens in Luanda: We were served our dishes in no time, less than 15 minutes!

Conclusion: I recommend La Pasta if you like good pizzas, but for the other dishes, I think I still prefer Don Castellana Elio restaurant.