5km from Maputo along the potholed coastal road, and with the tagline, ‘A historia dos sabores’ (‘The history of flavors’), Costa do Sol is a Mozambican institution. Founded in 1938, when Maputo was under Portuguese colonial rule and still known as Lorenco Marques, Costa do Sol was the favorite eating and drinking spot of passing sailors and governors. Wealthy Mozambicans danced the night away on its beachfront patio, knocking back gin and tonics as the night wore on.

These days, it’s more of a sedate place, although the sense of faded glory remains. Renovations were completed in 2013, and you can eat outside on the blue and white decking, or inside, to a weekend soundtrack of (out of tune) love ballad covers by a live band. Across the street, you’ll watch boy racers speed their pimped-up cars along the Avenida Marginal, while kids play soccer in the sand.

If you only order one thing at Costa do Sol, make it the LM (Lorenco Marques) Prawns (650 Mets). The restaurant is famous for them; legend says they were the favored food of drunken sailors during colonial times. The prawns are served butterfly-style, sliced through the belly and drenched in a lemon-garlic butter. They come with rice, potatoes or salad, and go down well with cold glass of Portuguese vinho. Although the prawns are fresh, sadly much of the fresh fish is frozen — a shame, although it still tastes good. We also love the fresh juices served here; make sure you specify that you’d like a blended juice. Our apple juice was practically a dessert in itself.

The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner, although we recommend lunch on a Saturday or Sunday. If you come after dark, you’ll miss the views and insight into Mozambican beach life from the decking. Plus, there’s no better accompaniment for those prawns than sunshine.