Vida Pura – or, as is written on the menu in English, ‘You Are What You Eat’ – is a hip, arty cafe attached to the Centro Cultural Franco-Mocambicano (CCFM), a French government initiative designed to boost cultural links between France and Mozambique. CCF cafes are popular all over Africa, and this one is particularly good, serving up fresh, healthy food in the garden of one of the most beautiful colonial buildings in Maputo.
The cafe is open on weekday lunchtimes from 12.30 onwards, and on selected evenings if there’s a film festival or a concert happening in the main building. If you come for lunch, come early; the place quickly fills up and waiting for a table is no fun. Tables are scattered around the courtyard, and in the evening lit by simple white candles couched inside brown paper bags. There are also tables and armchairs inside the building, where it’s worth checking out whichever art exhibition is on at the time.
The menu changes according to what is fresh and in season, but you can expect dishes like lasagna with salad, beans and grated carrot (350 Mets), soup with black beans and salami (60 Mets), lentils with chorizo and rice (120 Mets) and rump steak (390 Mets). There’s also a selection of focaccia fillings and a big salad bar, brimming with bowls of roasted eggplant, potatoes, cherry tomatoes, basil and other delights. The juices are good and freshly-blended. Our mixed juice (100 Mets) was a blend of mango, apple, papaya, carrot, banana, pineapple and spirulina, served in a Margarita glass and topped with a cocktail umbrella.
Vida Pura is a great spot for a working lunch with colleagues, or for a glass of wine and a focaccia before catching a film inside the main building. Francophiles might also like to check out the library upstairs, stocked with French (and some Portuguese) books and newspapers. There’s also a well-stocked gift store, where you can buy arty postcards, wooden jewelry, fair-trade cosmetics and clothing made from colorful Mozambican capulana cloth.
Expert Review
Vida Pura - or, as is written on the menu in English, 'You Are What You Eat' - is a...
Vida Pura – or, as is written on the menu in English, ‘You Are What You Eat’ – is a hip, arty cafe attached to the Centro Cultural Franco-Mocambicano (CCFM), a French government initiative designed to boost cultural links between France and Mozambique. CCF cafes are popular all over Africa, and this one is particularly good, serving up fresh, healthy food in the garden of one of the most beautiful colonial buildings in Maputo.
The cafe is open on weekday lunchtimes from 12.30 onwards, and on selected evenings if there’s a film festival or a concert happening in the main building. If you come for lunch, come early; the place quickly fills up and waiting for a table is no fun. Tables are scattered around the courtyard, and in the evening lit by simple white candles couched inside brown paper bags. There are also tables and armchairs inside the building, where it’s worth checking out whichever art exhibition is on at the time.
The menu changes according to what is fresh and in season, but you can expect dishes like lasagna with salad, beans and grated carrot (350 Mets), soup with black beans and salami (60 Mets), lentils with chorizo and rice (120 Mets) and rump steak (390 Mets). There’s also a selection of focaccia fillings and a big salad bar, brimming with bowls of roasted eggplant, potatoes, cherry tomatoes, basil and other delights. The juices are good and freshly-blended. Our mixed juice (100 Mets) was a blend of mango, apple, papaya, carrot, banana, pineapple and spirulina, served in a Margarita glass and topped with a cocktail umbrella.
Vida Pura is a great spot for a working lunch with colleagues, or for a glass of wine and a focaccia before catching a film inside the main building. Francophiles might also like to check out the library upstairs, stocked with French (and some Portuguese) books and newspapers. There’s also a well-stocked gift store, where you can buy arty postcards, wooden jewelry, fair-trade cosmetics and clothing made from colorful Mozambican capulana cloth.