Mercado do Peixe Piri-Piri Prawns, Matapa and FEIMA Crafts

Two experiences define an unhurried afternoon in Maputo: browsing ebony sculptures and hand-dyed textiles beneath the acacia trees of Sommerschield, then heading down to the Indian Ocean promenade on Avenida Marginal to feast on freshly landed tiger prawns sizzling with garlic, lemon and fiery bird's-eye chilli.

How Mercado do Peixe works (and what else to eat in Maputo)

Six kilometres north-east of the Baixa along the beachfront Avenida Marginal toward Costa do Sol, the rebuilt Mercado do Peixe (Maputo Fish Market) is a ritual for locals and visitors alike. The market is split into two halves: first, walk through the tiled wet-market hall where fishermen lay out the morning catch on ice, including giant tiger prawns (camarão tigre), queen prawns, squid (lulas), rock lobster (lagosta), mangrove crabs and red snapper. Bargaining politely in Meticais, buy your seafood by the kilogram. Next, carry your bag out to the breezy open-air courtyard of numbered restaurant stalls behind the market, where cooks clean and grill your catch to order over coconut-husk and wood charcoal for a small per-kilo cooking fee, serving it with hand-cut chips, Portuguese tomato salad, warm bread rolls and bowls of homemade piri-piri sauce alongside ice-cold Laurentina Preta (dark lager) or 2M (Mac-Mahon) beer. Beyond the fish market, look out for four classic Mozambican dishes:

• Matapa: Mozambique's beloved coastal stew made by pounding young cassava (manioc) leaves in a wooden mortar and simmering them slowly with freshly squeezed coconut milk, crushed raw groundnuts, garlic and crab or dried shrimp, served with white rice or maize xima.
• Frango à Zambeziana: chicken marinated in lime, garlic and chilli, basted with fresh coconut milk and grilled over charcoal until smoky and tender.
• Chamussas and Rissóis de camarão: crisp triangular samosas reflecting centuries of Indian Ocean trade with Goa, alongside half-moon breaded shrimp turnovers stuffed with creamy béchamel.
• Pãozinho and Badjias: crusty wood-fired Portuguese morning rolls split and filled with fried crispy bean-flour fritters (badjias).

FEIMA Craft Market and Nucleo de Arte

In the shady grounds of Parque dos Continuadores on Avenida Mártires da Machava in Sommerschield, FEIMA (Feira de Artesanato, Flores e Gastronomia) is the calmest, best-organised craft market in the capital. Dozens of artisans sell intricate Makonde blackwood (pau-preto) Ujamaa family-tree sculptures from northern Cabo Delgado, sandalwood carvings, woven baskets, beaded jewellery and tailored bags stitched from colourful capulana wax-print fabric, with a cluster of traditional food stalls in the middle. Five minutes away on Rua da Argélia, drop into Núcleo de Arte, the historic artists' villa where Malangatana once painted and where contemporary Mozambican sculptors fashion works from decommissioned weapons.