Via Via occupies the gardens behind the Natural History Museum Boma, and is the most reliable meeting point in Arusha for independent travellers. The bar and restaurant are run under the Via Via network — a Belgian-founded chain of cultural cafes in East African cities, now operating as a genuinely local institution. Cold beer, decent food (local and international), and a notice board covered in safari offers, ride shares, and companion-wanted notes.
The social function is as important as the food. You will find people here comparing tour operators, exchanging notes on the Serengeti migration, and forming into safari groups. Staff can give frank, specific advice on which operators are worth using and which to avoid — information that is hard to come by from official sources. Live music plays most weekends.