Thirsty Thursdays: 11 Bars And Cafés I Visited in Sierra Leone 🇸🇱

Thirsty Thursdays: 11 Bars And Cafés I Visited in Sierra Leone 🇸🇱

“The self unseeing” – Thomas Hardy.

On my West Africa tour of 2023, the last of a hat-trick of new countries on my jigsaw was Sierra Leone (which followed my repeat into Senegal, and the Guinea brace – Guinea and Guinea-Bissau!). The plan was to fly into Lungi, get the ferry to Freetown (the capital city), tour Freetown and around, see the national animal (the chimpanzee) and then ferry it back to Lungi in time for New Year’s Eve. It didn’t all work out, and five days in Sierra Leone it feels like I wasted and lost time. Anyway, I got a Sierra Leone online evisa, booked myself into the sublime Hotel Barmoi and was ready for Sierra Leone!

Admittedly I lazed by the pool for two days since Hotel Barmoi was just so chilled out, and a freak chimpanzee escape led to a wild choose chase through the hills of unseeing those famous chimpanzees. This was Hardy’s moment. Reminders of the time I backpacked Democratic Republic of The Congo 🇨🇩 and had to byball the mountain gorillas. You cannot have it all if you want, life isn’t always so kind…

Despite all this, I still backpacked the bars in Sierra Leone, loving the vibe of both Aberdeen beach and Lumley beach as well as squeezing in and maximising my prolonged double stay in Lungi (where the airport is – I backpacked three bars there feeling like an expert!). That beach brace seemed so much as one, that Noel Gallagher’s way out of the city was embraced by a pub crawl, in the absence of queueing for a pint of milk. Aberdeen and Lumley beach is the same stretch of sand…

“All of a sudden I’ve lost my way out of the city” – Noel Gallagher.

Here are the bars, cafés and restaurants that I visited in Sierra Leone.

1.Apty’s Cafe, Lungi Airport

I arrived late on Christmas night into Sierra Leone, and after securing my visa and arriving in the open air, I needed a coffee fix. Apty’s is open 24 hours a day (which I’d later prove by spending it).

I had a black coffee here. They had an offer for 75 Leones, which is still £2.50 but in the dark of night, for an airport tipple, it’s not bad. I worked here on my blogging contacts, my books and my blog posts over a 35 hour period! Yes, I had around 3 hours here at the start of my trip and about 32 hours here at the end of it. In 5 days in Sierra Leone, I spent 1.5 of those days at the Airport!

I’d later backpack this bar again with a Guinness carryout (of 1 x 330ml tin – self bought and sneaked in) on my Sierra Leone exit. The only bar at the airport that sells alcohol is the New York Bar in departures.

2.Lungi Seacoach Terminal Bar, Lungi

While waiting for the crazy ferry by Seacoach, we have time to kill at the bay. A bus had already taken us from the airport, down to the bay. There’s a bar here, by the water, on the bay but like many, I expected it to be non alcoholic.

To my surprise, they have Guinness, albeit in small 330ml tins and the foreign export version. Still for 50 Leones, it’s cheaper than my coffee, plus I nabbed a brace then when the ferry arrived, completed my hat-trick, drinking the last one on the actual ferry to Freetown.

3.Hotel Barmoi, Aberdeen, Freetown

My amazing hotel here has 3 bars but I’ll stick in the poolside bar here. It’s where I sank my first ever Star, Sierra Leonese beer, Star Beer. I also drank  in the breakfast bar and at reception.

Ice cold and with views to kill. Overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

4.Tido’s Bar and Grill, Aberdeen, Freetown

For 20 Leones a bottle, Tido’s Bar and Grill is a cheap and easy bar to chill out in. Sit on the beach, by the bar or out the side.

I chatted away to Forster on the bar, enjoyed lion decorations and they have TVs for the football too. I also learnt that Tido, the owner is a lady and she wasn’t around on my visit.

5.Mamz Sports Bar, Aberdeen, Freetown

The night AFC Bournemouth beat Fulham 3-0, I headed here to watch the highlights later. I ate barracuda fish fillet with chips, plus a bottle of strawberry cider.

It was quite dear so that’s all I stayed for, this place is open 24 hours a day – Sierra Leone’s capital doesn’t really need to stop. The food and drink totalled about $10 US Dollars.

6.FA JOX, Lumley Beach, Freetown

This pumping bar had beers for 50 Leones ($2 US Dollars). Music was loud, a bit of dancing and pool tables.

I chatted to a local girl in here, Deborah.

7.Kingson Bar, Lumley Beach, Freetown

This was just a quick beer in here, one of many bars along the beachfront from Aberdeen to Lumley. I was in so fast for a quick one that I didn’t take a photo, sorry!

8.Sky Bar, Aberdeen, Freetown

Run by a Chinese Family, this cool joint acted as an afternoon Coca Cola fix on my danders through Freetown.

Great decor and atmosphere, commanding views and a kids theme park next door serve Sky Bar the right to be more popular. Plus it has a balcony view over Aberdeen beach.

9.Mamba Point Lagoonda Resort Bar, Aberdeen, Freetown

I heard that this swanky bar accepted card payments so off I went. It’s in a posh hotel with an elegant coastal balcony, quite glorious really and a tad posh for a cheapskate backpacker, but I had no cash left and needed to pay on card hence why I went here.

I ordered up their nachos expecting it to be simply a small portion, tasteless and underwhelming. It was the opposite! I had a huge plate of nachos here, and a brace of Guinness tins.

However, my Mastercard wasn’t accepted, nor anywhere in Sierra Leone except for the duty free at the airport!! Nice views for sunset though and a solid and fine memory here at Mamba Point, thanks guys!

10.Cassava Cafe, Airport, Lungi

I ended up spending 32 hours at Sierra Leone International airport, oxymoronically called Freetown International Airport. It’s nowhere near Freetown! There was a cafe here called Cassava – despite spending over 15 hours in here, I only bought one Mango Juice and one Coffee Set. I didn’t have any cash left and no cards accepted, plus I wasted $25 US on the ridiculous departure tax for the airport – shocking Sierra Leone and a good reason not to return.

This Cassava Cafe was a place where I tried to finish writing Aftershot. The book, runs concurrently and subsequent to Backpacking Centurion Volume 3 and 4, Taints and Honours and The Black Volume. That book tracks my journey from country 100 in March 2015 (Tunisia) to June 2016 at the European Championships in France. One of the staff in Cassava was very rude to me. Despite being the ONLY customer they had for over 10 hours at one point, he banned me from blogging on the big table (the place was empty and no customers were coming as no flights were arriving or departing for another 5 hours) as he said it’s reserved. Nobody turned up.

11.Departure Bar – Jonny’s Bar

As I prepared to leave Sierra Leone, the only place I could actually use my card was the Duty Free and I hoped they had a cold beer to drink on the flight/while I waited (yet another flight delay). In the end, they suggested miniatures instead, as to use my card, I needed to spend $10 US Dollars. Fridge magnet for Mum, miniature Bailey’s and miniature Whiskey it was and that was it – goodnight Sierra Leone as I boarded a flight back to The Gambia (where I finally got to BACKPACK it!).

Here are some videos from my time in the bars of Freetown and Lungi, Sierra Leone 🇸🇱: