PlaYce Yaoundé: one roof, every craving

You know the scene. It is 1 pm, there are five of you, and nobody agrees: one wants chicken, another a pizza, the third “just something light”. In Yaoundé there is one place where that argument settles itself: PlaYce, in Warda. Several restaurants under one roof, a hypermarket next door, cool air when it is hot and shelter when it rains.

The capital’s first mall

PlaYce opened on 5 July 2022, opposite the Palais polyvalent des sports. It is Yaoundé’s first shopping and leisure centre, built and run by the CFAO group, which had already opened two in Côte d’Ivoire. On nearly 17,000 m² of retail space: the Carrefour Warda hypermarket, some fifty local and international brands, and several restaurants with 500 seats between them, in air-conditioned rooms or outdoors.

Four years on, it has become one of the city’s big places to go out: in July 2026, PlaYce celebrated its fourth birthday with two weeks of events, food-court tastings and games.

A table for every craving

This is where PlaYce changes everything. Instead of hunting for the restaurant everyone will like, the group picks a place and everyone picks their plate. Here are the food brands the centre’s official website shows today.

Saveurs du Cameroun: food from here

For those who simply want to eat Cameroonian. According to the open map, OpenStreetMap, it is also the place in the centre with terrace seating.

Flavours from here

Mapamba Grill: the embers

Grills, for those who swear only by what comes off the fire.

Straight off the fire

Le Carino: pizza

The choice that wins over the kids, the undecided, and those who want to share.

Crepino: crêpes

To end on a sweet note, or for the kids’ snack after the shopping.

The open map also shows La Force du Poulet (chicken), Le Rocher (international food) and Oui Noon! (burgers) in the building, recorded in December 2023. The official website does not list them, and we have not checked them yet. Been there lately? Tell us if they are still there.

And the Carrefour?

At the heart of the centre is Carrefour Warda, which CFAO presents as the country’s first hypermarket: 4,000 m² of shop floor and more than 20,000 products. There is a bakery, a butcher’s, a fishmonger’s and a ready-meals counter. The day after it opened, Cameroon Tribune noted it was the busiest space in the centre, with pride of place for local products.

Our tips to make the most of it

• Come as a group, decide on the spot. That is the whole point: one meeting place, several cuisines. Everyone eats what they want, and you stay together.
• Let the group vote before you leave. Save PlaYce’s restaurants in your Saved places, tap “Let the group vote” and send the link: everyone votes, no account needed, and you know who is going where before you arrive.
• Shopping last. Eat first, then go to Carrefour: fresh and frozen food does not wait in the car during the meal.
• On a rainy day, it is the perfect plan B. Everything is under cover, and part of the seating is air-conditioned. NiceThings’ weather, on the home page, tells you whether it will rain.
• In December, come early. It is the busiest month, according to Camer.be.
• Check the hours before coming late. The official website does not give them, and the restaurants’ hours may differ from the hypermarket’s. PlaYce’s Facebook page is the safest bet.
• Follow their pages for events. Contests, food-court tastings, a “golden ticket” hunt for the fourth birthday: PlaYce announces its events on Facebook and Instagram.
• Driving? The centre opened with 400 parking spaces. The day after the opening, Cameroon Tribune described it as “almost full”: on the busiest days, a taxi may be simpler.

Getting there

Your landmark: the Palais des sports

PlaYce is in Warda, in the 2nd district, opposite the Palais polyvalent des sports. In a taxi, say “PlaYce, Warda” or “opposite the Palais des sports”. On NiceThings, open PlaYce’s page and tap “Directions”: the spoken guidance takes you there.

Your turn to tell

• Your ideal PlaYce combo: what do you eat, and where?
• Has a brand closed, or a new one opened? Tell us.
• Got photos of PlaYce? Add them to the wall on its page: we will show them here.

Answer in a comment, just below.

Sources: CFAO, opening press release (2022); Cameroon Tribune, “it is open” and the day after the opening (2022, in French); Ecomatin (2022, in French); Camer.be (July 2026, in French); PlaYce’s official website; OpenStreetMap. Photos via Wikimedia Commons: BACHELOR45 (opening photo, CC BY-SA 4.0) and BACHELOR45 (grilled fish, CC BY-SA 4.0), Adesolive (CC BY-SA 4.0), Sarah Stierch (CC0), Nicubunu (CC BY-SA 3.0), Bdx (CC BY-SA 4.0).