Staff Writer 
WAY back in the 20th C, 1st Street in Harare on a Saturday morning was the place to see and be seen.
Tank tops, flared pants and Doc Martens were considered cool gear, and it was normal to wear a fanny pack to keep the money you needed to buy a knickerbocker glory at HM Barbour’s tearoom or a coffee at the Wise Donkey. But times change, and all roads now lead to ED Mnangagwa Road, formerly known as Enterprise Road.
Once a quiet tree-lined road to traverse on a Sunday afternoon drive out to the aloe garden at Ewanrigg, ED Mnangagwa Road has become an economic corridor, creating a tsunami of business investments. Residential houses have been demolished, giving way to service stations, shopping centres, fast-food outlets and restaurants. New destinations have been created, and you can now hang out with the moneyed middle class without having to travel all the way to town.
Bang on trend is La Parada Bar de Tapas, a recently opened restaurant in Bay Noakes Road, just off ED Mnangagwa Road. Nearby top-end restaurants The Fishmonger, The Bistro and Mozambik all have their own fine-food-loving clientele, while La Parada, a franchise originating in Cape Town’s Harbour House in Kalk Bay in the 90s, offers ‟tapas born from Spanish heritage, but created for the South African palate”. Judging by numerous favourable reviews, the flavours of the tapas seem equally pleasing to the Zimbabwean palate.
Last week we parked our elderly pickup truck alongside a Range Rover and a luxury SUV, arriving unannounced for a mid-week lunch at La Parada. Having made a VIP entrance via a red carpet flanked by ropes and poles, we were escorted by a friendly receptionist to a table for two, overlooking a terraced garden leading down to a fountain.
The stylish ambience created by comfortable upholstered chairs, sparkling glassware, gleaming cutlery and red-tiled dining tables was slightly diminished by the use of paper rather than cloth napkins.
Service, however, was prompt, and while scanning the vast cocktail menu, we sipped mineral water served with ice and sliced lemon in attractive glasses. Two well-stocked bars and experienced mixologists offered every type of cocktail, whether gin, rum, brandy, tequila or whiskey based. Whatever your heart desires, or whatever age, inclination or personality type dictate, the perfect cocktail is available at La Parada. Finally, our waiter brought me an Aperol spritz, with a Castle lager for George.
Ignoring numerous options for starters, salads, pizzas or main courses, we opted for a tapas platter to share. Delicately flavoured chicken wings tossed in a soya glaze and dusted with sesame seeds, crisp fried calamari, deep-fried jalapeño, chorizo and cheese amazeballs, batatas bravas (both sweet and regular potatoes) and fluffy bao buns, some stuffed with pork belly, others with chicken, were freshly made and appetisingly presented on a wooden platter. A smoky, spicy homemade chipotle sauce was the star of the platter, closely followed by a smooth and creamy hummus, and a tangy mayo, the perfect foil for crispy patatas bravas.
Head chef at La Parada, Susan Manokore, who spent several years with La Parada in the Western Cape, is thrilled to be bringing a wealth of experience back home with her. After graduating from Razi High School in Masvingo Province, Chef Sue attended the prestigious Infinity Culinary Training School in Cape Town, learning the art of cookery and acquiring the many skills required for a career in the food service industry. When I asked her where she liked to eat out when time permitted, she said that on her days off she preferred to cook a traditional meal at home in her kitchen in Kuwadzana.
Nothing was too much trouble for our waiter, who served our coffee on the balcony, where we sat back on a spacious sofa, overlooking terraces of roses and lavender, and the tiled fountain at the bottom of the garden.
The interior decor at La Parada is stylishly flamboyant, with an emphasis on the colour red, and pictures of flamenco dancers and bull fighters decorating the walls. Not to be missed is a visit to the ladies loo, where dramatic floral wall paper and a huge ornate gilt framed mirror overhung by fabulous faux ferns, contrast with dark wood panelling.
In keeping with the elegant atmosphere at La Parada, clientele are asked to adopt a smart casual style of dress. At our mid-week lunch last week there were no tank tops or fanny packs in sight, and definitely no evidence of Doc Martens. So if you want to see and be seen, and perhaps meet Harare’s beautiful people, make your way to La Parada Bar and Tapas in Bay Noakes Road.
