Lunch buffet with omotenashi at Explorers Bar, Meikles Hotel.

Fragrant filter coffee in residents’ drawing room, Meikles Hotel.

THE Japanese word for hospitality, omotenashi, relates to a deep-rooted culture meaning to whole heartedly look after guests. I found this unique approach to hospitality, centring around care rather than expectations, on a recent visit to the Explorers Bar at Meikles Hotel.

Up the steps from the hotel lobby to the bar, are surroundings with pictures and decor evoking the 19th C world of African adventure and big game hunting, where you’ll be treated to a delicious three course meal, with service anticipating your every need.

Before meeting up with my companions at Explorers, I stopped off at Africa Unity Square to admire the Jacarandas, their vivd purple blossoms resplendent against a pale blue September sky. What better time for tourists and homesick diasporans to visit Harare than in September, when flowers and trees are in full bloom? Turning the corner at Eastgate, I saw a well-dressed woman on the pavement. She caught my eye, waved, and made the sign for money, but I drove on, skirting kombis, pedestrians and potholes, finally turning into the Meikles three-storey parkade.

Arriving early, I resisted the temptation to drink a Rusty Nail (cocktail made of Scotch whisky and Drambuie) at the Explorers bar, and instead sipped a sparkling water while awaiting my companions. Once everyone had arrived, the Food and Beverages Manager, Mrs Fadzai Rambanapasi, escorted us to the three course lunch buffet ($20). Returning to the table, one waiter pulled out my chair, while another spread a large, white linen table napkin on my lap. A third waiter followed up with white and brown bread rolls and fresh pats of real butter, served fastidiously with tongs and a butter knife.

The starter, vegetable soup, was served with crisp fried croutons. Well-flavoured, fresh and perfectly seasoned, it had nothing of the floury taste and packet flavour pervading the soups in many local restaurants. I could have eaten a large bowlful, but saved space for the main course.

The menu changes regularly, but had explorers Stanley or Livingstone been guests last week, they would have been thrilled with the choices on offer. Steaming cottage pie had a rich, meaty base, full of umami (rich, savoury taste), topped with solid, yet fluffy mashed potato and a layer of grilled cheddar cheese. Roast beef, well-browned on the outside and tender within, was sliced as we stood by, and served with rich brown gravy. Roasted chicken pieces were attractively presented, while rice, sadza, rape and crisply steamed mixed vegetables provided even more options.

Cottage pie and roast beef at Explorers Bar, Meikles Hotel.

In addition to fresh fruit salad and a large jug of cream, dessert choices offered chocolate meringues, squidgy and very sweet, panna cotta and mini apple crumble tarts.

At $20, the three course buffet is a popular choice, but the wide menu offers many alternatives, such as healthy salads, sandwiches, bangers and mash, burgers and pork chops.

The well-stocked bar can offer the whisky connoisseur anything from an American Jack Daniel’s Tennessee ($6), to a Scottish blend J&B ($5.00), an Irish blend Jameson ($6) or to an 18 year old Glenfiddich single malt whisky ($18).

There was a continuous flow of patrons arriving for lunch, mostly well-dressed business people, with the occasional Hawaiian-shirted holiday maker. Singles are comfortable lunching alone and strategically placed TV screens make it possible to keep up with sporting events, business trends and share prices.

Coffee was served on a silver charger in the newly-opened residents’ lounge, off limits to casual diners. Elegant and tasteful, and a quiet place to relax, the style resembles the library at the Cape Grace Hotel, where afternoon tea was served on my last visit. Two young waitresses stood by discreetly, eager to provide service.

Given the many pre-historic waves of migration from Africa to the north, it’s likely that the Zimbabwean culture of hospitality is not so different from the Japanese ideal of omotenashi, the dedication to detail and anticipating a guest’s needs. Could there be a better way for building up the Zimbabwean economy, than by adopting omotenashi as a national strategy? – A Matter of Taste with Charlotte Malakoff

Explorers Bar
Meikles Hotel
Cnr Sam Nujoma / Jason Moyo Avenues
Open daily, 10 am – 10 pm
Lunch served Monday – Friday only
Comments to: cmalakoff@gmail.com