Restaurant week coming of age

ZOL Restaurant Week is running between October 29 and November 8.

NOW enjoying its sixth edition, ZOL Restaurant Week is certainly coming of age. Restaurant staff are more excited and more knowledgeable about their menus as well as the restaurant week promotion, menus are more interesting and punters happy to take advantage of a good food deal. New printed menus – where each restaurant can insert their own A4 page – look professional and give good information. Call-in lines at Eatout are busy and altogether there is more of a buzz around restaurant week than there was a few years ago.

Eighteen participating outlets this time round include stalwarts – Amanzi, Fishmonger, Alo Alo, La Fontaine, Tandoor and Emmanuels along with some relative newcomers – Centurion at the Cricket Grounds, Maestro on Enterprise Road , Bridge Bistro recently reinvented and reinvigorated at the Bridge Spar and Mojo’s Belgravia – for much mo’ meat. Full details on the website which is greatly improved with easy access to all menus, clear maps, contact details and easy booking procedure. http://www.zolrestaurantweek.co.zw

Restaurant week is designed to give diners a sample experience of what the restaurants can offer. We tried out Bel Canto’s in Pomona for our ladies’ out to lunch date. Advertising itself as authentic Mozambican, the restaurant has been open a few months in the Trios complex on Fernleigh Road where it shares premises with a busy hair salon and spa (which didn’t look open recently.)

Brightly coloured tables are set out on a covered deck next to the swimming pool and décor is vibrant with African print flags, couches and cushions and paintings in primary colours on the bar walls. Wide sliding doors back and front of the house make it spacious, airy and cool on a hot summer afternoon. Menu is simple but print a little small on the A4 page. Starters included chicken livers (US$5), rissoles (US$6), curried pumpkin soup (US$5) and chourico sausage (US$6). Grills include queen prawns, spatchcocked chicken, fish of the day and Portuguese steak.

As usual in restaurant week one can choose from the normal menu or the restaurant week specials. Restaurant week menu offered two courses for US$15 and three for US$20 – but we felt too hot to do justice to three courses and weren’t in the mood for dessert. So we chose from the ordinary menu. Prawns were unfortunately not available — rather a drawback for a Mozambican special – and we were told chickens were still marinating so might not be ready! That left only zesty tilapia fillets as a main. We opted to share a few plates — chicken livers, spiced calamari and the tilapia accompanied by a couple of Portuguese salads (US$6) – with lovely soft feta and too much sweet red pepper.

Chicken livers were well cooked and creamy though we would have preferred more spice and we found the fish slightly overdone though tasty. Spiced calamari was good and much better than calamari which disappointed at Fishmonger a couple of days before. That one was oily and rubbery and without the peppery Cajun flavour I was hoping for. Almost put me off calamari for a while. (In future will always choose the salmon sashimi – a real treat!)

We splashed out on a special bottle of Portuguese wine – Castel Garcia (US$23) which happily makes me feel like I am sitting at the ocean’s edge and is a great accompaniment to seafood. Nice ambience but a pity to have no prawns.
ZRW runs until November 8th so still a couple of days to take advantage of good food deals. Menus vary from US$15 to US$25 for two to three courses. Bookings at participating restaurants, or Eatout– 0772 413373.

g.jeke@yahoo.com