Dishes a hit and miss affair at Rose Cafe, Mt Pleasant

No one told us it would be like this after the military coup in November 2017, when joyous crowds thronging the streets took selfies with soldiers on armoured vehicles, and cars drove hooting down Samora Machel Avenue, passengers and drivers ululating and blowing kisses to all and sundry.

Overdone steak and perfect French Fries at the Rose Cafe.

Long accustomed to facing up to life’s challenges in what used to be called a pariah state, Zimbos are now subject to 18 hour power outages, a swingeing 2 per cent tax on electronic financial transactions and an unpopular home-grown currency.
The camel’s nose was well and truly under the tent last Saturday when Econet services were crippled by the power cuts and we were unable to pay for goods in the supermarket, buy Zesa, make phone calls, or send Ecocash to anyone in need. To cheer ourselves up, we decided to have lunch at the Rose Cafe at Golden Stairs Nursery in Mount Pleasant.
In a previous life the Rose Cafe was called the Antique Rose and was known for its fancy wrought iron chairs, cut glass chandeliers, lacy table cloths, decorative bone china tea cups and delicious cakes and pastries. New owners have made changes, and although the cafe no longer resembles a living room in Downton Abbey, it is still pretty enough, with white table cloths and a single white rose on each table.
A chandelier hanging from the ceiling might lead you to expect some fancy dishes or expertly cooked food to emerge from the kitchen, but the menu turned out to be very basic and presented without airs or graces. Because I wanted something a little more impressive than a chicken wrap, a burger, or chicken strips with chips, I ordered steak and chips ($70). A pleasant young waitress confirmed that the steak was rump steak, and asked how I would like it cooked. Although I requested a medium rare steak, it was served overdone and tough, while a salad of lettuce, cucumber, green pepper and tomato was overdressed, soggy and tasted of vinegar.
Although the steak was inedible, the chips were perfect. Cut evenly like classic French fries, the centres were well-cooked and the outsides golden brown. If the cook at Rose Cafe were to enter a chip frying competition, she would beat most other cooks and chefs in Harare.
My young guest ordered French toast ($28) from the breakfast menu, and pronounced it delicious. She also said that her vanilla milkshake ($28) was the best she had ever tasted.

The Rose Cafe at Golden Stairs Nursery.

Grilled chicken breast ($40) was served on a bed of well-seasoned al dente carrots, baby marrows, green peppers and green beans. Although the chicken breast looked crispy, golden and attractive, it was so over-salted to be inedible.
Our dishes having been a hit and miss affair, I was reluctant to order a cappuccino, a cup of tea or a slice of cake. Had the only cake on offer looked more attractive, I could have been tempted. Instead, we paid our bill and went to explore the plant nursery, the fresh water aquarium fish and the birds in cages.
We had been the only customers at the Rose Cafe, and we appeared to be the only visitors to the nursery. We admired the flowering shrubs lined up in serried ranks under the wintry sunshine, the winter seedlings and flourishing herbs, and a wide range of garden hardware and tools. I bought some oxygen plants for my fishpond at home, and we walked back to our car, the only vehicle in the car park.
Earlier in the week a number of shops I visited in Sam Levy’s Village were empty of customers, with employees lounging disconsolately behind their desks. Some restaurants in the northern suburbs, formerly buzzing with jolly patrons, also appeared quiet and subdued.
Other than orchestrating another coup, there must be a simpler way to restore the economy, raise our spirits and improve the way we live. A Matter of Taste with Charlotte Malakoff