Dispel your anxieties at Spook House

 A double storey building with a faux Dutch gable and partial granite cladding, the Spook House could pass on a dark night for a dungeon, and on a sunny day for an unusual family home.
In the early 80s, some friends of ours, Adam and Maria, set up residence in this unconventional dwelling. They planted rose bushes in the front garden and frolicked in the swimming pool. Adam confirmed to me at the time that the house was haunted, but insisted that the spirits were friendly. A couple of years later our friends moved to Northwood, and I lost interest in this unusual residence.
But recently, word was out in Harare’s favourite foodie haunts that the Spook House had become a pub and restaurant, and was being managed by Tracey, Clive and Bronwyn, previous owners of the popular Office pub in Msasa. So George and I set off at lunchtime a few Sundays ago, without having made a booking, in search of 190 Mutare Road. Things had changed since the 80s: the house was no longer visible from the road, nor did it have a sign or visible street number. But after several U-turns and some back tracking down a slip road, we came upon a large fully clad metal gate, which creaked open as if by magic, as we approached.
Far from being deserted or inhabited by spirits, the car park was full of 4X4s and bakkies. We approached the dining area, which opens onto the garden, to find that Spook House was pumping. Every chair and table was taken, and patrons were happily munching roast beef and roast pork belly as if there was no tomorrow. Bronwyn valiantly attempted to squeeze us in, but it couldn’t be done, and we resolved to return another day.
Our next visit was mid-week and we arrived with some young relatives who had just arrived from the Diaspora for the Christmas holidays. The dark portals of the Spook House opened up into a lively interior, where workers and residents of nearby Msasa had arrived to spend their lunch hour over a Castle and pub snack. Bronwyn offered us a table with seven bar stools in the midst of the action, but we opted to sit in the verandah area, where electric fans whirred from the ceiling and curious blue-headed lizards peered at us from the granite rocks outside.
The substantial weekday menu includes spicy chicken, calamari, pork chops, and chicken schnitzel. This comes with French fries, salad and mixed vegetables such as roast butternut and baby marrows. Prices range between US$10 and US$12, but the servings are large enough to feed two people. Half portions are available at half the price.
 A notice on the wall advertised a US$10 three course meal for the following Sunday, which included Haloumi cheese, roast lamb and Malva pudding. Little wonder that we couldn’t find a table the previous Sunday. I could finish only one of the two large and delicious schnitzels on my platter, so I took the rest home in a doggy bag to eat for supper.
Our waiter, sporting a red Spook House tee shirt with its unique ghostly logo, flitted between the bar and the dining area, serving ice cold Cokes and ginger beer. (The tee shirts are for sale, and would make splendid Christmas gifts.) We brought our own bottle of Shiraz, for which no corkage was charged.
Seating arrangements at the Spook House are comfortable, the table linen is clean and there is plenty of ice and attractive glassware for the drinks. The garden appears to be a work in progress, but it shouldn’t take the new tenants long to get everything ship shape. And if you do feel a slight frisson of fear when you arrive at Spook House, Tracey’s good home cooking and convivial welcome will dispel all anxiety.

The Spook House Pub and Restaurant, 190 Mutare Road, Msasa, Harare. Cell no: 0913 218 835 (Tracey) or 0913 558 832 (Bronwyn).
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