Trendy local dishes and fine dining at Monos Restaurant

It will also inspire a generation of would be astronauts eager to travel beyond the earth’s atmosphere, whether in search of aliens, or on a mission to assess the sustainability of living in space.

Ladies rump steak with crispy golden chips.

A journey to the stars holds little attraction for me, if it means being confined in a command module, subsisting on freeze-dried food and powdered beverages sucked through a straw from a pouch, and suffering from ‘puffy head and bird leg’ astronaut syndrome. Having both feet on the ground, conversely, guarantees the ability to visit an elegant restaurant for a great meal in one of Harare’s leading hotels, without suffering any extraterrestrial after effects.

Many hotels and restaurants were closed during the pandemic, but the hospitality industry is bouncing back strongly, and tourists and locals alike are keen to re-visit their favourite haunts. These include the iconic Monomotapa Hotel designed by Roy Densem and Partners architects. The unusual crescent-shaped frontage, overlooking Harare Gardens, is as eye catching and impressive as it seemed in 1974, when the hotel opened its doors.

Should you be in need of sustenance after spending weary hours at the office of the Registrar General on the corner of Herbert Chitepo Avenue, make a short detour to the cool portals of the Monomotapa Hotel at 54 Park Lane and visit the Gazebo Deli for a cup of tea and a jam scone. But for a romantic date and fine dining, book a table for lunch or dinner at Monos Restaurant.

Previously known as Le Francais and rebranded as Monos, the restaurant has a classic design style blending old with new. Subtle pastel colours on the walls and tasteful hand coloured photographs of local beauty spots contrast with a brick fireplace, framed by a collection of brass spoons, forks and a brace of pistols. White linen table cloths are offset by gleaming wine glasses, and large linen table napkins are folded into standing fans. Louis XV arm chairs around all the tables provide a final touch of elegance and comfort.

Being in the zone for cocktails, we visited the Monos Bar before lunch last week. Laid back and tucked away, the bar is yet to be re-vamped. I balanced with difficulty on a wobbly bar stool, and asked for extra light to read the cocktail menu. Barman Stewart rustled up a Malawi Shandy for me, the perfect drink on a hot summer’s day; George pushed the boat out with a heady Long Island cocktail mix of vodka, rum, gin, tequila and triple sec.

Elegant dining at Monos Restaurant.

The menu at Monos offers choices for meat eaters, vegetarians and pescatarians, and some tempting Chef’s specials such as lamb curry with traditional sambals, and pork chops with caramelised apples. There’s no shortage of trendy local dishes, such as Nyanga trout, crocodile tail, and Zimbabwean grilled prime beef cuts.

View of the city from Monos Restaurant

Traditional butternut squash and peanut butter soup was richly flavoured and silky smooth. A liberal sprinkling of biltong shavings elevated this soup to another level. Cream of ‘wild mushroom soup with a puff pastry cap’, described as Monos’ signature dish, was the kind of dish you need to keep coming back to eat – once is just not enough. Could ‘wild’ rather than store bought mushrooms be a key ingredient in this delicious soup?

Zimbabwe being a cattle country, there are many opportunities to sample the different cuts of steak and compare their flavours. Great taste and tenderness don’t always go together, but in general all steaks should be seared over a very high heat, cooked according to your liking, and rested for at least four minutes to allow the muscles to relax and flavours to develop. A rib eye is the ultimate steak lover’s steak, but I chose instead a ladies rump steak. Attractively cross hatched, it was perfectly seasoned, and adorned with a sprig of thyme.

Seasonal vegetables may have been lacklustre and the mushroom sauce verging on claggy, but the French fries, served in a wire mesh chip basket, were crisp and golden on the outside and perfectly fluffy inside. Definite contenders for the top spot in any fried chip competition!

As the cheesecake and apple pie were temporarily off the menu, our attentive waiter, Gift, recommended ice cream with fruit salad, a combination of freshly cut and locally sourced water melon, apple and pineapple. Filter coffee was perfectly brewed from La Lucie coffee beans, grown in Chipinge, in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwean astronauts will eventually follow our satellite into space, and the first thing they will marvel at is the vision of planet Earth far below, the only planet with liquid water and where life has been found. Should you be a returning space traveller, and yearning for real food, take all your family and friends for a celebratory meal to Monos Restaurant at Monomotapa Hotel.

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