Memorable dinner at Adrienne’s

 But somehow it works and glowed warm and welcoming with tall candles on the tables.
We’d slowed down to negotiate the potholes and the wind swirled litter around a freezing cold car park. Not a good start but we were relieved to see that Adrienne’s have their own security guard.
The approach to the restaurant is a bit dark and I sometimes wonder if restaurants have moved out of shopping centres and into private houses so their customers can avoid the car parks.
The snow-white crotchet doilies on the green tablecloths I could live without, but making them does employ someone.
The starters range from the Scottish Smoked Salmon at US$6, which my partner went for and Soup of the Day, which comes in at USW$2. I went for the Calypso Fish Cakes made from poached bream.
There are chicken giblets and chicken livers, spicy meatballs and honey braised chicken wings. And an African butternut and peanut butter pancake.
There was the usual selection of salads, small and large; the most expensive was the exotically named Salad a la Sofia Loren at US$5.
As the Italian film star is an all time favourite of mine, I asked the waiter what was in the salad.
“It’s a salad with boiled eggs!” he replied.
Both our starters were excellent, well presented and brought to us in good time.
When choosing our main courses we heard the diner on our right say that his Beira chicken was dry and tasteless. So we ordered a Prime Fillet Steak and a Grilled Fillet of Kingclip both at US$15.
For the not so hungry they offer baked potatoes, pancakes, vegetable patties and omelettes. They are also happy to offer late meals or coffee and desert for Reps theatre-goers and Hifa Amigos were given a discount.
Fish dishes includes Kariba bream, deep fried calamari, and fish and chips at US$12 through to the Scottish salmon at US$20
Steaks are from US$15 to US$17 and are served with pepper, flamingo, sherry and mustard, creamy garlic or mushroom sauce. There are various chicken, pork and lamb dishes.
There is also Braised Oxtail samanyika nekasadza. I’ll take my daughter there next time she comes home from Harare North. She says you can’t cook English oxtail for long enough to make it taste good and assures me that this is because English mombes have lazy tails because there aren’t enough flies!
My steak was tender and juicy — perfectly cooked as was the king clip. However, the sauces were disappointing. The pepper sauce was too floury, the mushroom sauce was a bit low on mushrooms and the garlic sauce had too much oil and not enough garlic. They were served in rather large graceless bowls although the amount was generous.
 The accompanying vegetables were tasteless — the carrot and onion were chewy, not crisp and the onions were slightly raw. The creamy spinach wasn’t good but the chips were excellent.
For dessert we ordered cheesecake and apple crumble which were very good.All desserts are around the US$3 mark and include creme caramel, meringue, chocolate mousse, fresh fruit salad and ice cream with chocolate sauce.
Adrienne’s Restaurant
Shop 2B
Fairway Blvd.,
Sam Nujoma Street (old 2nd Street Extension), Harare, Zimbabwe
PO Box HG 791, Highlands, Harare
Telephone 335602
0912 742 326
They are open for lunch every day of the week 12:00 to 3:00pm and evenings 6:00-9:30pm