The Plot Cafe a hot destination for foodies.

THE Plot Cafe, surrounded by the lush tree ferns and vibrant flowering annuals of The Plot Garden Nursery, is situated on Carrick Creagh Road, a few kilometres from the prestigious Borrowdale Brooke Estate and golf club. A mother and daughter team run these two flourishing enterprises; Cheryl Finch, a dynamic young woman, continues to manage the cafe she created over seven years ago, while Jenny Finch, horticulturalist and landscaper, tends the fields of golden day lilies and shade tunnels of high quality seedlings sold by the nursery.

Fish cakes, salad and chips

The cool veranda of the Plot Cafe is a hot destination for foodies, especially on a Sunday, which Cheryl says is their busiest day of the week. At this family-friendly restaurant, children can climb and slide down a jungle gym, bounce on a trampoline or frolic on green lawns surrounded by lavender bushes and lemon trees, while their parents enjoy a leisurely meal and shoot the breeze. The kids menu offers a host of nice options, including bacon, sausage and chips for breakfast, toasted sandwiches and burgers for lunch, and pancakes and ice cream with chocolate sauce for dessert.

George and I arrived in time for lunch last Sunday, and were lucky to find a table overlooking a shady waterfall and fishpond. Sunday roast is no longer on offer, but the menu offers plenty of other choices, such as beef steaks, crumbed chicken breast and grilled tilapia.

George’s choice, a thin cut pork chop (ZWL210) served on a bed of creamed spinach, with grilled seasonal vegetables, looked attractive and tasted good. My order of three fish cakes and a green salad ($ZWL150) was presented on a very small platter. This necessitated wielding my knife and fork with great dexterity, so as not to propel any food onto the table. The portions were dainty, so we shared a portion of well-cooked chips, served with a spicy tomato sauce.

Sodas and fresh juices were on offer, but asking for a glass bottle of complimentary chilled borehole water did away with the problem of disposing of one use plastic bottles.

For dessert, we shared a slice of delectable chocolate mousse cake (ZWL90). A large cappuccino (ZWL45) made and served by an intern from a local hotel school, was fine. George thought the hot chocolate, served in a tall glass ($ZWL60) was excellent.

The Plot Cafe doesn’t claim to offer fine dining, but the dining area is attractive, and every table is decorated with a vase of fresh roses and daisies. Very few family restaurants use table cloths or mats, possibly because of laundry costs and the shortage of water in the city. Paper napkins are the new normal, some an acceptable size, as at The Plot Cafe, and others the size of two squares of loo paper.

More important than the size of paper napkins is the threat of the spreading of COVID-19 to the southern hemisphere. In 60 infected countries to the north there has been a rush on the buying of antiseptic hand wash, toilet paper, tinned foods, drinking water and face masks. Owing to the spread of the virus, fashion shows, sporting fixtures and the Paris half-marathon have been cancelled, while St Mark’s Square in Venice, usually crowded with tourists, is empty. We are advised to avoid crowds, and to self-isolate at home for two weeks, if suffering from a cold. Anyone over the age of 60 is particularly at risk.

Chocolate mousse cake and cappuccino at The Plot Cafe.

While the scourge of Ebola never manifest itself in Zimbabwe, and every season we manage to control the outbreak of cholera, coronavirus is a devil we don’t know, and an impending challenge for Zimbabwe’s health delivery system.

But sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof, and I’ll continue to eat out as often as funds will allow, reporting to my readers on good and bad restaurants at home and abroad. Restaurants need our custom, so book a table for a mid-week meal or family get together at the weekend, and enjoy the many diverse and delicious foods on offer.

It’s a delight to eat a well-cooked meal at a table surrounded by green lawns, lavender bushes, tree ferns and a plashing waterfall, all of which makes a visit to The Plot Cafe a special occasion.  A Matter of Taste  Charlotte Malakoff

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