Zim on a Plate, Zim in a Glass
Restaurant Reviews
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19 Sam Levy Village
Borrowdale
Harare
0774 630783

 

Dining Café Allegro by default 2012

It looked as though it was going to be one of those days .... After having decided to treat ourselves to some lunch at one of these supposedly interesting - although lesser-known – eating places, we bravely set off to find it.  Soon, however, it looked as though we would not be able to locate it at all.  We drove up and down the appointed street, but it showed no promise of an eatery whatsoever.  Eventually, however, we parked at a largish office block which had the correct street number, and doubtfully asked at the reception where the restaurant was, if there was one at all.

The lady at the desk looked puzzled at first, but then kindly informed us that we should go around the corner of the building and enter somewhere through a set of French doors and then we would probably find the ‘cafeteria.’ That did not sound too good.  We wandered around, entered some doors and eventually found at the end of an increasingly lonesome corridor, an abandoned kitchen and no food.  We were informed by the one person still in attendance that it had closed down the day before.  We left and decided to try for another one of those interesting places on our list.  Needless to say, we could not find it either, and when we asked around we were informed once more that it had closed down recently. It seemed that we formed a lethal danger to small eating places; they died as soon as we had any kind of vague intention of going there!

When in doubt go to Café Allegro, is our motto.  No more fooling around with places in their death-throws: we were going to a secure place that would be certain to be alive and kicking. Seeing the funny side of it all, we laughed all the way there. Café Allegro is a lovely little corner coffee shop in Sam Levy’s Village.  It has a nice menu that offers sufficient choice for a breakfast or a nice lunch. There are lovely salads, nice sandwiches, as well as meat, fish and pasta dishes. Our waiter Para - short for Paradzai - was most kind and helpful, and we certainly were in need of some cosseting after the rather depressing start to our lunch exploits.  Having lost quite a bit of time, we needed to make some phone calls but had no money on the phone.  Para immediately offered to run to a nearby purveyor of Buddy cards, and soon we were telephonically mobile again. Before his kind Buddy run, Para had already provided us with some tall frosted glasses of fruit-juice, which went down a treat after our unsuccessful quest for eateries.

We studied the menu. Feeling quite hungry, I opted for the toasted sandwich with fillet of beef, while my wife went for the fish and chips. These were brought soon. The fish was pleasantly fried and with some squeezed lemon juice it tasted really good. Our chips were lovely and crisp, and the toasted beef sandwich had a rich filling of tomato, onions and a very tasty, creamy and rich sauce. At last we were able to sit back and relax in the knowledge we would not quite yet starve to death. We took in the surroundings, commented favourably, or otherwise, on the people passing by – who doesn’t succumb to that wicked practice? We chatted and laughed, all the while thoroughly enjoying our plates of most welcome food.

Para was always ready to see to our every wish, bringing some more napkins as eating a sandwich is always something of a messy affair – of course I did not manage to keep the sauce from dripping all over the place; or bringing another drink; or any other little necessity. When we had finished our meal, I felt that I could cope with just that little bit of cake. I went inside, looked at the cakes on offer, and from the chocolate, carrot, lemon meringue and coffee cake, I chose the last.

The coffee cake was brought with our usual cappuccino for my wife and a double espresso for me. It was just the right finish to our meal. Café Allegro is exactly the kind of place where you can arrive feeling hungry, and where you will be looked after with good care and a friendly smile. The relaxed cosy venue makes one feel part of the family and the food soon restores one to sanity.
Coffee Shop
4 Plates
Expect to spend $10 to $15 per head
19 Sam Levy’s Village
Borrowdale

 

Café Allegro – where the coffee reigns supreme! 2011
Having had a delightful lunch at “The Bistro” (corner Kingsmead and Borrowdale Roads) last week I was very happy to be asked to review “Café Allegro” as they are both owned by the same people and I anticipated a “da capo” experience.  I have to confess to slight disappointment though I should temper this with the realisation that Café Allegro is just that – a pavement Café!  Having taken this into due account I also have to comment on the comparative prices – some dishes at The Bistro are actually cheaper e.g. my “fish and chips” which was the special of the day and Chicken Breast from the menu at The Bistro were actually cheaper than similar dishes on the Café Allegro menu.

Café Allegro occupies a prime site in the centre of Sam Levy’s Village and has been very tastefully refurbished since its “Mimi’s Café” days with a new deck and much needed wooden railings to prevent shoppers walking between the tables.  The service was also very much improved - smartly dressed and pleasantly attentive staff. The menu is more than adequate for a Café with every variety of breakfast dishes and toasted sandwiches ($3/ $4) and a good variety of lunch dishes including a $10 “all day” breakfast featuring steak and “all the trimmings”.  The lunch specials written on the Board were quiche ($5) or steak sandwich ($8) but we both chose from the menu – Lasagne and salad for my companion and for me Chicken Breast and Pasta ($11) - “baked chicken breast, fresh tomato thyme and white wine sauce, parmesan crust and homemade pesto pasta” to give it its full very alluring description!  Our waiter told us the Lasagne was the last remaining serving and unfortunately it appeared to have spent too long in the oven as it was drier than it should have been and the Lasagne on the base was so hard (under cooked rather than dried out?) as to be uneatable.  The side salad served with it was wonderfully fresh and our waiter very obligingly returned to the kitchen to replace the original dressed offering with an undressed salad and dressing on the side as requested. My chicken breast was tasty but didn’t quite live up to its description – the parmesan crust appeared to have been replaced by melted (cheddar?) cheese and the very large helping of Pasta was only slightly flavoured with Pesto.  For my liking much less Pasta and much more Pesto would have made the dish more exciting.  Unfortunately both our plates were cold which even in this hot weather meant we were eating unappetizingly cold food by the end of our meal.

Desserts were advertised as Home Baked Cakes, the day’s choice being “Black Forest Gâteau” or the ‘Carrot Cake”.  A slice of Black Forest shared between us both proved more than adequate and came with two forks thoughtfully provided.  Lovely light chocolate sponge generously sandwiched with and covered in cream made this less of a heavy cake than I remember from my student days when it was all the rage but we did find two cherries nestling in the sponge to attest to its authenticity!

The best part of our meal was the last, wonderfully strong and aromatic coffee – even my companion’s iced coffee (which was served as requested without sugar or milk) did justice to its coffee ingredient and my double espresso was as good (and as hot!) as any I have had.  For those not similarly inclined there is a wide range of other hot and cold drinks on the menu.

I have a definite urge to sample Café Allegro’s breakfast dishes and would not hesitate to return for more cups of their aromatic coffee and should I feel the urge when shopping for an “on the spur of the moment” lunch would like to try some of the other dishes on offer. Open Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5pm and Saturday and Sunday 8.30am to 3pm.
Coffee Shop
4 Plates
Expect to spend $10 to $15 per head
19 Sam Levy Village
Borrowdale