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Wild Geese Lodge
Buckland Lane Off Alpes Road
Teviotdale
Harare
860466/860275

The Goose re-opens post fire 2011
The Goose Restaurant and Bar at Wild Geese Lodge has re-opened after the very unfortunate fire that swept through the kitchen and dining rooms, destroying most of the main building a couple of months ago.  The restaurant is for the time being located in the Conference Room.  Understandably, re-opening The Goose in the present circumstances at Wild Geese makes the logistics of kitchen proximity and speed of delivery more challenging, but the waiters managed admirably.  Options at The Goose consist, as previously, of a table d’hôte, offering three or four choices per course.  On this particular night, Chicken Livers, Smoked Salmon and Fried Brie were offered as the starters.  I enjoyed the generous portion of delicious chicken livers, the spice levels enhancing rather than drowning the taste of the livers.  The Fried Brie, again a generous helping, was served with a Cranberry sauce, its sharp flavour pleasantly cutting through the creaminess of the cheese.  The smoked salmon was also delicious.

Three of the four main courses were available, so Pepper Steak was not an option.   The chips that came with our mains were wonderful – golden and crunchy on the outside, soft within, and not a hint of sogginess.  The hake with tartar sauce was average rather than note-worthy, while the Portuguese Chicken lived up to its description and was hot, spicy, and tasty.  The Tagliatelle al Ragu lacked enough sauce to prevent it being sticky, so the full flavours of the different meats making up the traditional ragu were not set off to best effect.

Two of the three desserts on the menu were available that night.  The traditional French Bûche de Noël was a slice of fruit cake covered with a rich creamy chocolaty sauce.  As the name indicates, Bûche de Noël is cake presented and garnished to look like a log ready for the fire, used in the ancient fire-festival of the winter solstice, a type of sweet roulade, and the type of cake used can vary.  The Chocolate Duo comprised chocolate mousse, vanilla ice-cream and a piece of chocolate cake.   Both were enjoyed.

To round off the meal, we found that real fresh brewed coffee was not an option, and with instant Ricoffy, Tanganda or Rooibos as our choices, we decided to call it a night.  Vegetarians would have struggled with this menu, and it was disappointing that some menu options were not available, when already limited to a table d’hôte.  We were surprised to find that tax was not included in the prices, but added at the end – unusual in Zimbabwe.  We wish The Goose the best in getting fully back on their feet after the fire.
Deluxe Family Restaurant
3 Plates
Expect to spend $30 to $35 per head
Wild Geese Lodge
2 Bucklands Lane, off Alpes Road, Harare

 

The Goose Restaurant at Wild Geese Lodge – A Rural Idyll on the Edge of the City! 2010
I’d wanted for some months to lunch at The Goose but was thwarted by the lack of working phone.  I knew of their Sunday Buffet lunch but was unsure whether they offered an à la carte menu during the week.  My “Zim on a Plate” list gave the out of order 860466 number, apparently the cables were stolen, and it was only a flash of genius made me consult the Inns of Zimbabwe Newsletter where I found alternative (2930379 / 2917977-9) AND working numbers.  I’m sure they have lost many customers because of this problem and hope that they can advertise their working numbers widely to rectify a fault not of their own making.

The Lodge is in the most beautiful setting overlooking the Mazowe Hills and is greatly in demand as a wedding venue which would make me avoid going there for a quiet meal on a Saturday!  It is actually only 10 minutes from the Northern suburbs, though its 30 acres of indigenous gardens and savannah make it feel much more. Unfortunately the only road to the Lodge is past the Pomona Landfill Dump which, when they are burning on a windy day, can be most unpleasant.  Knowing its reputation as a private game reserve and birding sanctuary I thought of bringing my binoculars and maybe I should have, because I could see no game, but maybe the cold day was responsible for that!

Clarification of the name “Wild Geese” is necessary as it does not apply to the birds but rather to the professional Irish mercenaries of the 18th century.  The Lodge was built by Sally Carney the widow of Daniel whose best known and widest selling book “Wild Geese” was made into a film starring among others Richard Burton and Roger Moore.

Apologies for taking nearly half my allotted space before mentioning the food, but this venue is much more than just a restaurant, and knowing its pedigree adds to the experience of visiting it.  On arriving for mid-week lunch we were pleased to find that we were not the only diners, as well as one other couple there was a small conference enjoying a buffet lunch on the lawn. We chose to dine in the open and beautifully decorated dining room and immediately requested that the intrusive and inappropriate “pop” music be turned off – which it was! Alas I could not peruse the Wine List, as all the lists had been sent to Borrowdale Racecourse for a function “for 1 000 people”!  However, an adequate Leopard’s Leap Rosé was offered and served correctly chilled.  On being handed a menu without prices I, as usual, asked for one with prices, to be told they didn’t have one, as all starters were $8, main courses $12 and sweets $5 - making a three course meal a not inexpensive $25 - but we all know that eating out in Harare is in general not cheap.  This simple pricing theme was extended to the menu which had a limited but more than adequate number of choices.

Although our starters took nearly half an hour to arrive they were very obviously freshly cooked, and I was not perturbed, as this is not a restaurant one would pop into for a quick meal.  However no breads or snacks were offered in the interim, and this is unacceptable in a restaurant of this caliber.  My other minor criticism concerns the freshness of the table linen.  Probably much use for conferences and weddings gave it a less than crisp appearance which I suspect even a strong dose of “Robin” would not revive!

My three skewers of Lamb Kebab were beautifully cooked and presented with a yoghurt dip, and my companion’s tower of vegetable tempura (vegetables deep fried in batter Japanese style) a delight to both the eye and taste – the secret of perfect tempura batter I believe is to make the batter using ice cold sparkling mineral water.  Although Sirloin Steak was offered on the menu, I requested a Fillet, and this was served medium as requested, with wedge-shaped chips and al dente vegetables.  My companion’s Mild Chicken Korma was accompanied by a Poppadom and was wonderfully seasoned without a hint of pre-mixed curry powder, and if my tasting was correct, a very pleasant tang of cardamom.  Although not usually dessert eaters, temptation was provided by the refreshingly different three sweets offered  - Lemon Citrus Tart, Soft Centered Chocolate Tart and Apple and Cinnamon Crêpe – we chose and shared the first two, which were exactly as described and delicious.  Finally coffee, a bit weak for my taste, but fresh, and made by the drip method, with the jug left on our table for us to help ourselves to further cups.

Although known mostly as a conference and wedding venue and also for its Sunday Buffet lunch I would not hesitate to return for an intimate or soul reviving lunch or dinner.  The peace of the surrounding bush and the unobtrusive and unhurried service induces a feeling of calm which more central and busy restaurants can’t emulate.
Deluxe Family Restaurant
5 Plates
Expect to spend $25 per head

The Goose – lovely setting, great staff, food cold
2009 Review
We were lucky to be selected to review a previously un-reviewed restaurant in this competition, “The Goose” (previously named “Le Canard”) at The Wild Geese Lodge, so we were curious as to what we would find.  This restaurant is out on the Alpes Road past Warren Hills Golf Club, with the turning at Mazoe Springs housing complex, approximately 10 kilometres outside of central Harare. Wild Geese Lodge was originally owned by Sally Carney, wife to Daniel Carney who wrote the best seller “The Wild Geese”.  The movie based on this book starred the likes Roger Moore, Richard Burton and Richard Harris for us golden oldies that remember. Wild Geese is now being under the energetic management of Sebastian Benning and Karl Eckard who are aiming to upgrade and market their venue on a far greater scale.

We decided to do a Sunday lunch as it was one of those glorious sunny days towards the end of winter. Unfortunately the telephone was not working, so we took a chance and drove out there in the hope that we would be “fed and watered”.  Fortunately for us, they had a table for us inside as opposed to outside on the lawn which was fully booked with families with similar intent.

I noticed rather sadly that all the memorabilia from The Wild Geese movie had been removed from the walls and probably consigned to dingy darkness somewhere – I hope I'm wrong!  The restaurant has been opened right up and overlooks the game park, which on that day was in full bloom with all the wonderful colours of Msasa trees against the back ground hills and sky.  What a beautiful view, a perfect picture for us to gaze at on a sunny lazy Sunday afternoon.

We were welcomed as soon as we arrived and seated immediately at a table inside of our choosing, as tables outside on the lawn area were full.  However it was still very pleasant inside.  The maitre d’ offered us drinks and we chose to have a bottle of the Ken Forrester “Petit Pinotage”, a very easy drinking red wine for a Sunday lunch.  Whilst they did not have a printed Wine List, the wines available were on display in the bar.  

The menu for Sunday lunch is a Table d’ Hote.  It offered us the following:  Cream of Butternut Soup, which was a lovely thick soup, perfectly seasoned;  The Starter Platter, which consisted of a well-presented dish of Fish Goujons with Yoghurt Tartar Sauce, Crispy Spicy Chicken Samoosas and Sticky Tasty Meatballs;  Buffet Style Main Courses out on the lawn, which comprised Mixed Seasonal Vegetables, Potato Wedges, Roast Chicken and Roast Pork with Apple Sauce and Gravy; and for Dessert, a choice of Chocolate Brownies or Chocolate Éclairs, both with Ice Cream;  followed by Self-Service Coffee.

The Soup and the Starter Platter were delivered promptly to the table and were both steaming hot and well presented with lots of flavour.  Delicious!!!  Unfortunately things went a bit downhill from there.  The Buffet on the front lawn, comprising very clearly what should have been hot dishes, was very sadly all stone cold!  So we asked the Chefs to microwave the food for us, to the correct temperature, which they did willingly enough. I was however amazed to see (and physically feel) that all three of their bain-maries, which should have ensured that all the food was served at its correct temperature, were stone cold, and that no effort had been made whatsoever to keep the food hot.  The plates were also cold.  

I did look around to see if anyone else had the same problem we had with this issue, and by all observations, if they did, they did not seem to be complaining.  Maybe my expectations as a food reviewer are too high, but I must admit to absolutely hating cold plates and food!  The food, when heated, was certainly tasty enough, but just think how good it would have been if it had been kept piping hot!  

Dessert, when it eventually came, was also quite disappointing.  Both offerings were of a chocolate nature – perhaps other options to balance these might have been good?  The chocolate brownie was served minus the ice-cream, and one of our chocolate éclairs was empty in the middle, while the other contained lemon curd – rather a tart choice for a chocolate éclair filling.  Coffee was self-service, and again, it was served cold, with quite a wait for replenishment of milk, coffee and cups.  

Whilst the food itself, chiefly by reason of not being kept properly hot, was in part disappointing, the staff at “The Goose” were not.  They were all exceptionally polite, more than helpful, and efficient.  This new entrant is definitely a perfect candidate for the newly launched Deluxe Family Restaurant entry category, where, in consultation with competition management, following this review, they are now placed.  
Deluxe Family Restaurant
3 Plates
Expect to spend $25 to $30 per head