Zim on a Plate, Zim in a Glass
Restaurant Reviews
Sponsored by the Cheeseman,
with Press Partner The Standard

©All Zimbabwe On A Plate Reviews and Ratings are
copyright to The Cheeseman and may not be
reproduced without permission.

61 Selous Ave
Harare
700237 011 601 158

Relax and enjoy at the Coimbra 2011
Nestled in the Avenues area of town is the long established Portuguese Coimbra restaurant famous for its chicken.   It is split into two sections which we assumed were smoking/non- smoking.  We walked into a quiet main room that had 2 tables occupied.  Many of the tables had reserved signs on them indicating the place would soon be busy. 

The waiter brought our menus and took our drink order, Malawi Shandy for me – I was driving - and Hunters Gold for my partner. The menu was quite limited on starters and salads but showed a variety of seafood and fish.  One could also order steak and of course the famous peri-peri chicken.  Our drinks arrived and we were also given a bowl of bread, butter and dipping sauces.  I ordered prawns with chips and my partner went for the mild peri-peri chicken with chips.  We also ordered a traditional Portuguese salad to share.   

We sat and chatted and enjoyed the bread.  The sauces were delicious, one garlic and the other spicy. We had gone through quite a lot of the bread when we realised our meal was taking some time.  The room we were in was quite empty and the waiters were just hanging around.  The atmosphere was very relaxed and the waiters seemed to move in slow-motion.  We decided to stop eating the bread because we would be stuffed before the main course!

When the food arrived I was ready to dive right in. It smelt delicious and you could feel the heat. The prawns were huge and cooked perfectly.  They were served on a bed of lettuce and couscous. There was a generous portion of chips and I must say that these are the best chips I have ever eaten.   The chicken was crisp on the outside and succulent on the inside.  It was hotter than anticipated as we had ordered mild, but delicious all the same.  The salad had lettuce, onion, tomato, cucumber and grated carrots. The whole meal was well cooked, tasted great and was very satisfying. We agreed that neither of us was cooking supper that night!

During our meal the place had filled up.  It is a great place for birthdays and family get-togethers. I saw many kids with parents and some teenagers and young adults out on their own.  There were senior citizens too.  The restaurant caters to all.  

We ordered more drinks and decided to have dessert.  I was curious about a Molotov pudding and had visions of flames and minor explosions in a bowl.  However, when it was shown to me it seemed an ordinary and rather calm pudding.  I do love caramel so I decided to try the caramel crème.  This dessert was also not what I expected. I could hardly taste the caramel and the sauce was quite strong with a bitter kick and a burnt sugar smell.  It totally overpowered the rather bland crème.  My partner ordered ice cream which was three different-flavours and I happily consumed the chocolate covered chocolate ball.  Death by chocolate!  We finished eating and were ready for the bill.  However, our waiter was busy bussing tables and we had quite a wait before we could ask him to bring the bill.  This just went with the rather laid back atmosphere that exuded from the place.  This is not the place for a rushed meal.  One comes here to sit back, relax and enjoy. I was surprised that the bill was very reasonable for all that we had consumed.
Family Restaurant
3 Plates
61 Selous Avenue Harare
Expect to spend $20 to $30 per head

 

Long lazy lunch at Coimbra daily - high on wish list! 2010
The story goes, as far as I know, that Coimbra was originally a place for blue collar workers, builders and contractors to grab a quick affordable lunch with a Mozambique/Portuguese flavour.  It was so successful that it grew quickly into a bigger cosmopolitan restaurant, but still with an emphasis on Portuguese food. Unfortunately the Portuguese population has got smaller over the years but Coimbra has gone on from strength to strength.  They have managed to keep the family friendly atmosphere but the clientèle is definitely not blue collar anymore, in fact there is a very relaxed fun seeking younger crowd where trendy hairstyles and earrings for men abound.  Most diners were very casually clothed with shorts, jeans and slops being the favourite mode of dress.

The original house is still there but they have added on a huge veranda, mostly built from breeze blocks which gives a nice inside/outside feel to the place, but would probably be a bit chilly in winter.  The breeze blocks give a feeling of being on the beach and it almost seems like the sea is just outside.  It is still a very much “no frills no fuss” establishment.  Although clean and neat there is virtually no décor to talk about – plain floors, walls, plain tables and chairs.  Although it was originally a workers’ lunch time place, the prices, while still reasonable, would probably exclude most blue collar workers nowadays.

We went for Sunday lunch and the place was packed, obviously an indication of the good quality of the food.  It would be advisable to book as I think we got the last table left.  Tables were full of family groups, children welcome in the European-Mediterranean tradition.

The table service was excellent – if a little laid-back, but what the heck, the whole place is so relaxed and unrushed it feels like you are on holiday and could spend the whole day having a lazy, delicious lunch.  Waiters were efficient without being too pushy; we were served almost immediately with fresh bread and two sauces – one delicious garlic sauce and one peri-peri sauce, nice for dunking the bread into.  We had the head waiter coming around to ask if everything was all right – a nice courtesy in a no frills establishment.

The wine service was not so great – there is no wine list – just a big fridge in the middle of the room that diners can select from.  There were no local wines which I thought was a bit of a pity as there are several very good local wines available.  There was, however, a respectable selection of South African and Portuguese wines.  Reds and whites are both kept lightly chilled, which is great for red wine drinkers on a hot day.  Wine is also available by the glass if you don’t feel like a full bottle, and South African and Portuguese beers also are available.  Several diners had brought their own wine, which they were evidently very welcome to do.  All white wines are served in an ice bucket to keep it cold and very refreshing.

The menu is fairly simple and straight forward – they are particularly well known for their peri-peri chicken which I have had before and highly recommend.  Main courses consist of chicken (peri-peri or plain), steaks and seafood – the prawns have been highly recommended to me on various occasions although I have not tried them here before.  Starters included salads, caldo verde, soups and chicken giblets.  I ordered the caldo verde (traditional Portuguese green soup, which was pretty well perfect, thick and creamy and tasty.)  My partner ordered the traditional Portuguese salad as a starter which was very good, almost a meal in itself.  It was a good choice as the main courses came with no accompaniments – no vegetables or garnish and very plain presentation – no artistic value there. But as I’ve said, Coimbra does not go in for frills, that’s not their style.

I ordered the kingclip with chips for my main course and my partner ordered a Portuguese steak with chips. The fish tasted really fresh (not as if it had been frozen and defrosted ten times over, unlike in some other restaurants!)  It was cooked to perfection, not over dry or underdone and quite delicious with lashings of lemon juice and garlic.  My partner’s steak came with the ubiquitous fried egg on top in typical Portuguese fashion.  He ordered medium rare which is exactly how it was cooked – slightly charred on the outside but deliciously pink and juicy inside.  Both meals were excellent with loads of perfect crispy chips, but very plain – no veges or garnish or salad.  It’s not so difficult these days to add a little lettuce, tomato, or cucumber – which wouldn’t go amiss.  Portions were very generous and I noticed several tables asking for doggie bags.  We had the head waiter coming around to ask if everything was alright – a nice courtesy in a no frills establishment.

Desserts were not too exciting but as the main course portions were so generous I was not really tempted.  There was the usual crème caramel, chocolate mousse and ice cream as well as coffees with liqueurs.  I ordered a delightfully strong coffee to round off the meal and my partner had the chocolate mousse which was good and creamy, although there was a touch too much gelatine in the mixture.

Overall a delightful laid back dining experience, although some attention could be paid to décor and presentation.  One of the drawbacks of being so laid back was that it took ages for the bill to arrive.  The volume of happy eaters chatting meant that there was no need for music, but some soft Portuguese singers in the background might have added to the ambience.  I could happily spend a long lazy lunch time there every day of the week!
P.S.  They also do takeaways there, so I imagine you could phone in your order and then enjoy your delicious food in the relaxed surroundings of your own home.
3 Plates
Expect to spend $15 to $25 per head

 

The Coimbra - good and simple Portuguese fare 2009
Coimbra or “Ko-Imbra” as so many mispronounce it here, is a city in Portugal.  It is also a well known Restaurant in Central Avenue, Harare.  Now, how does one review, and what can one say about a simple Portuguese styled restaurant?  The answer is simple, it is quite frankly simple!

So many of us in Zimbabwe love the simplicity and ease of eating associated with this type of restaurant. What shall we do on a Sunday when we do not feel like a big fancy meal at a fancy eating establishment? Let’s pop down the road for a quick and tasty half piri piri chicken and chips. Bundle the kids in the car, call your mates whilst en route and maybe book if you remember to look up the phone number.  Sit down, have some fresh bread laden with fresh garlic in melted butter, delicious gravy sauce, and hot piri-piri sauce and perhaps some Moelas (chicken giblets), quaff back a couple of beers or softies (depending on how long Saturday night was…), and then order the mains.  “How many are having prir piri chicken?” is often the standard question from the Maitre D’ or the waiter who may know you by name (and has already brought you your favourite beverage as you sat down at your table).  "Don’t forget the hot sauce and the garlic," we all call in unison!

This is just how it is, and how we expected it to be when we were holidaying in the Algarve a couple of years ago.  Well as an aside, it is just not the same there!  The Portuguese just didn’t seem to know what to do, and the hot sauce was quite frankly pathetic.  Before you say, we were in the “Touristy area”, we weren’t!  There was much mirth when I asked in my best broken Portuguese for Galinha!  The literal translation there is “Hen” - they call chicken “Frango” there. My best explanation for the misconceptions we had is that we are used to Mozambican Portuguese cuisine and the styles adopted at the Portuguese restaurants here at home.

Coimbra Restaurant itself is well established and well known.  It has a very limited menu of basically fish, chicken and meat (steak) main courses.  This is probably what one expects and therefore should not necessarily be taken as a criticism.  The menu does not cater for vegetarians or even really for children. Children tend to have a plate of chips and perhaps a bite of mum’s chicken.  The menu, being so simple, could be better laid out and more descriptive or attractive, but again, most patrons will know what to expect and what is on offer. There was no need of a wine list as there is a small selection of wines on display (together with the desserts) - in a rather ugly refrigerator in the middle of the outer part of the restaurant.  This fridge detracts from the theme, which of course is very simple and plain and what is expected from this genre of restaurant. We had booked, but were shown to a table which had already been used, so needed relaying. Service was polite and swift but drinks and refilling of wine glasses was not offered.  The chicken is not cooked in the standard “Portuguese” way on charcoal grills but rather oven roasted having been marinated.  This makes it a different taste and format from Coimbra’s fellow Restaurants but the texture and taste is good if perhaps a little dry. Watch out for overdone steaks and eggs.  Desserts, to be expected, are also few in selection.  Our chocolate sauce was unimpressive, and already set hard on the ice-cream.  

The overall service, however, is basically good and efficient, and the restaurant and rest rooms clean and pleasant.  Menu pricing is comparable with similar establishments, and in summary, Coimbra is what it is, and more should not be expected of it.  A good, simple place to have an easy meal without airs and graces with family and good friends.
Family Restaurant
2 Plates
Expect to spend $15 to $20 per head

 

Delightful dining experience at Coimbra 2008
The story goes, as far as I know, that Coimbra was originally a place for blue collar workers, builders and contractors to grab a quick affordable lunch with a Mozambique /Portuguese flavour.  It was so successful that it grew quickly into a bigger cosmopolitan restaurant, but still with an emphasis on Portuguese food. The original house is still there but they have added a huge verandah on, mostly built from breeze blocks which gives a nice inside/outside feel to the place, but would probably be a bit chilly in winter.  The breeze blocks give a feeling of being on the beach and it seems like the sea is just outside. It is still a very much “no frills no fuss” establishment.  Although clean and neat there is virtually no décor to talk about – plain floors, walls, plain tables and chairs.  Although it was originally a workers lunch time place the prices would probably exclude most blue collar workers now days.

We went for Sunday lunch and the place was packed, obviously an indication of the good quality of the food.  It would be advisable to book for Sunday lunch as I think we got the last table left.  Tables were full of family groups, children welcome in the European tradition.

The table service was excellent – quick and efficient without being too pushy, we were served almost immediately with fresh bread and two sauces – one delicious garlic sauce and one peri-peri sauce, nice for dunking the bread into.  My only complaint was that we got those horrible airline packs of margarine (which I can never open) instead of real butter. We had the head waiter coming around to ask if everything was alright – a nice courtesy in a no frills establishment.

The wine service was not so great – there is no wine list – and the waiter had to go and ask what was available – not a big choice.  There were some local wines (only two whites) some South African wines and Portuguese wines, but the waiter didn’t know what was available.  Wine is available by the glass if you don’t feel like a full bottle.  Also South African and Portuguese beers are available.  If you take your own wine the corkage fee is 90,000,000 which seems a bit excessive for a cork screw and a few glasses.  We opted for a local Mukuyu Chardonnay which was full bodied and fruity enough to accompany our meal and served at just the right temperature, and then placed in an ice bucket to keep it cold and very refreshing.

Starters included salads, caldo verde, soups and chicken giblets.  I ordered the caldo verde (traditional Portuguese green soup, which was almost perfect, thick and creamy and tasty.)  My partnered ordered the traditional Portuguese salad which was very good, almost a meal in itself, which was a good choice as the main courses came with no accompaniments – no vegetables or garnish and very plain presentation – no artistic value there!

I ordered the hake with chips and my partner the half chicken, which Coimbra is famous for.  The fish tasted fresh – as if it hadn’t been frozen and defrosted ten times (unlike some other restaurants).  Both meals were excellent with loads of perfect crispy chips, but very plain – no veges or garnish or salad – not so difficult these days to add a little lettuce, tomato, or cucumber!  The fish was great but the chicken a little dry – I suppose it depends what you can get from your suppliers, or maybe it had been cooked some hours before we arrived.

The bill took a long time too get done which was a little let down but then considering how many notes are needed to pay each patron has to spend about ten minutes counting out notes.  Cheques are not accepted – I don’t know about swipe cards as mine has expired ages ago and I can’t seem to get a new one from my bank.

Dessert was not too exciting but as the main course portions were so generous I was not really tempted.  There was the usual crème caramel and ice cream and coffees with liqueurs. 

Overall a delightful dining experience, although some attention could be paid to décor and presentation.  The volume of happy eaters chatting meant that there was no need for music, but some soft Portuguese singers in the background might have added to the ambience.  I would love to eat there every day but couldn’t afford it at today’s prices.
Family Restaurant
3 Plates