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86 East Road
Avondale
332044

A delightful taste of real Italy at Da Eros 2012
Da Eros entered itself as a Speciality Restaurant with good reason; what it has successfully managed to create, is an authentic Italian eating experience right here in Harare.  It’s authentic for so many reasons.  Anyone who’s travelled through Italy cannot help but recall dining out in this beautiful country with pure pleasure and satisfaction.  Does anyone do relaxed, family dining, with really great food, quite as well as the Italians?  It’s that laid-back feeling, complete with the happy laughter of children, the pop of another wine bottle, the pretty courtyard, the big family groups, from Grandpa and Grandma right down to the babes in arms, the gorgeous aromas which emanate from the pizza oven, not to mention the succulence and flavour of the lovely Italian food, that make true Italian dining such an all-round pleasure.

Visiting Da Eros to review it, took me back to younger days of exploring Europe, and of sitting in countless restaurants along the sidewalks and beaches and promenades of Italy, from Rome, to Venice, to Florence, to the more obscure seaside town of Finale Ligore Marina, which boasts a Youth Hostel housed in a real castle.

I am indeed a very enthusiastic pizza and pasta fan, but of course, there‘s much more to Italian cuisine besides these.  Da Eros served our group with the most scrumptious starters and pizzas and pasta dishes, but there was plenty more to choose from in addition to those iconic Italian treats, also done the Italian way, with tasty, aromatic herbs and packed with flavour.  It’s an extensive menu, and caters for all kinds of tastes, including those that do not favour pizza and pasta, yet the restaurant remains true to its Italian theme and cuisine.  Wine options, while relatively limited, are adequate, and again, one would not expect a vast selection when dining in Italy itself at a typical restaurant.  The bar itself is very well stocked with a vast array of options.

The service could not have been better, from the initial warm welcome, right through to the delivery by the proprietor to our table of the complimentary limoncello (Italian lemon liqueur) shots and fruit, always proffered at this establishment to round off your meal.  Without the cheerful Da Eros personnel being in any way obtrusive we were made to feel like kings and queens.  We were checked on regularly, by several different friendly staff and managers, our every need catered for, and we enjoyed soaking up the wonderfully Italian ambience – for Da Eros does indeed boast a classically Italian setting, with its huge paved courtyard, dotted about with tables with checked tablecloths, in that true Italian way, plus a huge verandah, with lots more very pleasant seating options, and finally, plenty of cosy indoor seating too.  The place rocked!  Clearly, they are getting their formula right in this establishment.

While children ran about amusing themselves, playing and climbing on the jungle gym, swinging on the swings, and playing make-believe in the wendy house so thoughtfully provided, the hum of happy conversation and chink of glasses and cutlery bore testament to the pleasant experience diners were enjoying, yet unlike in some restaurants, your conversation here will remain private, for there’s so much room, so many seating choices, and a complete absence of the claustrophobia that can be felt when dining out.

The proprietors of this authentically Italian eatery formerly ran the Italian Bakery in Avondale, until they and several other tenants finally lost their leases, by which time restaurant trade was lean and the environment very tough.  Few people over the age of 40 who enjoy the whole coffee shop experience will not have spent many happy hours in that establishment, which in its heyday was simply THE place to be, to hang out for many hours, and meet up with both strangers and friends, and it was open an incredible number of those!  Likewise, Da Eros stays open all day and well into the night, making it a great spot to meet friends for coffee, hold meetings, or rush after seeing a play at Reps, whether you’re there for a quiet cappuccino, a full blown family gathering or a romantic meal, Italian style.  It’s particularly popular for Sunday lunches, and perhaps that’s the time one can very best enjoy that real Italian feeling, as it’s always packed, and has a lovely friendly laid-back vibe.  Service might be a bit slower then, due to sheer numbers, but who’s in a rush, on a Sunday?  The whole idea of dining out, in Italy itself, is to relax and enjoy time with friends and family, take one’s time to eat a lovely meal, sample plenty of dishes, at leisurely pace, and then – go home for a nap!  Some Sundays Da Eros has live music to add to the ambience.  This was an excellent dining experience which gave us the genuine taste, feel and flavour, of Italy.
Speciality Restaurant (Italian)
5 Plates
Expect to spend $15 to $30 per head for a full meal
East Road Avondale

 

Da Eros very good, could go more authentic 2011
One of the best things about dining out is the opportunity this presents for trying something different or special, rather than more of ‘the same old thing’.  Not that there is anything wrong with the familiar, some days that is just what you’re in the mood for – comfort food or your old favourite.  But why pass up the opportunity to eat through the cuisine of other countries, cities or regions; that’s why we have Greek, Italian, French, Chinese and all sorts of other restaurants to choose from.  When you do come across another cuisine it is important that it is authentic.  I mess about at home with a Dolce Torinese, a Piedmontese chilled chocolate loaf, but it is too full of shortcuts – margarine instead of butter, peanuts instead of almonds, trying to find the right sort of butter biscuits – never quite satisfactory, except that I find Frangelico gives a better flavour than rum.  In a restaurant this would never do!

And when it comes to Italian food we are, after all, talking about the origin of western cuisine.  Fruit and vegetables must be fresh and retain their individuality, colour and flavour.  You can’t leave out the olive oil or substitute the correct cheese for a cheaper inferior one that doesn’t taste the same anyway.  Dishes are often simple but la vera cucina Italiana requires skill to achieve and every ingredient needs to be good in itself.

The various former states of Italy have led to many specialities and whilst this may present some difficulties to emulate in Harare it also presents wondrous opportunities.  I had to ask what criteria a specialist restaurant, in terms of our local competition, should fulfil.  I personally feel that most of our specialist restaurants tend to ‘stray’ to varying degrees and Da Eros, where we lunched recently, is no different.  This trattoria at 86 East Road has much to commend it, a good atmosphere and good food.  As we vacillated over the menu we nibbled on a little starter salad and eventually decided to share an antipasto of salami, olives, prosciutto and artichoke hearts.  I did wonder about the beef and haloumi kebabs and also the inclusion of Greek salad on the menu. 

To follow, there was a choice of pizzas, pasta dishes or various ‘mains’ and this was quite tricky.  I wanted to avoid the pizzas or pastas and try something more traditional.  There was hake, calamari, a mixed grill and sticky ribs.  The Cotoletta alla Milanese was crumbed deep-fried chicken if I recall correctly, but this traditional dish should be a veal cutlet dipped in egg and bread-crumbs and fried in butter!  Bistecca alla Fiorentina is something I occasionally make at home, a T-bone marinated in oil, vinegar, parsley, garlic and oregano and they had a variation, a different bistecca of marinated rump, which I tried.  The steak was cooked perfectly but the marinade lent no flavour and the cut itself rather gristly in places, not that I was expecting Chianina beef, but still.  Like every general restaurant in town you could have it with rice, mashed potato or chips!!!  Florentine steaks are more usually served with beans or piselli, the small peas my companion had with her linguine al pollo, a pasta dish with chicken which she found very good.

The desserts were rather disappointing.  There was that old favourite tiramisu, but my companion had been here recently and her fellow diners thought it was below par.  The trouble here is that there are so many versions both in Italy and worldwide that you might have to be happy with what you get!  Ice cream with chocolate sauce is what you get in every restaurant, and brownies… well, I have to ask, why not pan pepato?  You can’t get better than that sensual epiphany.  There was a cassata which was an option but I went for the panna cotta, a fairly simple little sweet that was rather overpriced considering the modest little mould that appeared.  But why I say I was disappointed is because there are just so many wonderful Italian sweets that the mind boggles!

So as not to sound too critical I must say that we had a wonderful time, the food and setting is great, our waiter Shaderek gave faultless service and we will dine here again.  But this brings me back to the beginning and my criticism of speciality restaurants needing to go that much further.  In Italy, if you are looking for the best restaurants, you will often be advised not to go to well-known restaurants because they cater to mass tourism and have become internationalised, which simply means they no longer confine themselves to the cooking of their region.  It is still good ‘Italian food’ as far as the general foodie is concerned but a Tuscan restaurant that serves Roman or Sicilian dishes?  …you will be directed instead to an unassuming taverne caratteristiche to properly appreciate authentic cuisine.  This melding is what gives Italian food abroad that sense of sameness, often Neapolitan, and it is such a pity that so much of the essential experience of regional specialities is lost in the process.  No doubt rane dorate will never catch on – few here will appreciate skinned frogs dipped in flour and fried in olive oil, but there is so much else to embrace with Italian entusiasmo!
Speciality Restaurant
4 Plates
Expect to spend $15 and $25 per head
86 East Road, Avondale, Harare

 

 

 

The friendly Italian experience at Da Eros, great food, and service 2010
Da Eros is situated on East Road in Avondale, close to the Reps Theatre.  I was looking forward to trying it out, as it was opened quite recently, by the same family who ran the popular Italian Bakery at Avondale Shops.  'IBs' featured for decades in our lives, and I had spent many happy hours there over the years, especially during the annual film festivals, when festival followers spent all their in-between times chatting in this lively spot.  IBs eventually lost their lease, and not long after, I heard that they were busy re-inventing themselves.  Da Eros is the outcome of that re-invention.

Da Eros is a Speciality Italian restaurant. I cast my mind back to times in Italy, remembering the relaxed, casual, child-friendly ambience of restaurants there, the enticing smell of pizza as only Italians can make it, the checked table cloths and carafes of table wine, the lively chatter, and wondered how well Da Eros would emulate this.

The car park is large, shady and accommodating, and the restaurant itself is in a big, rambling old style house, probably dating back to the 30s or 40s, with the classic big verandah.  This has been very attractively done up, painted in terracotta, and the bricked courtyard outside was dotted with tables.  Their cloths were indeed of the red checked variety, and the wickerwork furniture looked just right. In the garden we noted that there is already a fully equipped playground for children.

There are plenty of choices for where to eat, whether inside, or on the huge verandah, or in the courtyard.  Inside was already full of people contentedly eating their lunches, so we opted to eat al fresco in the pretty courtyard.  We received a very warm welcome and settled to study the menu.  This offers lots of choices, from the range pizzas one would expect, to several enticing starters, some delicious sounding salads, a full page of pasta dishes, another full and varied page of main courses, featuring chicken, seafood and fish dishes, and various steaks, and five desserts.  There were also lots of drinks options, including milkshakes, several types of coffee, tea, fruit juices and fizzy soft drinks.  Table wines are offered by the carafe and glass, again in the traditional Italian way, and are good South African wines.  No corkage is charged, should you bring your own. There is an impressive looking traditional pizza oven inside, which we took a look at on our way to check the bathrooms later - which were immaculate.  The décor is simple, as one would expect, in  the style of a traditional Italian restaurant, but attractive, welcoming and suitably colourful.

There was a very relaxed, pleasant atmosphere at Da Eros.  A friendly lady whom we took to be the manager, was busily working the tables throughout our meal, chatting with patrons and checking all was well.  She visited us three times while we ate, to chat, which we really enjoyed and appreciated, and our waiter, Innocent Kanengoni, equally friendly and helpful, was excellent, and is accordingly nominated for the Service Personality of the Year Award.  He took a lot of trouble to explain items on the menu when asked, was very knowledgeable, and when my partner was torn between the choices of sauce to go with her chicken liver starter, he very obligingly brought her three tasty accompaniments to sample with her feast!

We opted for the marinated Beef and Halloumi Kebabs and the Chicken Livers as starters, followed by pizza, the quintessential Italian feast.  The starters were absolutely delicious, and beautifully presented.  The pizzas we chose were the Hawaiian, and the 'Morris' - with chicken, tomato, mozzarella, garlic and chill.  They looked spectacular and tasted divine.  Now somewhat replete, we nonetheless went with pure greed and decided we couldn't resist sampling some desserts.  We opted for the traditional Italian delight, the Tiramisu, and the Custard Slice.  Some of those on the menu weren't available, but we were more than happy with these, they tasted scrumptious and were very artistically presented.  Innocent gave us a full explanation of Tiramisu when asked, and was extremely helpful throughout this fine experience, his service prompt and unobtrusive.

No Italian meal would be complete without a cappuccino to round it off - and it was very good, too!  As well as offering really good value Italian food and a very relaxing, friendly and pleasant environment, the great news about Da Eros, which certainly continues in the tradition of IBs but has taken the laid back Italian dining experience to a whole new level of cuisine and service, is that it is open from 8 am to 9 pm!  Making it a very handy place for breakfast, lunch, snacks, coffees, afternoon teas and supper.  Warm congratulations to the Prandini family for delivering an authentic and enjoyable Italian experience, and excellent service and food all round.  A very welcome addition to our restaurant choices in Harare, and for the old fans of IBs, this will bring back happy reminiscences of the friendly, vibrant atmosphere, but with food and service that are altogether superior.  Several of the staff from the IB have moved across to Da Eros, so you can be re-united with old friends.  lt's very child-friendly, too, and the extensive opening hours are a bonus.
Speciality Italian Restaurant
4 Plates
Expect to spend $15 to $20 per head