Okay so this is the first restaurant I visited since my last post. My thoughts??? Here goes……
Setting, Theme and Other Background Info
So this place is tucked away in a nice walled corner (40 Cork Road, Avondale, Harare) which almost creates the illusion that you are far away from the hustle and bustle of city life. It has an African theme going [evident in its name;KwaMambo (King’s Court)]. They try and highlight their theme through their decor mostly (metal tables,wooden benches and art pieces) and off course the curio shop which is bursting at the seams with hand-crafted items. Their staff is also dressed to complement this theme with batik style uniforms. There is a lot of green areas (grass and other small plants), trees, a pond and water feature so you get this outdoorsy feeling. I love the feeling the place gives you, it clears your mind for the few minutes or hours you spend having your meal. The greenery makes the place cool and comfortable, you really feel like you are at the king’s court.
My problem, they do not put a lot of effort into maintaining their green spaces so some of it has this unkempt appearance, it tends to attract small insects which just fly around here and there. If you are someone who is not fond of bugs this may put you off. Their curio shop is so full of items, may of which are delicate making it difficult and even scary for patrons to move freely, you constantly worry you might break something. They could dial the curios down a notch. They have this whole African theme going but it is not evident in the presentation of their food. It would be kinda cool if their plates, mugs,glasses and even cutlery resonated this African theme. If you ask me they could borrow some of this stuff from the “dreaded” curio shop. They offer wifi services which is attracts customers who want to have a “working lunch” (yeah right we all know now one really does any work at a restaurant).
Menu and Food,you know the important stuff
They have a menu of the tables but it just gives you the items available for breakfast and drinks. The rest of their menu is on written on chalk boards in their reception area. I get they want to have an eclectic vibe to the place but its confusing to have two different menus, either have one menu with everything on the table or have everything up on the chalk board. So when you want to order something you have to get up from your seat and go to the reception area, there you go through a pretty long list of meals but you don’t order right away oh noooo… you walk back to your table and then you give your waiter your order (maybe they are trying to get people to exercise more). Their service is pretty timely, while you wait you can nibble on these super fresh buns they put on your table with butter (if you are not careful you could leave without ordering anything else coz those buns are pretty goooooood). My issue though is once you receive you food, the waiter has a tendency to disappear (if you ask me I think the waiter is probably lost in that maze of a curio shop). I am not saying they should wait on you like a lion stalking it prey but I think once in a while you should return to check on your customer. Okay okay enough of the bad stuff; They offer all these different tastes on their menu from Mediterranean, Italian to Asian style dishes. I had Thai fish cakes with mashed potato and vegetables for the day (I was hungry okay, a salad was not gonna cut it). Their food is very well prepared, it comes flaming hot (not in flavour but temperature), they offer a lot of salads which work well with the sometimes hot climate here. Everything is freshly prepared so you won’t get a soggy salad with sickly looking lettuce that looks it was lost in that curio shop for days (it may be evident that I am not a big fan of the curio shop at this point). They offer some simple but lovely and delicious house-made juices such a lemonade among others. This picture would not be complete without some confectionery, they do have cakes, muffins, the usual. My only problem is sometimes these items are not fresh as witnessed by the crumbling blueberry muffin I ordered (I was hungry okay don’t judge me). Their prices are reasonable, you do get value for money and if you want to switch… ooohhh lets say a salad for mashed potato they don’t charge you extra.
What’s Good
Their food is great and I love the variety. I love the fresh salads and drinks. I must commend the effort to ensure food is served hot. I enjoy the African theme and green spaces, as I said before it creates the feeling of being isolated from the distractions of the City. I like the curio shop to some extent.
What Could Be Better
Before I start I will admit I can be picky…okay very picky. So bear with me.
They could put more effort into maintaining the green spaces, bugs no matter how minute and food don’t make for a good dining experience. The curio shop is too crowded and it takes up too much space, they should tone it down a lot. The African theme should be evident in their presentation of food, an African king does not use average looking white plate or mugs. They could use some of the items in their curio shop as part of the dishware. Their baked goods should always be freshly made that day, stale items are a no no…..NO!. They close too early for a restaurant in such an ideal location (16:30 on weekdays), I mean cmon now.
Overall experience; This place is really the King’s Court, the food and atmosphere is simply great, it is worth every penny but they could improve on a few aspects.
Hungrybelle 