Because Paula (Conceicao) and husband Joao almost exactly duplicated their former award-winning, and sadly missed restaurant, Cascais (allegedly soon to be a new Mannenberg/Book Café?), which was further down Samora Machel in the CBD.
Paula’s extended and expanded enormously — and expensively — on the Cascais theme; tiles and mirrors gleam as does table linen, napery, cutlery and glassware. I can’t recall welcoming colourful floral arrangements at Cascais, but they’re now very apparent at Paula’s.
Cascais’ toilets were acceptable, but cramped and rather —well bog-standard! Rest rooms at PP belong in the Zimbabwe Good Loo Guide… if we had one!
I’ve been fortunate enough to tour the conventional kitchens…well-designed, ultra-hygienic; easy to work in and kept clean, no matter how busy they are. But the secret of piri-piri chicken is charcoal grillers, which are outdoors, well-ventilated with working surfaces at the right height and breadth for the comfort of cooks who no longer have permanent red-eyes.
I’ve been there just a few times since they opened, returning on Wednesday lunch as I was in the area and realised I’d never let The Standard readers into Paula’s secrets.
The team moved their well-known carved statues of chefs, waiters, etc., from Cascais. I assumed they were papier-mâché or light moulding: they’re actually hand-carved from tree trunks and weigh an awful lot each.
Other than that, décor is fairly minimalist/modernist. Joao told me structural steelwork for the new building’s frame was imported from Jo’burg at less than half the price local contractors quoted and walk-in fridges, freezers, cold-rooms came from Cape Town in containers, again, with a 50% saving on locally-manufactured equivalents. What price unemployment in Zimbabwe?
Original staff were transferred from Cascais, less one who’d died in a two-month inter-regnum; many more have since been recruited as Paula’s proves phenomenally popular against ever burgeoning competition.
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A newly opened Chinese/Korean restaurant close-by, made a concerted effort to poach key staff, Paula told me. More seriously — impressed by the constant crowds she draws — they also tried to steal her recipes.
As far as I recall the lusted-after menu is identical to Cascais’. Old favourite starters include soups and samoosas at US$3; chorizo, spring rolls and chicken giblets at US$4; their grand value, totally 1960-ish retro shrimp (prawn) cocktail is tremendous value at just US$5, Greek salads are US$4 or US$5 subject to portion size and trinchado (cubed tender rump steak in spicy sauce) is US$7.
Huku is the trademark dish. A whole chicken with chips (or other starch) is US$22; half US$11; baby chicken US$14. Steaks and grills are US$9-US$15.Lovely loose-crumbed, crusty, crispy continental-style bread comes in generous quantities with a wide range of sauces, dips and butter. I nibbled at some before and with the great value shrimp cocktail with loads of crustaceans, just a smidgen of shredded greenery, sliced olives in a moreish piquant 1000-Islands-style sauce.
This was followed by the whole baby chicken Paula recommended. Two-thirds of it (with golden chips and a nice salad was more than enough for me, I took the rest home in a doggy bag.)
Hake and chips were US$17; kingklip fillets US$22; calamari US$15 sole US$21; medium prawns US$28 and “codfish” (bacalhau: a sort of salted fish biltong, very much an acquired taste) was US$31. I keep promising myself the omelette with a choice of fillings at US$9 for one of those ever more frequent days when I’m not really hungry but must visit a restaurant.
There’s a well-stocked and comfortable bar, with classy Portuguese wines from US$16 a bottle, local lagers are US$2. Corkage is US$1,50 a 750ml bottle, or US$5 a five litre chateau cardboard cask.
Puddings are US$5 apiece. They’re all good, but I recommend Molotov, caramel pudding, chocolate mousse and lemony cheese-cake. On Wednesday I chose the latter with a creamy, frothy cappuccino, mainly because it would photograph better than other options.
Paula’s Place is licensed as a meeting place: meaning you must join. Membership is currently free-of-charge. They open each day from noon until 2:30pm and 6pm until 9:30PM, other than Saturday lunch when they shut. Parking is safe, guarded and they’ve just bought an adjoining property to provide additional parking.
Paula’s Place, 314, Samora Machel Avenue (on a service road, access via Glenara Avenue North… you can’t get there from Rhodesville Avenue). Telephone 04-497950.
I noticed Shillah, a little-known Japanese/Korean restaurant on Connaught Road, Avondale seems to be shut and was having all its signage removed when I drove past twice recently.
The Miami-style duplex former Colonial-era dwelling (it belonged to the Stamboli family) was extensively altered and could only really now economically operate as a restaurant or private club, so I’ll watch out for developments.
Last time I visited, the then Japanese ambassador went almost daily for sushi on a shady table by the pool.
I also hear St Zita’s (she’s the patron saint of bakers and pastry cooks) which has flourished at Borrowdale for the past five or six years has sadly closed. A KFC sit-down is reputedly soon to open near TM. Sorry, Colonel Sanders, I’ve never been a great fan of your cotton-pickin’, finger-lickin’ bad, artery-choking cooking!
By Dusty Miller
