When Harare’s popular Da Eros restaurant closed last year, there was much mourning for this delightful Italian eatery, where Nevio Prandini had created a welcoming ambience and a reputation for an easy-going style that was a hit with everyone, from families to business groups.
restaurant review with Epicurean
That site, in Belgravia, is now St Elmo’s, and Nevio has in partnership with Ginger Olivier created a new restaurant in Avondale, along King George Road. This is Casa Mia, a friendly and very popular venue that is primarily an Italian-style dining place and combines a relaxed charm with indoor and outdoor seating.
I have to say that the impression I have of Casa Mia is one of it being a consistently busy place; each of the times I have been there it has been packed, both inside and out, and this was the case again last Sunday, when we had lunch al fresco and the garden and indoor seating areas were filled to capacity with family groups. Josh Ansley, local singing star now making good in Johannesburg, was back in town for the previous evening’s Summer Night Concert at Twin Rivers School, and he was the entertainer for the day, in keeping with a tradition of the restaurant for Sunday lunchtimes and afternoon.
The menu is fairly substantial, with a good listing of starters, salads, pastas, pizzas and other main courses, and the Mediterranean feel of the menu and its contents creates expectations of a great Italian-style outing. I was also delighted with the wine list, which is printed onto a large wine bottle and presented accordingly … really creative and fun. Service was quick and efficient, which surprised me as all too many Harare restaurants – no longer used to good levels of patronage — go haywire when full.
My guest and I had decided against starters, but they were tempting; I was eyeing the prawn Casa Mia and my guests the brandied and creamed chicken livers, but we knew that the well-known generous portions of the main courses would mean dessert might be impossible with such a feast and we were keen to try out the sweets. So my guest ordered the seafood platter, with chips, while I went for a bowl of fettucine carbonara. The seafood platter was excellent, with generous helpings of prawns, calamari, hake fillets and a tartar sauce. My fettucine was very flavoursome, with a large helping of crispy bacon in a really tangy cream sauce. Both were great value for money, especially the fettucine dish at $10. We did go for desserts after that: my guest enjoyed a lovely chocolate mousse while I had the tiramisu, which was absolutely delightful and fresh.
All around us people were making choices from across the menu — and from a specials board — but I think it’s fair to say a large percentage went for the pizzas, which are reasonably priced between $9 and $13 and are extremely good value for money; large, well-prepared and very tasty, according to a number of friends who were there and enjoying a Sunday pizza. The selection is also substantial, with a few of them unique to Casa Mia.
The garden features a play area for the children and this was busy the whole time we were there. Josh kept the guests well-entertained with a selection of music that ranged from Sinatra to Springsteen, and although rain threatened, we were dry the whole afternoon. We enjoyed the attentiveness of the staff and were pleased to be able to have a quick, with Ginger Olivier, too. He is upbeat about business levels and aims to keep it that way, although he did point out that no restaurant in Zimbabwe is immune to the problems of tight cash flows and cash shortages. He also feels entertainment is a great feature for Casa Mia, and makes sure there’s always a Sunday singer. He has this month introduced Friday evening gigs featuring Mande Snyman, on the first and third Fridays of each month.
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It was a super afternoon, and the combination of relaxed atmosphere, good service and enjoyable food made it a winner for us. I can see this continuing to be popular with families in particular, especially as the bottom line, more than ever, is affordability. As I have noticed more and more, there seems to be an improvement to service standards in Harare’s restaurants — whether due to greater competition in these times of budget cuts or other reasons, I know not — and here’s hoping this will be sustained.
l Casa Mia is open Tuesday to Sunday daily between 10am and 10pm, and focuses primarily on lunch and dinner. It’s situated on the corner of King George Road and Aberdeen Road, opposite the Avondale Primary School and there’s parking inside the property and guarded parking on the street. Reservations are probably a good idea at weekends and popular nights like Wednesday and Friday: call (04) 332044 or 0732 272642.
