A Visit To Alexander's

Tucked away at the end of a long lonely road and almost impossible to locate, we finally found ourselves on the doorstep of the well hidden Alexander's. There was no one at the entrance and we cautiously made our way upstairs to the rooftop restaurant, appreciating the beautiful room decors on the way. Having heard that this place had great food, my friend and I were looking forward to a delicious finger licking, lip smacking evening.

We were greeted at the restaurant entrance by a very polite waiter who first asked if we had reservations. I had reservations about the needed reservations when I looked around at the many empty tables, but understood that as a hotel, they possibly cater mainly to their guests. Luckily though, this did not prevent us from being comfortably seated and politely reminded that we would need to make reservations for the future. :) Upon looking around, I quickly realized that there would be no (literal) lip smacking or finger licking taking place that evening! The restaurant is beautifully appointed but has a bit of a froufrou feeling to it.

After being served drinks and settled in, we looked at the menus. The menu itself was not very extensive but had a good selection of dishes. Personally I prefer quality to quantity any day. I could not resist ordering the starter of crab pate, since that is a favourite and hardly found in Dar! I followed that with a main course of Thai prawn curry served with fragrant jasmine rice. My friend opted for the chicken breast stuffed with cheese and spinach.

The starter arrived in good time and we tucked into the most delicious crab pate spread onto thin bread slices. The pate had a good texture, was not mushy or slimy and the seasonings were subtle allowing the crab to be the star of the show! A little lemon on the side would have been a good addition, but overall a great start to the meal!

We didn't have long to wait for the mains after completing our 

starter. With as little intrusion as possible, our excellent waiter (Victor) cleared the plates, brought in new cutlery and served up the main course.

My Thai prawn curry had a good numbers of prawns nestled within a thick aromatic sauce. The side of rice and vegetables was also substantial and well presented. I turned to see my friend’s course which was also a good portion, consisting of a big chicken breast and a large side of thick cut seasoned chips.

The prawn curry was delicately seasoned and the flavours played around delightfully in the mouth at each bite. The prawns themselves were not overcooked and the thickness of the sauce was well balanced. The rice could have done with some more jasmine flavour since I did not catch that lovely aroma at all. But it was well cooked and complemented the prawns perfectly. In my opinion, the vegetables were a waste of space!

I tried a bite of my friend’s meal. The cheese had melted into the tender chicken flesh and the spinach was well seasoned. Unlike many other places, the chicken had not been overcooked leaving it dry and tasteless. We were two well filled, well satisfied diners at the end of a delightful evening and have no reservations about making reservations here in the future!