Coimbra – Glenashley

After speaking to some friends and having a chat to Lee and Shelton, we (Jivika and Jeremy) decided to give Coimbra Restaurant and Bar in Glenashley a try for a quiet night out. We started planning this evening well in advance. Having become parents months ago of a bouncing baby girl, we arranged for Zia to spend the night with Jivika’s parents.

Upon arrival at Coimbra, we received a friendly greeting and were asked where we would like to sit. Since we had a reservation (which seems wasn’t needed cause it was fairly empty) I expected to be taken to a table that has been reserved for us. The manager however took us to a table right at the door and the massive windows overlooking Glenashley and the Indian Ocean with the ships waiting their turn to enter the port. Most certainly one of their best tables. The music playing set a really nice atmosphere making you feel almost like you’re holidaying in a Mediterranean country. Sadly the the decor is a complete let down with the only thing even remotely resembling Portugal being the wall mounted photographs.

After ensuring we were seated, the manager left with the promise that our waiter will be there shortly to look after us. The waiter arrived and Jivika asked whether they serve cocktails, to which the reply was that he’s not sure, but he thinks they only do Margaritas. After some convincing, the waiter left to ask the barman what he could make. Once he returned, he confirmed that he did ask and Margaritas is the only cocktail available. With that, we settled on a bottle of JC Le Roux Le Domain, which arrived promptly. The waiter retreated into the shadows while we enjoyed the bubbly and looked through the menu.

Seeing as the smoking laws in South Africa no longer allows smoking in restaurants, I (Jeremy) decided it’s about that time and got up to go and have a smoke outside. As I was about to get to the reception desk, I noticed another waiter walking with a tray and two cocktails on the tray. I stopped him and asked him if they are indeed cocktails and he explained that they were in fact a Sex on the Beach and a Cosmopolitan. This got me slightly upset and I asked him to please inform our waiter that they do serve cocktails. The Manager noticed this and hurried over and simply said that he will get it sorted, no apology offered whatsoever. Returning to the table I finished my glass of bubbly and decided I will have a Long Island Iced Tea to see how it compares to my first ever Long Island Iced Tea I had in the Big Apple, leaving Jivika to polish the bottle of Bubbly. I motioned for our waiter who scoffed closer, we also decided to order some starters.

Starters
I (Jeremy) decided to have the Portuguese Sausage (Chourico) and Jivika settled on the Garlic Snails (Caracois). The starter of Portuguese Sausage came with a little bit of a surprise. I never noticed that the choice on the menu says “grilled or on the flame” and our waiter neglected to ask how I want it. It came literally on the flame! The dish arrives on a specifically made “bowl” with a layer of oil of some sort set alight and the sausage placed on the “supports” over the flame. The sausage itself (mixture of meats) tasted amazing. It reminded me of the cheese griller’s my late grandmother made back in the day. The snails was as good as they can be, drenched in garlic butter, served with cut up slices of bread. Very Good!

Main Course
Jeremy ordered the Portuguese steak (Bife a Portuguesa) and Jivika ordered the Frangui Prawns (Galinha e Camaroa).
The steak came exactly as ordered, medium! This is something I’ve started giving up on in recent times since it seems no-one knows anymore how to prepare a steak medium. The steak was topped with bacon and a baked egg. Caution though, the bacon itself is salty as hell, they then add salt to the steak and egg during the cooking process. Still though, it was a really good piece of meat. Succulent and juicy, you get the choice of rice, veggies or chips (any two of these). I opted just for the veggies, butternut and spinach. Both of these were prepared amazingly well with the butternut being sweet, but not too sweet and the spinach being earthy yet tasty and not boiled to a pulp.

My Frangui Prawn dish was a combination of a grilled half a baby chicken and 4 grilled prawns – both cooked in a delicious spicy Portuguese marinade. I chose to have mine with a side of rice and a Garden Salad. This dish was cooked to perfection and served with a tangy (fairly hot) peri-peri sauce in a little separate bowl. I very carefully just added only a few drops of the sauce to my food as I was keen on enjoying it and not dying from way too much heat! lol  Just a word of advice for those of you who, like me, expect this to be a good amount of food for one – that half a “baby” chicken is more like half a fully grown chicken! As this was just a little too much for me to finish, but also too good to leave behind, I asked for mine to be packed in a takeaway.

On a side note, NEVER order Madeiran Skewers (Espetada a Madeirense) if you’re a fussy eater. Instead of using the world recognized hygienic method of the meat arriving mounted on a stand, its carried in by the waiter at waist level, with his hands being full of everything else he’s serving.

We opted to shy away from the desserts unfortunately as we were way too stuffed and shortly after our meal I received a call from my mom who couldn’t seem to handle a fussy baba who wanted her parents. And that folks is how our evening out came to an abrupt end. Next time out little Zia feasts out with us. 🙂

On a side note and to explain why we’ve decided to remove a few stars here:

1. The service was really and truly disappointing, with the waiter not knowing much about the menu or what they’re actually capable of; not to mention him needing us to prompt him to ask us the “normal” questions.
2. When Jeremy excused himself to visit the little boys room, he returned explaining how he was very suddenly sobered by the heavy scent of Jeyes Fluid in the toilets. Strong enough to make him have to breath through his mouth.
3. To wash down his meal Jeremy ordered a glass of Coke, and after sipping from it noticed that there were tiny little black ants floating around in the glass. Upon complaining to the waiter, he apologised and removed the coke. When we’d asked for the bill, it appeared that we were still charged for the ant infested coke!

Therefore we award Coimbra a disappointing 2 stars on this review. Should the owners decide to beef up the decor, service and maybe supply people with an actual cocktail menu Coimbra could be the next 5 star review for us. It certainly has what it takes to up their stars in the review.

You can find Coimbra at Glenashley Views, 36 Newport Avenue or contact them on the following numbers:

Tel. 031-562 1415 or Fax: 031-562 1417 click here for their website