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Stan Higgins
It’s exciting to see restaurateurs spread their wings and expand their operational ventures and, although current times are not easy for the local restaurant trade, there’s an ongoing confidence among restaurateurs here that leads to expansion and that I find admirable and commendable.
Harare’s Tinkabell restaurant has recently added a new name to its operational ‘family’ and it is this kind of development that really deserves support from the dining public. It’s called Jasmine’s Café, and it’s situated within the Tinkabell restaurant in the Ballantyne Park shopping centre.
Tinkabell is a name that has been known in the local dining scene for well over a decade, since Jasmine and Rui Fonseca opened their first venture in Ardbennie, once a residential suburb but now a busy commercial area. This still operates, providing a great dining place for people working in the surrounding industrial and commercial areas or living in nearby suburbs like Waterfalls and Hatfield.
In 2021 they opened a second Tinkabell, this time in the Ballantyne Park shopping center in the heart of the northern suburbs. The main reason for this was that the dining public has become less adventurous in the recent past and does not like traveling far on their culinary expeditions. So, if people were not going as they previously did to Ardbennie for a Tinkabell experience, then the answer was to bring it closer to the customers.
Tinkabell Ardbennie is now open Monday to Friday during daytimes, offering all-day café dining and lunches, as well as takeaways. At Ballantyne Park the hours are more geared to the suburban style: lunches and dinners every day of the week, although closing time on Sunday is late afternoon and there’s no dinner that day.
Earlier this year the Ballantyne Park operation had a makeover and it now includes the restaurant dining area as well as a new addition, that of Jasmine’s Café. This is a cosy and welcoming area that boasts a fireplace – very much in use these past few weeks of winter – and a seating area made up of tables and chairs as well as a sofa-and-easy-chairs spot right in front of the fireplace. The restaurant’s deli is there, too: it’s a shop selling wines, liqueurs, coffees, preserves, frozen meals and many other treats.
Jasmine’s Café is open from early in the morning until later in the evening and hosts breakfasts, lunches and all-day dining. It’s a coffee shop-bistro style venue and it’s a lovely place for social gatherings. In recent weeks I’ve been there for a range of experiences, from coffee meetings to an evening cocktail tasting followed by supper and even a breakfast at which longstanding community support personality Alice Hamilton gave a talk on her years working for charity in Harare.
The menu features toasted sandwiches, croissants with fillings, at least nine breakfast dishes, another dozen all-day light meals, as well as pastries, desserts and other sweet treats. Beverages run from tea and coffee to specialised things like milkshakes, mocktails, cocktails and hot chocolate, the latter being something I’ve had more than my fair share of in the few weeks of winter that we have had.
On Thursdays Jasmine’s offers pensioner specials all day, linked in with the pensioner day at the nearby supermarket, while there are lunch specials every day.
I have had several of these specials of late, including an excellent oxtail with mashed potatoes and vegetables, as well as some superb soups. There’s cheerful service from Melody Chinyamakobvu and it is lovely to frequently see Jasmine coming to check on things, freeing herself from her many hours of kitchen duties.
Tinkabell restaurant runs alongside it and offers a completely different menu, but the two places complement each other well. Also coming soon is a new bar that will be a third operation, perhaps with a sports theme, but that is still not yet operational. One of the great things here is the easy and close parking, and for many northern suburbs diners it’s very easy to get to Ballantyne Park.
Jasmine’s Café is a bright, fresh and charming new social, bistro-style venue that will be great for all dining groups, from singles in want of a coffee to families in search of easy and affordable dining. No need for reservations, but enquiries can go to 0774 532184. It’s at the Ballantyne Park shopping centre, between the busy arterial routes of Steppes Road and Addington Lane, a stone’s throw from the park itself.
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