The third place?

Fratelli's
A friend had just been lamenting the lack of a Starbucks-like place in Dakar (OK, there is Time's Cafe, but that is so smoky these days, and the pizza isn't much to sing about) when another friend bought me a Gazelle and filled me in on Fratelli's cafe in Almadies. This was the second recommendation I'd had in a week, so I scheduled in a lunch with Mrs Jiffler the following Saturday.

Fratelli's should do well from the staff at Ericsson nextdoor, as well as passing trade. There is a relatively hassle-free outdoor terrace and a vaguely Starbucksy indoor area that looks a bit unfinished. I've never gone in for the whole Starbucks 'the third place' ideal. It seems a bit contrived to me. Besides, I prefer my 'third place' to serve beer and peanuts.

Coffee is decent enough to linger over, far better than the usual salon du the fare. You'll find decent helpings of reasonably priced salads and sandwiches on the menu, making it a good option for a light Saturday lunch.

Fratelli's
Route des Almadies (next to Ericsson).

Carre Vert
A less good option for a Saturday lunch is Carre Vert at the Dakar City shopping complex. If Fratelli's opened up here they would probably be the talk of the town, as in the right hands this location could be a little goldmine.

The offerings are similar to Fratelli's - coffee, salads, sandwiches. Unfortunately the coffee is unremarkable and suffers from the dreaded squirty cream treatment. Sandwiches are a little boring and salads would be fine if they didn't come presented in a weird parabola-shaped bowl which prohibits a sensible eating posture. The kitchen is open, so you can see that it is clean enough, but totally disorganised, with nothing prepped.

At the end of the day, you're eating in a slightly naff shopping centre. How depressing.

Carre Vert
Dakar City Shopping Centre
Airport Road
N'gor

Restaurant News:
It's quite hard to get excited about new openings these days, since they tend to be a bit underwhelming. Dakar Sushi, on the airport road is the latest. Initial reports from a reliable foodie source are that it isn't up to much, but I'd like to give it a couple of weeks to get going. Meanwhile I hear that Mezzo in plateau has shut down. A shame, if only for their salty chocolate cake.

Transcendental Tuna Salad

Fuji
19 Rue Victor Hugo (next to Ozio), Plateau.
Tel: 33 821600, or 775 072270

Who in their right mind would go into a sushi restaurant and order something as boring as 'Spicy tuna salad'? It sounds like something you'd make on a Wednesday evening, using a tin of tuna and the bits of vegetable detritus from the bottom of the salad tray. In a sushi restaurant we want maki and miso, unagi and a touch of umami, not boring old Wednesday tuna salad. Right?

Not so at Fuji, Dakar's latest sushi offering. Here the Tuna Salad is one of those dishes that makes your hair stand on end from the very first bite. Halfway through the plate and you're off your face on happy-hormones, thinking about ordering another, or maybe two more. Trust me, this is no mere salad, this is tuna spun into silk, sweet seaweed seduction.

At long last, sushi, sashimi, and maki dishes to really get excited about. The next time some pseud cracks on about how wonderful the second-rate sushi is at La Fourchette or Cozy you can send them to Fuji for an education.

Service here is a delight as well - unhurried and without the usual French pretentions. The atmosphere is slick and modern, a bit quiet early doors, but warming as the restaurant fills up with a good mix of customers and the music of human voices.

Two can eat here for 50,000Fcfa as long as you don't go mad with the winelist. The spicy tuna salad costs 8,000Fcfa and is worth every franc.

Festive interlude

Heading back to Europe for a couple of weeks over Christmas. There are loads of reviews to write up, so will post more in the new year.

In the meantime, why not entertain yourself with my friend's blog: How di bohdi? It offers some tasty slices of life in West Africa.

Also - people are really talking up a new Sushi place in Plateau called 'Fuji' on Rue Victor Hugo. I'll be down to check it out in the new year, but I've heard very good things so far.

Merry Christmas folks.