Africa Coffee & Tea — Restaurant in Hong Kong Island

I'm going to explain why what should have really been a 3-star review was elevated to a 4-stars due to some unusualness about this charming venue.

For some of us African cuisine is not readily explorable so it was a delight to try Ugandan Rolex chapatis. The smoked salmon was the best having also tried the chicken version which was also decent. Yet the salmon wins out due to its richer taste which paired nicely with the omelette and vegetables. Wraps are a modern soul food of sorts across many cuisines and this version is extremely satisfactory. Side salad was alright.

As noted by some other reviewers the crowning experience I had here were the superb pour over coffees made by a gentleman who appeared to be the lone barista on a Saturday lunch shift. We shared the Ethopian Yirgacheffe, Guji and the Malawi Thyolo. It was nicely presented in a glass serving carafe with a trio of smaller glass cups. Great for sharing and experiencing all the nuances of the different varietals. The pour overs were the best I've tried in Hong Kong to date. Water to coffee ratio was right (so not too watery) with non-existant acidity. You could sniff the floral and berry notes before consumption each time. I recommend these pour overs (if you understand they are not thick and are almost like tea). I would definitely go back for these alone.

If you've read this far then you may like to know this venue is not well organised or run especially when it's full. This place does not run on speedy Hong Kong time. Anything here takes a long time and you can double any time estimate given by staff. Food drifts out slowly so people at your table will be eating at different times. In our case we delayed as long as possible yet a burger order only came when everyone else had finished eating.

The wait staff seemed overwhelmed to the point of not actually doing anything asked so it was more efficient to help yourself where possible like filling up your water jug from the bar tap. Delays were laughed off as one of those things and we were warned the pour overs would take ages since they only had one brew kit for them. It's incredible that a business which has "coffee" in their name is so inefficient at making what seems to me their best product.

I wouldn't take anyone here who is impatient or go here for a business work lunch. In its current form it is only great for people who wish to spend literally hours to while away their time. Despite the venue being loud when full and difficult to find, the views of the bay and rare experience may win over those seeking a slower Hong...

Service:

Arrived alone at around 2pm. Restaurant was around 30% full. Staff asked me to choose between the bar table and seats by the window (didn’t indicate which table at that time).

There were 2 empty tables by the window, one 2- person and one 4-person table. Seeing that the 2-person table was still dirty with nothing set up on it (unlike some other tables), naturally I chose to sit at the 4-person table. Then, a staff came over and told me that they actually wanted me to sit at the 2-person table instead. At the same time, he used his hand to wipe away dirt on that dirty 2-person table.

Not wanting to upset the owners and destroy my mood, I offered to change to the smaller table. I thought there would be quite a number of customers coming in later on, while there were actually NONE by the time I left.

While I was having my food, staff came over from time to time to take away empty dishes, which was originally normal and helpful. However, one staff asked if I was still having my food while my plate was very obviously only half finished - around 50% left on the plate. I was by no means slow (I immediately started eating after food arrived!), and there was absolutely no rush to take my dishes. I was just replying a quick message on my phone. Why so pushy?

Food: Soup was nice. Main course felt like it was poorly warmed up (probably just microwaved - the plate was unnaturally hot while food was only lukewarm). I was warned that the plate was hot and be careful with it. Warming up food was acceptable - I wouldn’t expect everything to be cooked from scratch immediately, but food overall tasted very bland - flavour and texture wise. My coffee ‘dirty’ was surprisingly nice, though.

Overall, disappointing, the only plus was the view and the...

Sadly, a bit of a disappointing experience. Giving it 2 stars: 1 for the Afro-beet coffee, which was delicious, and another star for the lamb curry, which was also very tasty. What this restaurant lacked though was a good vibe, and attentive service. I booked lunch ages ago (having been told it was necessary as it’s often packed). When we arrived, staff weren’t particularly friendly or welcoming (and it wasn’t packed, btw, probably 50% full due to restrictions, so I’m guessing this is half of the number they usually have to serve). I felt a bit ridiculous saying I had made a reservation, as it wasn’t acknowledged, I felt foolish for leading with that. In general, we didn’t feel very taken care of during our visit… it took a very long time to make our coffees, then we ordered 3 dishes to share. Our third dish - the appetiser - came out much later than the other 2 - the 2 mains - which we had finished the majority. We said we would be sharing food, I asked for sharing plates, none ever arrived, so we shared our dishes awkwardly in the middle of the table… and then the bill also took about 20 mins to arrive, despite seeing 3 staff members behind the bar, and a 4th had been serving before. When the appetiser was served, finally, the waiter tried to clear our other dishes - which were not yet totally finished - without asking if we were done. Weird to not have any communication, no polite chit chat or “how did you like that”s. There wasn’t anything in the way of friendly banter at all. In summary, a very so-so experience, one I won’t be going out of my way for...