Canimambo is a family run restaurant, where you can meet Carla, the Mozambican/Portuguese owner, husband Lance, sons Sean and Wesley, and daughter Courtney at Graskop, and daughter Nicole and husband Nando at Dullstroom. We pride ourselves in authentic cuisine, friendly service and a cozy atmosphere.
Look out for the following when visiting Canimambo Portuguese Restaurant:
- The breadbasket: Portuguese rolls are an absolute treat and a meal within a meal;
- Lulas grelhadas (calamari steaks) – flame grilled which should never be passed up;
- Figados de galinha á piri-piri (peri-peri chicken livers) is a local institution. Use the bread to mop up the lovely juices and you will understand why they never go out of fashion;
- Batata frita – hands down the South African Portuguese make the best potato chips in the country. Double fried with lots of salt and dollops of vinegar on demand, makes it comfort food in the extreme;
- Espetada de bife – The Portuguese espetada consists of cubes of perfectly aged rump steak, bay leaves and lemon dipped in course salt before landing on the grill. The natural bay leaf flavour permeates the meat and the salt seals those meaty juices in. Charred on the outside and succulent inside, it’s a steak meal with a difference.
Being a sea-faring nation the Portuguese were intrepid explorers and amongst the first Europeans to visit the Cape of Good Hope in the 1500’s. In the Colonial era that followed they left their mark in various places on the African continent – Angola, Moçambique and South Africa. From the indigenous people they learnt the usefulness of chilies (peri-peri), which they combined with more traditionally Portuguese ingredients such as olive oil, lemon juice and garlic. Where European Portuguese food is delicately flavoured, Mozambican/Portuguese– South African cuisine is fearlessly fiery.
