Dino Capelaó, owner and chef of Txhapo Txhapo, grows his own produce, butchers his own meat and changes the menu daily because, he said, in Maputo, supply is unreliable.
One thing I love about about this restaurant is its name. It’s pronounced “chop-chop” and one Southern African translation for txhapo txhapo is “fast.”
Another thing I love is the portion sizes. They’re small. “People think lots of food is good food,” Capelaó said. “We try to avoid doing what everyone else does. Our servings are small.”
What he doesn’t grow, he buys fresh every day, and what he buys, he cooks, he told me. The result? Food doesn’t get fresher than this, and it’s not uncommon for Txhapo Txhapo to run out of food. “It’s hard but we’re busy all the time,” he said.
The greens and veggies at Txhapo Txhapo are mostly organic. People are just beginning to learn about organic in Mozambique.
It’s hard to pinpoint what kind of food is served in this stellar establishment. “We don’t have a ‘kind of food,'” Capelaó told me.
Online reviewers say burgers are a must when you’re eating here. It started out as a burger place, and as Capelaó’s cooking skills evolved, so did the menu.
A Mozambican, Capelaó spent 11 years living in London and he has no formal training as a chef. “I’m a graphic designer, not a chef,” he told me. “I just went for it. So from burgers, we evolved to other things.”
Txhapo Txhapo butchers its own meats. You can get burgers made with veggies, tuna, chicken, chourico and alheira, a type of Portuguese sausage, made without pork, and beef.
The day I went there for lunch, I ordered Asian crab cakes. Also on the chalkboard menu was bean stew with pork, beef, chourico and sauteed kale; roasted duck with mashed sweet potato; tuna steak; cod with baked clams and prawns; chourico quiche and spinach-and-feta tart.
The drinks menu was extensive, innovative, and designed to whet your appetite. Txhapo Txhapo brews its own teas and makes its own juices and cocktails with whatever’s in season. I ordered mint ginger tea, and it was divinely refreshing.
My dessert — banoffee pie, was to die for — bananas, cream and caramel — arguably the best desert I had in Maputo, and I had a few.
Expert Review
Dino Capelaó, owner and chef of Txhapo Txhapo, grows his own produce, butchers his own meat and changes the menu...
Dino Capelaó, owner and chef of Txhapo Txhapo, grows his own produce, butchers his own meat and changes the menu daily because, he said, in Maputo, supply is unreliable.
One thing I love about about this restaurant is its name. It’s pronounced “chop-chop” and one Southern African translation for txhapo txhapo is “fast.”
Another thing I love is the portion sizes. They’re small. “People think lots of food is good food,” Capelaó said. “We try to avoid doing what everyone else does. Our servings are small.”
What he doesn’t grow, he buys fresh every day, and what he buys, he cooks, he told me. The result? Food doesn’t get fresher than this, and it’s not uncommon for Txhapo Txhapo to run out of food. “It’s hard but we’re busy all the time,” he said.
The greens and veggies at Txhapo Txhapo are mostly organic. People are just beginning to learn about organic in Mozambique.
It’s hard to pinpoint what kind of food is served in this stellar establishment. “We don’t have a ‘kind of food,'” Capelaó told me.
Online reviewers say burgers are a must when you’re eating here. It started out as a burger place, and as Capelaó’s cooking skills evolved, so did the menu.
A Mozambican, Capelaó spent 11 years living in London and he has no formal training as a chef. “I’m a graphic designer, not a chef,” he told me. “I just went for it. So from burgers, we evolved to other things.”
Txhapo Txhapo butchers its own meats. You can get burgers made with veggies, tuna, chicken, chourico and alheira, a type of Portuguese sausage, made without pork, and beef.
The day I went there for lunch, I ordered Asian crab cakes. Also on the chalkboard menu was bean stew with pork, beef, chourico and sauteed kale; roasted duck with mashed sweet potato; tuna steak; cod with baked clams and prawns; chourico quiche and spinach-and-feta tart.
The drinks menu was extensive, innovative, and designed to whet your appetite. Txhapo Txhapo brews its own teas and makes its own juices and cocktails with whatever’s in season. I ordered mint ginger tea, and it was divinely refreshing.
My dessert — banoffee pie, was to die for — bananas, cream and caramel — arguably the best desert I had in Maputo, and I had a few.