Warning: some people who really love admiring their own faces can mean to get so engrossed in the wall-to-wall mirrors, they will knock over your drink or step on your toe as you make your way past.BY MOSES OPOBO What qualifies Carrefour as a Hot Spot? Well, hard to say really. If hard pressed, I would say it is the bar’s recent introduction of a Rock music theme night. DJ Adams of City Radio is the man behind it. Actually, this should be cue enough as to what sort of establishment Carrefour is; a place for trend-seekers, for the upwardly mobile; for those people (mostly ladies) who want to be seen in the “right” places wearing the right clothes and makeup. I saw quite a handful of very brown skinned ladies who all had something Congolese about them. They had very flamboyant hair styles, in that some of them looked like they were carrying rainbows on their heads. They looked like people on hard-earned summer holiday. When they unzipped their hand bags to cater to the waitresses, you got the feeling they had millions of money in various denominations in their handbags. Carrefour is located at the UTC Building, across the parking lot from Nakumatt. It has a Christmas tree-like brightness about it, with its menu splashed across the glass walls on digital print. As you amble in, right before you is the elaborate bar counter, well-stocked and teeming with both local beverages and exotic spirits. I checked in for lunch, at which time the buffet table had been laid in front of the bar counter. To your right is the main dining area which is made up of dining sofas so comfy that once one is done with their meal, all you want to do is recline in them and dose off. They have fitted glass walls around this dining area, so it is the most favoured by ladies and those who pop in with their kids in tow. Warning: some people who really love admiring their own faces can mean to get so engrossed in the wall-to-wall mirrors, they will knock over your drink or step on your toe as you make your way past. Beyond this dining area is the tiny DJ’s booth at the intersection that leads to the loos and the balcony sitting. The balcony is more laidback than the inside sitting, and I really recommend it for that quiet evening drink. It is here that the Rock Night takes place every Thursday evenings. However, the tables are cramped so close to each other that you won’t be able to hold that private conversation over a beer. Sitting on the balcony or inside have both got their downsides. For the inside sitting, one has to contend with a permanent and rather loud hum of refrigerators, besides the usual bustle of a fast-food environment. The balcony, where we opted to sit, is rather chilly come evenings, and one has to contend with the permanent hum of traffic and car horns down the road. Carrefour is a place that did not leave a lasting impression on us when it was time to go. What I remember very vividly though, was the manager’s reluctance to have the place reviewed “because people here don’t read.” We hope they do read this review though.
