Independent restaurant reviews

Welcome to Rossouw’s Restaurants web, the place for independent commentary on the South African restaurant scene. This website complements the printed Rossouw’s Restaurants guide, now in its seventh year. For both the printed guide and all reviews here, the principle is: reviews are conducted anonymously; and all meals are paid for. Naturally, you may not agree with all the views. You are welcome to comment on any blog. Simply follow the link below the entry. You are also welcome to send written reviews by clicking on the button on the right. Please note that not all restaurants that are reviewed in the printed guide appear on this site – nor are all on this site in the annual printed guide (which is a selection).

Posted in Posts | Tagged Add new tag, Cape, Gauteng, restaurants, South Africa | Comments closed

Christophe’s, Stellenbosch

The eponymous Christophe Dehosse started Joostenberg Bistro with wife Susan and has now returned to more formal environs – but still nowhere as “fine dining” as his days at Au Jardin, the erstwhile restaurant at the Vineyard Hotel. Christophe’s is somewhere in between – not a bistro (here you’ll find white linen and good stemware) and also not too stiff: no amuses, sorbets or crumb-wiping. The space is homely, two rooms of an old Stellenbosch building where the lintels aren’t straight and the floor has a carpet of indeterminate colour. The walls are a soft spearmint colour with silver and mirrored stripes, the chairs are ruddy-painted wood, and there’s fine art on the walls, part of a cyclic exhibition. Interestingly, there was also no music on the day. So relaxed, but neat – a traditionalist’s space.

The wine list is good, personal and well-priced, plus packed with great pinot noirs – including Burgundies.  The single page menu is printed on A4 paper; and features five or six starters, a similar number of mains and four desserts. Dehosse is French and he’s French-trained, so this is the place for classic sauces, slow-cooked meats and (his speciality) pork dishes. Southern French is well represented on the summer menu with bouillabaisse and, on the day, a salad of pan-fried scallop Provençal, also two linefish mains; while meats included loin of lamb with rosemary jus and roast vegetables or pork neck with a honey and fennel seed sauce and a gratin daupinoise. Starters R65-130 (for foie gras); mains R110-R145.

Tried the terrine of beef brisket with a tartare sauce; as well as the pan-fried quail salad (with sunflower seeds, ginger and butternut relish) starters – both were excellent. The quail was tender and full of flavour, while the terrine was fantastic, a classic dish that transmutes a “simple” cut like brisket by playing off its texture, the tartare a sauce that put commercial tartares to the sword with crunch and tart freshness to offset the brisket.

A steenbras main was also superb, the fish perfectly cooked, served with an olive tapenade and tomato coulis. The bouillabaisse was good, though not as exciting as the steenbras, a very solid interpretation of a dish that is rarely found on local menus. Desserts were again really fine: a “warm melting chocolate biscuit” and a fig and almond tart – both well-balanced and executed, full of real flavour (and butter no doubt, R45). Coffee good, service warm.

Christophe’s is off to a fine start, and is a wonderful addition to the Stellenbosch scene – which, it has to be said, is hitting it’s straps, when you consider all the good winery restaurants. Now the town centre has another solid option, a great reminder of how good the classic style of cooking can be. I look forward to returning.

At “Skuinshuis”, 44 Van Reyneveld Street, between Nook and the synagogue, Stellenbosch,  tel 021 886-8763.

Posted in Restaurants Cape | Tagged restaurant, Rossouw, Stellenbosch | Leave a comment

Harvey’s, Durban

This really is an elegant place, with a twist. Tastefully lit, with a warm welcome, it’s a social clubby space that flows from outside (with views of park) inside. It’s romantic, it’s trendy, baroque in its textures and rich colours – it manages to capture a sense of extravagance and sensuality.

Service very good, wait staff elegantly dressed, specials explained. Good, modern wine list with vintages and descriptions, decent by glass options. Also “tidbits” alongside the wine list, with items like their signature deep-fried anchovies. They’ve moved away from the previous “multiples of” an ingredient (eg salmon “three ways”) to single plates: the menu races around the world with colourful flavours, unusual combinatins, rich and hefty mains, Asian and Italian the main roots, but then again linefish with a chocolate and red wine sauce? Or Thai crocodile stuffed chicken wings? There’s also pan bagna, Caesar salad, wild mushroom risotto and bone-in steaks… so while flavours and combos can be exotic, much of the basis is comfort food.

Plates prettified with oils, reductions and juliennes, mirepoix. In the case of the melanzane, sauces, like its “tomato hollandaise” makes a rich dish richer. Also with halloumi, but flavour not remarkable. Crocodile stuffed chicken wings actually very tasty and well cooked, with some smoked crocodile alongside, but smoky tender meat somewhat dominated by a sweet chili sauce of little distinction. Assiette of desserts rich, choc mousse ice creams the house speciality.

In sum, a cut above for the space, the service – and while the food is not as flamboyant, it’s consistent and hearty, though one of Durban’s pricier options.

465 Innes Rd, Morningside. 031 312 5706. Mon-Sun lunch and dinner

Posted in Restaurants KwaZulu-Natal | Tagged Durban, restaurant, Rossouw, South Africa | 1 Comment

Roma Revolving Restaurant, Durban

The sign says that this is one of only 37 revolving restaurants in the world, and the Italian music starts, and remains unrelentingly saccarine, as you step into the old and small lift to go to the 32nd floor. The restaurant turns approximately once an hour and has been here 38 years. It is the personification of 1970s chic. As you turn, the central spindle of operations stays in place and you see the cooking station, coffee station, landing with fish tank and retro bar in turn; the fittings are vaudeville in red curtains gold trimmed, the deep blue frescoes of old Roman antiquity scenes, dark leatherette seats, branded white crockery. Birthdays are hosted with loud foam boards at tables and “happy birthday” over speakers. On my visit I see two bd posters… The views to the outside are the charm – simply magical as sun sets and lights come up; the city, sea and harbour in glorious panorama.

Indian gents serve you, with old school charm. Here, they are masters of the white sauce. Menu is deeply classical: avo ritz, melon maraschino, carpaccio, minestrone, pastas, sole bonne femme or meunière, steaks, châteaubriand, duck á l’orange (“we are world famous for this” says the menu), rabbit, crocodile steak. Usually a good few fresh fish available. Starters R50, m R80-120 but also lots of SQ. Wine list is quirky, very well priced, reserve selections with gems. I discover to my surprise that rosé by the glass is ickly sweet (though I should not have been surprised at all, the dry rosé movement is yet to get here, and probably never will).

Ready to place my order, the Indian waiters defer to the Italian owner, Gino Leopardi, he sashays over to discuss the menu, dressed like every night is an occasion, impresario-style in bowtie and waistcoat. (I later overhear his dissertation on salmon at another table: “must be cooked slightly underdone, any other way is sacrilege” as well as recommending a big steak “as long as you don’t want to sleep tonight”). I get a generous half portion of gnocchi napoletana that’s good in consistency, but sauce is insipid.

Main of barracuda arrabiata very tender, sauce delicately spicy, chips good, white-sauced cauliflower and slightly sweet carrot served single-handed from silver bowl. Once done with mains, the dessert trolley ominously rumbles towards me, laden. Cheesecake, peppermint crisp, tiramisu, choc gâteau, crème caramel. A good sales technique… tiramisu is good , if dry, studded with choc chip. Rich and with discernible boozy edge. Espresso poor though.

All in all a fun evening out – nostalgic or kitsch, depending on your age. Food better than you may think.

John Ross House, Victoria Embankment. Mon-Sat lunch and dinner. 031 337 6707

Posted in Restaurants KwaZulu-Natal | Tagged Durban, restaurant, Rossouw | Leave a comment

Salt, Ambassador Hotel, Cape Town

Still a knock-out setting, it takes you by surprise every visit, hanging as it does over the rocks and sea – and this day I had a good chance to soak it in as I arrived without a reservation for lunch to meet a friend and was asked to sit at the lounge area while they did… something. Put my name on a list? But I wasn’t asked for a name, so not that. Strange, because a minute or two later I was seated and the restaurant never got very full at all. A service legacy thing, like an appendix,  perhaps?

Anyway, the reason I was there was to taste Jacques de Jager’s work, he arrived in January, so I thought he should be hitting his straps – but I was disappointed to find a menu that was made up of simple café items: a few salads, pastas, fish and chips, burger and fries, steak sandwich. The dinner menu was a little more extensive, but shared the simplicity of the lunch menu. It was clearly a “holding pattern” menu (and also a hotel menu) and when I asked whether De Jager was indeed in the kitchen the waitress kindly told me that he was and that the new menu would be revealed on the 8th March. When I asked if it was completely revolutionary, she couldn’t assure me it was, saying there were simply more French terms to learn. Anyway, I hope she got it a bit wrong, because I do have some expectations once his “real” menu opens.

On this day, the Caesar (R55) was decent, though my companion found the dressing too overt; while mains tried were linefish – ok at R120 but a light portion – and the “ribeye”, béarnaise and chips (R125). The ribeye was on arrival clearly a sirloin, but well enough cooked, with a very good béarnaise but poor chips. Coffee was decent, and as ever the wine list here is a pleasure, with so many by the glass. I tried a Bosman Family Adama red blend, new to me and very good.

So don’t go in the next few days is the message – wait for the French-termed new menu!

Ambassador Hotel. 021 439 7258

Posted in Restaurants Cape | Tagged Cape Town, restaurant, Rossouw | 1 Comment

Bel Punto, Umhloti

I’m told that Durbanites come here for special occasions, which seems curious, since Bel Punto is fresh and elegant with a contemporary look – white clothed with blonde bent wood chairs and modular plastic ones – but it doesn’t strike one as a fancy restaurant. And the menu is dead-ahead Italian…

There’s an open kitchen and fantastic big window views of the sea, and since you’re elevated they’re even better. Could this be the reason, add the beautiful wooden deck for fine days? Perhaps, but more of the answer lies in the family operated nature of the place – and the fact that momma is often spotted in the kitchen.

Service is assured, sparkling water is imported by default. Very good wine list: vintages and wide range. Starters R60, mains R110 and lots that’s SQ, so pricy for KZN. It’s the kind of place where prawns are promoted as the house special, but after my prawn risotto I have high hopes that that’s not too cynical… it had an excellent texture, not too wet or over flavoured, with a delicate and sweet tomato flavour, the prawns fresh. (Though later, with the bill, I saw that my half risotto as a starter has been billed R89 when main is R99…).

Sides to mains are attractive in small individual bowls. Between courses my breadcrumbs swept, a little unexpected touch, also finger bowl for my roast chicken without request. Said oven-roasted chicken was also very good, rosemary and lemon infused with a good chilli bite, tender meat with wood flavour. Side of linguine in tomato sauce good too, fresh shredded basil and al dente. Pity of the meal was the tiramisu (billed as momma-made): thick texture and no booze to be tasted. Coffee ok.

So a fine meal indeed, though high-priced. When Italian is fresh and well-made it is so very satisfying. One off note to the meal were two incidents of management telling the staff off in clear audible range, but that may just be the Italian temper.

Umdloti Centre, South Beach Rd, Umdloti. 031 568 2407. Wed-Sun lunch; Tues-Sat dinner.

Posted in Restaurants KwaZulu-Natal | Tagged Durban, KZN, restaurant, Rossouw | Leave a comment

Havana Grill, Durban redux

A revisit to this upmarket steakhouse with its warm, wood-clad spaces and “library” lounge/waiting area and wood-toned bar. It’s got a cosy “clubby” feel looking in, or choose great palm-fronted sea views. The service is sure and professional, well managed, with a particular facility with groups.

There have been tweaks to the menu, notably the specials that are created by British gastro-pub whizz Dan Evans, on the day I tried a seared tuna – served on mash with green beans sounds pretty standard, but add a meat jus and marrow bone and you have an usual new bistro meal with dark flavours and meaty textures that celebrate tuna’s savoury dimensions and move it well away from “fish”.

The meats have been augmented by grass-fed cuts, plus a “Taste the difference” plate of grain vs grass rump steaks, R145. There are speciality steaks and more, panned also. Game, and great range of lamb dishes, seafood and a good vegetarian selection, so not only for meat heads (as one might suspect). Mains around R100. Add the daily specials and Havana goes well beyond your standard steakhouse.

Suncoast Casino. 031 337 1305. Mon-Sat lunch and dinner.

Posted in Restaurants KwaZulu-Natal | Tagged Durban, restaurant, Rossouw | Leave a comment

Joop’s Place, Durban

More like a taverna, this neighbourhood steakhouse, and definitely retro: tourist pics a lá game lodge of 1970s, beamed ceiling, blue and white cheque cloths, hard chairs, low-lit, a few Dutch blue and white trinkets that hint at the provenance of the owner, former butcher Joop Mol. All very masculine, though service is led by wife Wendy and team of sparkly and brisk waiters (dressed, in the case of the woman, like a tennis player). Has the feel of a well-run operation, while the simple (budget) ambience suggests locals and regulars, in the main.

The menu is dead-ahead steakhouse: snails, calamari, prawn cocktail, butternut soup, standard salads. Mains start with house speciality panned fillets in creamy sauces; also grilled beef where the plus-point is that all are available in small portions. The rest of the menu ranges seafoods and other meat categories, with sides chips, mash, rice or baked potato (foiled and with sour cream, of course). So, as mainstream as it gets. Value good, R40 starters and steak R60 to R120.

My red wine arrived cool, a great start to a summer in Durban – the wine list is pretty corporate, with a few cellar selections (these with vintages). My steak was served on small white plate (as in cafeteria, though the pan cooked speciality steaks are served in copper pans and with more ceremony, these clearly the reason most visit), the chips average, chausseur sauce poor, steak good.

So quality fair for food, good for steaks. What sets this place apart is the personal attention of husband and wife team, very much present, and charming. So if you like retro steakhouses, and like more hospitality than at the chains, this is the place to go.

Avondale Centre, 9th Ave, Greyville. 031 312 9135. Mon-Sat dinner.

Posted in Restaurants KwaZulu-Natal | Tagged Durban, restaurant, Rossouw | Leave a comment

Cargo Hold, uShaka, Durban

Cargo Hold is the flagship at the marine world of Durban’s uShaka beachfront, a multi-purpose mall, theme park and aquarium. The setting of this restaurant is unique and actually well conceived: inside a “phantom ship wreck” you sit on one of a few decks with views of the sea as well as the famous fishtank where a variety of inhabitants cruise, the sharks benignly ignoring the others. The fittings are industrial-nautical, like being “below decks”, the escapist mood is only ruined by the truly awful muzak.

Wine list pretty standard and corporate, but prices good. Service neat and switched on, dressed in nautical theme, they strike a formal note by taking your name and using it during the meal, my “ambassador” was also very confident with his suggestions re linefish. Starters include pot stickers, prawn toasts, mussels, open prawn samoosa, peri-peri calamari, mussels in pernod and leek cream, risotto cakes – all around R40. Mains predominantly feature fish and prawns, cooked various ways – Thai, salsa, pesto and feta on mushroom risotto, Mozambican chilli…  seafood platters weigh in at R595; other mains like pastas, lamb, chicken, beef grills are R85 to R110 with Moroccan, Mozambican and Mauritian embellishments.

Bread served with array of extras to the butter: sundried tomato pesto, pesto, sesame seeds and whole garlic… soft bun bread. Starter of prawn toasts was good, crisp with flavours of sesame and spice on bed of rocket. Simple but right. My main of kingklip on mushroom risotto was however a clumsy dish, soggy hyper-cheesy rice, previously frozen fish bland and topped with a “crust” of feta and caper that’s more a putty than crust. Whole dish a grey-brown colour and dull. The head waiter appeared with concern, once I expressed my dislike of the dish – so all in all the kitchen not at standard of good service. They took the main off the bill, waiter actually seemed disconsolate that he’d recommended it… coffee ok.

The Phantom Ship, uShaka Marine World, 1 King Shaka Avenue 031 328 8065. Daily lunch and dinner.

Posted in Restaurants KwaZulu-Natal | Tagged Durban, restaurant, Rossouw | Leave a comment

9th Avenue Bistro, Durban

This landmark Durban eatery is an intimate single roomed affair, the white-clothed tables and French terminology the only elegant touches, the rest quite mid-roadish, including poster art on the walls. Add the parking lot view and people clearly come for the food and accommodating, well-versed service.

Asian meets Mediterranean influence on the menu, but with flair: confit duck sheperd’s pie, playful “ham and eggs”, rib-eye with sauce poivre, sous vide fillet, pancetta-wrapped venison, pork “two ways”, confit chicken. Also a tasting menu for two or more pax. Menu suggests fusion, and layered plates, but in fact they turn out to be one-plate meals with a comfort touch, introduced with fancy terminology.

I was off to a poor start with a warm glass of rosé: the wine list is ok, listing vintages but not much by glass. But the situation is rectified with care, the waitress offers to put the bottle on ice, instead of just iceblocks in my glass.

Starter tomato and goat’s cheese tartar, R43. “Chiogga” (apparently means “thinly sliced”) beetroot, then diced tomato, goat’s cheese, tomato, sweetpea icecream and rocket: an interesting contrast of temperatures and textures in a tian form, good.

My main of swordfish was beautiful; served on garlic spinach and mash, all upon a good bouillabaisse. Delicious, while robust, fish very well cooked. R105. Then a dessert of “rose” consisting of a sorbet (a touch gluey) panna cotta (good) and jellies, all very pretty in presentation, R43. Coffee standard.

So a very good meal overall. I later heard that owner-chef Carly Goncalves is leaving for Perth this very month, so I probably caught one of his swansong evenings. We can only hope 9th Avenue keeps the flavours strong. And perhaps puts new posters up.

Posted in Restaurants KwaZulu-Natal | Tagged Durban, restaurant, Rossouw | Leave a comment

Eight, Spier, Stellenbosch

“Ingredients either grown on farm or sourced from local farms” is the departure point for this lunchtime bistro on Spier, one of the Cape’s leading wine farms in terms of all-round visitor experience (and with very good wine, I might add). Eight represents the number of abundance, on its side it becomes infinity and the symbol of recycling, reusing.

Sit out under trees or inside the light-filled and very attractive interior: recycled plastic lampshades, painted wood furniture, terracotta and patterned upholstery; at back a lovely modern show kitchen open to view. Add charming service that explains the concept of the restaurant and the wines and all in all a very positive feeling. Small blip is the fact that there’s no wine list (the wines are all estate-own) so prices needs to be asked, which can be a touch awkward.

Here they specialise in breakfast and brunches of muesli, egg dishes, fruit plates – and then lunches of soups (hot and cold for summer), “Eight” plate of meat and cheese, burger (also lamb), courgette soufflé, trout benedict, sesame chicken, salads – everything changing according to the available produce though they are working to a core of items. All prices around R50 to R80, but for the platter.

House-made bread arrives on a heart-shaped board with butter, olive oil and berry vinegar (which turned out useful when my sesame chicken on dry leaves arrived), all very pretty. Chicken breast is one of the staples of new age healthy eating, but also a bugger to cook so it doesn’t turn to card. This sesame and honey version was ok, but not a conversion experience. My courgette soufflé, on the other hand, was very good, flavour and texture delightful. Served on a creamy tomato sauce, I’d have liked it “neat”, but a minor quibble to a great dish, which was followed by another success – a fantastic granadilla panna cotta with fresh fruit. Decent coffee to finish.

Judy Badenhorst, ex of River Café in its early heyday, helped start Eight, and her charm and natural feel for food are evident throughout. They are working towards complete “locavore” with integrity, which is also commendable. For example, no “mineral” or imported, high mileage water here, they use “Perfect Water” where the pure local water comes in bottles that are recycled. Most of the vegetables already come from their own organic patch on the farm too.

Well worth a visit. Open Tues-Sun for brunch and lunch. 021 809 1188. Spier Wine Estate.

Posted in Restaurants Cape | Tagged local, organic, restaurant, Rossouw, seasonal, Stellenbosch | Leave a comment
  • Fairbairn

  • submit your reviews

Windfall

Afrigator