Author Archives: JPR
Restaurant reviewing and the blogosphere
Quite unexpectedly, a recent blog review posted on this site has opened a vigorous to-and-fro. While important issues were raised, much of the initial conversation was based on a mis-understanding of how Rossouw’s Restaurants works. As stated in the introduction above, the website that you are reading complements the printed Rossouw’s guide. For both the printed guide and [...]
So Yum, Hyde Park
How brave is this: an Asian restaurant that does not serve sushi! So Yum is a “yum cha” (tea) house in very sexy modern blacks and dark wood. Straddled over the walkway of the shopping mall, one side is a dramatic, dark backlit bar, then tables that straddle the pedestrian walkway, and then over to [...]
Posted in Restaurants Gauteng Tagged johannesburg, restaurant, Rossouw, South Africa Leave a comment
La Mouette, Sea Point
Housed in a rambling old Victorian incongruously on the main road of commercial Sea Point, “The Seagull” is distinctly graceful by comparison to its surrounds. A courtyard with fountain and plenty of alfresco seats leads into a hallway from which dining rooms grow – a bar through the room to the left, a private dining [...]
The Bistro at the Peech Hotel, Melrose
It’s generally accepted that Joburg struggles for bucolic venues – unless you get into the car and drive to the countryside. The Peech Hotel offers a singularly pleasant alternative to parking lot views (as does 10 Bompas Hotel, though here their formerly fine restaurant has recently morphed into a chain steakhouse). At Peech, the bistro [...]
Mantra, Parktown North
This north Indian spot has a haphazard look about it, but that’s not stopping hordes of fans from filling it every night. Just as well, because it needs the people to soften its heavy black and red walls and ceilings and the plain furnishings (window booth seats are a little more plush though). On the [...]
Auberge Michel, Sandton
Making a telephonic reservation can sometimes leave me feeling less inclined to honour it, surely not the desired response. I sure don’t mind if my local burger joint has no phone skills, but when reserving for a meal that ended up costing me R500 per person, I felt some polish on the telephone line would [...]
Posted in Restaurants Gauteng Tagged johannesburg, restaurant, Rossouw, South Africa Leave a comment
The Grill Room, Franschhoek
The new eaterie by Matthew Gordon and team is an upscale steakhouse, a very attractive, very neat space that fuses contemporary touches with an “old town” aesthetic - modern fittings in an old home: wood look floors, small plain bistro tables, small-tiled red and black kitchen walls, raw brick, wood shuttered windows, bright red hanging lanterns, [...]
Rust en Vrede, Stellenbosch
If the most negative comment one can make of a meal is to query the texture and overt presence of salt flakes on a few dishes you know you’re a critic. This was the level of pleasure at a recent dinner at Rust en Vrede, which continues to solidify its standing as one of SA’s [...]
The Tasting Room, Le Quartier Français, Franschhoek
One of the hallmarks of The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Français, and of the formidable team behind it, is an ever-thirsty quest to learn and continually to improve. Margot Janse recently returned from London, where she received her award for the restaurant’s 31st place in the world. She also go to eat at Noma [...]
Il Tartufo, Hyde Park