Rossouws Restaurants

I am in Johannesburg this week, eating for the expansion of the guide. My first stop, with steak fresh in mind, was one of the city’s famous steak houses, the Grillhouse in Rosebank. It’s a foursquare kind of place, another of those that tries to relive the “glory” days of prohibition in look. This one is penumbral and clubby, and again I am struck by the heightened level of service in this city. In waistcoats and aprons, the staff are super-professional, matched to kitchen speeds that are actually a little too fast for my liking, but clearly suit business meetings and the general pace of the city.

The menu is plain and old-fashioned, few choices and mainly meat, but even these are limited. Which is reassuring. My rare rump was good, the chips were excellent. The Grillhouse sauce was clumsy, the Caesar salad to start was a travesty (chard leaves?), and the NY style cheesecake was average. So, a good showing on the main course, but the rest is average to poor. And in light of my recent steak at Belthazar, this steak has to take a place on the podium as good, no more. But I wish more places would base their service on this rock.