Comments on: Ripoff in Newlands.

By: Clare

Clare — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 15:36:50 +0000

Mr.Harvey,
Their food, as I last experienced it, was rubbish. End of story. I have since met their General Manager, and she agreed with me. She also told me that they have instituted long overdue changes. So puhleeze……..get off whatever little pony you are riding.

By: neil

neil — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 15:04:51 +0000

Hi, since Emiliano Sandrie left the reigns of his wonderful La Perla and Wijnhuis to his son Paulo, who thinks that he THE lord himself, the restaurants that his father built to cult status has gone down the drain.

It is so sad when a your own son destroys a legacy built with so much care and thought – shame on you paulo !

By: andrew harvey

andrew harvey — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 19:14:12 +0000

i disagree, i go their for lunch very often. they have a consistent, excellent menu with healthy specials. the waiters take getting to know, they are professionals and i feel fortunate to be served by people who do this entirely for a living rather than to bridge a gap between studies and an alternative profession.

the place is worse for ware because it is very popular and has been there for more than eight years if i have it right. other places seem to come and go but to renovate whenever needed is not always viable unless money is not an object.

the art is excellent, the furniture stylish, the place is actually unique and, although it needs a sprucing up (i agree), is still a place that deserves more respect than you give it. i would say that the bloggers here are a bit spoilt if you ask me.

the place is also always busy so if overpriced, that would not be the case.

By: Clare

Clare — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 08:42:14 +0000

Hi Paul, The sad thing is that I’d trek across the city and dine in a dump if the food was worth it. A lot of places in Cape Town trade on their locations. The Wijnhuis people learned how the trade off (great location and venue vs dodgy food and service) worked at La Perla, and it seems as if the cynical lessons they learned there are being applied to Newlands. A friend tells me that the Stellenbosch branch also “sucks”.

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 07:09:26 +0000

Wijnhuis used to be really decent, simple food prepared well with a very good extensive wine-by-the-glass list, I’ve been there about 10 times starting about 6-7 years ago, but the standards have been dropping noticeably with each visit and I haven’t been back for at least 18 months. It’s a pity though, because it’s so central from where I stay and the venue has lots of potential, especially on a warm summer’s day on the open balcony.

By: Clare

Clare — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 07:08:43 +0000

Dear Clare,

Have been enjoying your blog for the past while, and as a newly-returned ex-Capetonian now living in Claremont, eagerly devouring (bad pun, I know) your restaurant reviews and general take on the culinary/foodie scene here. Can’t believe I live just down the drag from the awesome spring you recently wrote about – I’m a complete convert – and goddamn lady, your review of the piss-poor Die Wynhuis was right on the money!

Anyway, to get to the point…some very dear friends of mine are headed Barcelona way in September..and following on from your Spanish adventure – do you perhaps have any recommendations for a self-catering spot they could try in Barcelona? According to them, everything they’ve looked at is booked out/overpriced. They’d like to be near La Boqueria so as to buy and cook the deliciousness for themselves.
Any suggestions welcome, and thanks again for a wonderfully entertaining blog.

Jan.

By: FlowerPot

FlowerPot — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 10:00:30 +0000

Hi Claire!
We had a meal here once and it was so dreadful that we promised ourselves never to go back again. It is so sad that this corner of Newlands has no decent restaurant. Apparently the Italian place that is now in rebuild wasn’t much better…
Best,
Deon

By: Cathy

Cathy — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 05:54:33 +0000

I believe they charge a R15,000 fee just to list your wines. Now that’s a ripoff.

By: Anel

Anel — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 05:53:20 +0000

Clare, their Stellenbosch branch sucks too.

By: Gordon.

Gordon. — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:04:53 +0000

I know a guy who used to work the tables there. What he had to day about what went on behind the scenes would make your toes curl. It would actually put you off going to restaurants.