When the Grand first opened they got hammered for bad food, bad service, poor attitude and more.
Heck, I couldn’t even get in, so useless was their booking system. So I gave it a wide berth for a long time, but happened to be driving past Green Point the other day at lunchtime and decided to call [...]
Borruso’s on Campground Road, Rondebosch, is one of those institutions that feels as if it’s been around for ever. (1994 actually).
It’s a family place, where on a busy weekend night you’ll see loud groups of family and friends tucking into pizzas with gusto.
To sum up my experience, you go here for the pizza, not the [...]
The first thing you notice when you walk in to Reuben’s in Franschhoek is the bar counter top.
It’s made from the wing of a DC3 aircraft. The aluminium has been polished to a shine and it really is a thing of beauty. You just want to caress its smooth cold shinyness with you hand. What’s this [...]
As Spill announced three weeks ago, Reuben Riffel is opening at the One and Only Cape Town.
With the termination of Gordon Ramsay’s Maze on July 30th, much admired and talented Chef Reuben will take over the 170 seater restaurant at the Waterfront hotel.
The hall mark of Reuben’s cooking is fantastic punchy flavours jumping off the [...]
Posted in Niblets., Restaurant Reviews 
Tags: blue cheese and tomato jam tarts, chef reuben, chilli squid, exciting plating, franschhoek, fresh local produce, Gordon Ramsay, lamb shanks with waterblommetjies, Maze, One and Only, one and only cape town, reuben riffel, sol kerzner, spill, tomato soup, waterfront hotel 
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It’s a sunny Saturday, and a morning truffling in Franschhoek bookshops with friends is concluded with a long leisurely lunch at Cafe Bon Bon.
Well, that was the plan.
The end result turned out a little differently.
A leisurely lunch descended into a drama filled farce, and the book buying resulted in less of Elizabeth David first editions, and more [...]
Maze at One&Only closes.
It has been rumoured for months, speculated about, whispered between foodies, journalists, bloggers, gossipers and last but not least, staff.
Finally the inevitable has happened. The old horse has finally been taken out and shot. The knackers in this case were not the owners or management, but Cape Town customers who have given this restaurant [...]
The Wijnhuis nestles in Newlands village, the heart of a very leafy spot in the Southern Suburbs.
It looks interesting from the outside. The restaurant dominates the whole of a first floor of a small shopping complex. There are huge windows facing on to the village and on warmer days they are opened up.
To enter the [...]
The Montebello Design Centre is the kind of place that you could wander into and lose yourself for an hour or two.
It’s an attractive sprawl of studios, shops and restaurants set amongst the tall trees of what used to be the outhouses of the former Montebello Estate.
You’ll find jewellery makers, ceramic studios, weavers, printers, sculptors, [...]
It’s Day 3 in Spain, and I’m leaving Barcelona to go north, up the coast.
This is an area of inlets, hidden coves, and pines trees spilling down to the azure blue sea. Roads are twisting and narrow. Visibly sublime and with serious eating potential. It’s also pirate country, well, at least it was in the [...]
It’s day two in Barcelona and I’m psyching myself up for a visit to one of my favourite restaurants in the world.
It’s called Cal Pep. Just north of the Placa de Palau at Placa des les Olles 8, Cal Pep doesn’t look like anything special from the outside. I’ve eaten here many times. The owner, [...]
Many Capetonians prefer a quick pit stop to a full sit down meal. Here is our list of top places where you can stop and refuel, gossip, play with your computer, send tweets or whatever takes your fancy.
So here, in my experience, is my list of top snack spots and eateries in Cape Town.
Each one has [...]
Let’s not beat around the bush. I hate banks.
There, I’ve said it. That felt good. So good I’ll say it again, I hate banks.
These days they prettify up their image to give you the illusion that they are customer focussed, and are there really only to help you, to hold your hand as you go [...]
Posted in Restaurant Reviews Tags: abigail peterson, adderley street, asparagus in hollandaise sauce, banks, blood, brio, bruce robertsons, calamari, chocolate souffle, customer, dry martini, fast food, jazz club, mario lanza, marrow, money, mozambique, parma ham, pepper steak, ronelle mesias, shippy and lauren shaked, showroom, sprinkbok carpaccio, the bay hotel 2 Comments read more »
You drive through a housing estate to get to Terroir. Pity, as a bucolic view of the vines similar to Overtures’ or Jardines’ on the Jordan Estate would be nicer and more appropriate. Still, I suppose people have to live somewhere.
But the setting feels nice once you get your feet under the table. Oak trees [...]
Mike Bassetts’ Ginja Restaurant in Tamboerskloof is to close, with effect from today.
Staff were told last night by Jaco de Jager, manager and partner with Mike Bassett, that the restaurant was closing its doors and going into liquidation.
Jaco de Jager confirmed that they were closing today, July 1st, and that there would be a meeting between himself and [...]
The Nook Eatery is one of those indispensable places that every city, little town and village in South Africa should have.
Everything is homemade, organic or free range wherever possible, freshly made in their own kitchens and served up by staff that seem to care about what they do.
That makes a difference. You need to be [...]
Posted in Restaurant Reviews Tags: apples and ginga compote, baked eggs, bean salad, breakfast, buffet, cape town, cherries, cinnamon, coffee, creme fraiche, cricket bat, delicious, establishment, flapjacks, freerange, french toast, freshly naked croissants, green salad, gruyere cheese, homemade, kitchens, lamb bobotie, latte, lemon, maple syrup, mushroom, nook eatery, organic, roast vegetables, ryneveld street, smoothie, south africa, stellenbosch, trust, wild rocket 2 Comments read more »
Casa Labia Cafe is situated in one of the most ornate and Venetian inspired interiors that exist in Cape Town.
Cherubs chase each other across the ceiling, paintings of Count’s and Countesses’ adorn the walls.
A wooden floor offsets the chandeliers, furniture, mirrors, colours and style, all Italian inspired.
It’s pretty dazzling. There are a number of rooms [...]
An accomplished chef opens a little French Bistro in a small two room restaurant in downtown Stellenbosch. It has a pretty courtyard, and the day I was there, the lemon tree hung heavy with fruit in the crisp, blue skied, Autumnal air.
A recipe for success?
Yes, if the chef is Christophe Dehosse, yes if his style [...]
La Colombe and The River Cafe get all the attention at Constantia Uitsig.
One is 12th in the world; the other has had a flash makeover and garnered a lot of admiring comments. The third restaurant, Constantia Uitsig Restaurant is, by and large, overlooked.
It’s like Cinderella in reverse; two belles of the ball and a third [...]
I’ve put myself in the shoes of a football supporter who has travelled to Cape Town for the World Cup and the question is WHERE TO GO TO EAT? Or to put it another way, where to go to get the best Nosh for less Dosh?
I’m been working on compiling this list for a while [...]
Look, I’m not going to pretend I know nothing about tapas. I’ve spent many holidays wandering the streets of Barcelona on the trail of the best tapas. I’ve also done Seville, Madrid, Granada, Jerez, Girona, Cordoba and more.
You get the picture, I’m a bit of a self appointed expert on Spanish fare. Real Spanish food speaks [...]
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