Review Lemongrass Restaurant - Benoni

This is a quaint little place I would love to come back to! It’s a house that’s been changed to accommodate restaurant and dining. I really love the decor- seats with cushions nestled into corners which lends itself to awesome relaxation with friends! The menu is interesting and I enjoyed two starters which were yummy, especially their peanut satay sauce- a must! A friend had the sundried tomato and spinach pasta and she couldn’t stop raving about it Try the Thai deep fried ice cream- the crumb has flavours that transport you over to the Middle East! Yum! The staff are wonderful, engaging and friendly and even more so are the resident kitty cats

An early 20th century home that has been tastefully turned in to a restaurant. The menu contains a fusion of South African, Dutch and Asian influences. Reminescent perhaps of the glory days of the VOC (Dutch East India Company). Nice options available and they are served in hearty portions. Could get to dessert because of that. Check out the Dutch Golden Age art framed on the walls. Friendly service.

One of the best hidden gems in benoni, first time myself and the missus are here, decor and atmosphere are awesome, the food is beautifully prepared and loaded with flavour and fully organic, the service is 5 star and all the staff are welcoming and friendly, we will definately be regulars here!!well done to the staff and owners on this beautiful little place!!Our waitress Gugu was phenomenal!!

Fancy a taste experience of Indonesia or Dutch Cuisine then Lemongrass is the place to go ! Situated in a cosmopolitan street this hidden Wonder has many surprises waiting for you. On entering this old world restaurant built over a 100 years ago you are greated with a style and wonder that the owner Ivonne Taylor has carefully and knowingly designed with many many imported exotic ornaments and absolutely gorgeous fabrics. As you walk over wooden floors with hand woven carpets you hear the sounds of gentle music in the background with a touch of soul. The waiters are very well groomed and dressed semi formal and they remind me of top class waiters that would only be found in a First class cabin of an international airline. They seem to breeze and flow through the room and take care of your needs without any effort. Lovely music with tunes from the pianists playing on the keys that got the patrons to clap hands after each piece from the piano making this even more memorable. Now the food - oh my goodness. Firstly the presentation is tops with attention to detail. We tried the Indonesian style food. My palate was alive with Subtly spiced without being extravagant flavors and secret spices( no not referring to the food being chili’s —- it’s spiced ) Every bite a mouth watering experience. The food is vibrant and colourful and clearly preparation done by top chefs in the kitchen. In winter there is a crackling wood fire place. While you enjoying the meal browse around at the pressed ceiling and the hard wood floors. The area had a gentle smell of coriander , rosemary , turmeric and gentle spices. Sounds from the kitchen made you realize that food is freshly prepared. Hidden outside around a corner is an area where on certain nights folks come around as a community and listen to local artists playing their tunes on a stage. A few tables and a fire place for the cold evenings. Toilets facilities are of the cleanest I have seen. There is free WiFi for 2 hours and the waitrons are more than pleased to assist with that. A security guard looks after your vehicles in a well lit dedicated parking lot.

My fiance and I went to this place for a quiet Sunday lunch. Love this place. It has a unique vintage feel. Great food and friendly staff.

Definitely one of the best local restaurants. Lemongrass treats us well, which is why we always return. Amazing food, that always has a new fresh touch to it. Chaz is a good waitron, with a good appreciation for the finer details about the food. The atmosphere is very peaceful and relaxing. Here’s to supporting our local restaurants over franchises!

Service of note and food even better! Definitely a return spot for breakfast, lunch and dinner😍

What a great little place nested away on a corner in Benoni, it came highly recommended to me and you did not disappoint. From amazing and tasty food, to beautiful and unique decor. This is a definite must visit and i will most certainly be back.

A great experience all around. Food was fabulous and food was delicious!

Little gen hidden ....food was excellent and service very good also. Lovely antique decor...beautiful experience

Awesome place, stunning ambiance and great food!!!

Lovely, unique venue with sounds and sights of yesteryear and delicious Dutch-Indonesian dishes.

What a beautiful place to spend a quiet, romantic evening... The atmosphere was warm and inviting with unique decor of Dutch influence... Transporting you back to the old country... The staff were welcoming and extremely accommodating, making sure all the guests felt comfortable... Now for the food 🙂 So as someone who considers themselves a semi-professional in the culinary industry I have to say the Chefs working at the Lemongrass take pride in their food... Freshly prepared... Beautifully seasoned... Vegetables grown by the owner herself who makes everyone feel right at home. My family and I will definitely be returning soon and highly recommend the Lemongrass restaurant to anyone who appreciates good food.

Best butterchicken in the world! Thank you! Atmosphere stunning! Beautiful and very tasteful restaurant. I will recommend this to anyone to try

interesting food, lived the experience and the service was excellent, sure would go again.

I love the quaint feel and the deco. Food was absolutely delicious, I thoroughly enjoyed my chicken curry and malva pudding. Hubby and boys enjoyed their choices too. Looks like we will be going more often.

I eventually convinced my husband to have dinner at Lemongrass and it’s now become one of our favourite restaurants. The ambiance, with the “separate rooms”, the fireplace and the uniqueness with the wooden floors and pressed steel ceilings is just wonderful...and don’t forget the cats! Never mind that, it’s the food and the service that brings us back each time. The Dutch Indonesian food is well prepared and the portions generous. It’s altogether a fabulous experience.

Little hidden away restaurant in Benoni. Very interesting decor. Food is reasonable. Service is good. Burned my finger on one of the hot bowls. I guess it’s my fault

Very nice little restaurant, good food.<br/>Menu got a lot of options, different types of foods with a twist<br/>Got Banting option available for starters, mains and deserts.<br/>Good service also<br/>

This is a really lovely place to eat. The food is interesting and most of the dishes quite unusual given the Indonesian and Dutch influence. I had a vegetable platter and hubby had the Babi Pangang (pork strips in sweet and sour sauce). For dessert I had milk tart which is one of the nicest milk tarts I have had in years. The only thing I didn't like was my café latte which I found a bit too milky, but this is probably more my taste than anything else as I like strong coffee. The service is great and the piano player was excellent - I really liked the fact that the volume of the music wasn't overwhelming. If you are going for dinner, I suggest you book as the restaurant was pretty full. There seemed to be a lot of regulars which is never a bad thing. We look forward to coming back for breakfast or lunch.

What a hidden gem. I absolutely loved our afternoon there. No rush and it's so peaceful and he little water feature is so pretty. When I wasn't sure if a certain dish would be too hot for me I was offered a taste. Absolutely fabulous ambiance service food and drink. You can't believe it's right in Benoni. Time stopped for us. The Frangelica cake was the best dessert I've ever had!

Had a wonderful meal here! Very cozy fire. Food was tasty - very different to the usual fare! Relaxing atmosphere - actually more on the romantic side!

We've been twice to Lemongrass and have not been disappointed.  This is, as far as I know, the only Indonesian restaurant in Johannesburg.  It's mainly Balinese style food with some Dutch influences.  It's in a charming part of Benoni where there are several restaurants, in a converted, very old house with wooden floors of a type you don't get today, lots of wonderful, exotic Indonesian and some Dutch decor everywhere.  Two friendly cats add to the charm in my opinion.Service is attentive and the food is very tasty.  The nasi goreng, which is Indonesia's signature dish, is done very well.  Fish is cooked to perfection.  They make a traditional Indonesian salad called gado gado--basically cooked vegetables with egg and potato--it's a lot more filling than you'd think.  Try the piesang goreng for dessert--caramelized banana with ice cream.Basically a nice place to go and they do quite a bit of justice to Dutch Indonesian cuisine, though I'd prefer the portions to be just a little bit bigger.  I recommend Lemongrass for a pleasant night out.

Went to lunch with the family really excited to try this Restaurant. The food was not bad (not great either) but we waited over 2 hours for our food. <br/><br/>We were all disappointed for sure but we'll be back to give them another chance some time.

The food is amazing! It's a Dutch Indonesian menu, which is totally not from here, but if you have been to Bali, you'll know what I mean. It has a weird set up in which this house has been converted into a restaurant, totes old school, but you appreciate the authenticity. Thumbs up

Truly crap experience. It had been a while since I'd been on the receiving end of such blatant racism. They make decent desserts but after the experience my friend and I had, I never went back.

Really nice cozy decor , the food names are a mouthful , but lead to great tasting dishes, portions are more filling than you see , service is extremely attentive. Very good place for something out of the normal , pianist is a pleasant surprise .

A little hidden gem.<br/><br/>Great food. Good service. Fantastic ambience. <br/><br/>I enjoyed everything except for the chicken livers. Will definately be back.

Dutch & Indian<br/>Cuisine. This little restaurant is a must try for the non-mainstream Foodies<br/>out there. The food combinations are amazing and the fillet is soft and tender.<br/>I would never have guessed that such fancy places are in and around Boksburg<br/>which there is a desperate need for. Give it a try. Seriously

Tucked away restaurant in the Benoni suburbs. Food was good, atmosphere was quiet, nice that they have outdoor tables as well as indoor. Menu was a bit on the expensive side for the type of restaurant so that didn't fit. It is not as upmarket as the menu prices suggest. Overall good experience.

The food was good but not amazing. The menu had nice variety, and you could also order Dish Rijstafel which allows you to taste a little of everything.<br/><br/>We went on a Sunday and service was below par, waitress wasn't very familiar with the menu and couldn't answer basic questions about the meals. Decor definitely needs an overhaul.

We went for Valentine's day dinner which happened to be a set menu.<br/>The starters and desert were absolutely delicious. The main course however was a disaster. The fillet steak which was ordered medium to rare arrived cooked beyond recognition. The ambience was great but the service was very slow .Won't be back in a hurry.

Shockingly poor service. Good OK but not what it used to be. Really let the standards slide. Loyal patrons no more!<br/>From the non-existent reception to the loud obnoxious teenage daughter of the owner who acts like she owns the place and her choice language ruined what was hoped to be a romantic date night. Sad that they have let the fame go to their heads.

My boyfriend and I used to go to Lemongrass all the time (before the fire and renovations). My rating was a 5/5 during that time. The food was amazing and the steak was always cooked to perfection. However, during the renovations they moved next door and shared a space with Tajien. We went once during this period and the food was not as good as usual. We thought ok, it's fine, they are sharing a space with another restaurant so it's somewhat understandable. Since, we heard that the restaurant had reopened so we decided to go again tonight. We were rather disappointed :( The salad had no dressing (like it used to have), I asked for medium steak and it was well beyond well-done (it was difficult to chew :/ ). I ordered the waffle for dessert and it was like toast - could not even cut through this thing. They didn't charge us for the waffle which was nice, but still, it wasn't a great dessert. All in all it was pretty disappointing and I don't think we will be going back. It's quite a pity as their food used to be out of this world.

If you looking for something different give this place a try. Dutch - Indonesian cuisine, even though you cant pronounce some of the dishes who cares cos the taste more than makes up for it. I have been here twice and will happily go again. <br/><br/>Pity the restaurant was slightly damaged in a fire so they were cooking from their sister restaurant tagine hopefully its restored to its former glory. Their decor might not be for everyone but i would recommend the food (",)