I've heard of this "hidden gem" and have been wanting to visit it for a while now. And considering it's in the Entertainer, it made the perfect choice for a budget date night on a cold winters evening.
We arrived early and were greeted by our very friendly waiter, who showed us to our table for two by the fireplace. We were the only people in the restaurant, and it only started to fill up by the time we were finished with our mains, so we basically had the whole restaurant to ourselves for most of the night, making for a very intimate, romantic evening.
At this stage, they don't serve any alcohol, but you're welcomed to bring your own drinks. We didn't feel like drinking, so we stuck with the water they offered us on arrival. Before ordering, we were brought a bread basket, filled with the most deliciously fresh bread that I've had in a very long time. I'd forgotten how it tastes to eat freshly baked farm bread - so fresh and warm that the butter instantly melts when you put it on the bread. Fantastic way to start the evening!
Ever night, they have a few off-the-menu specials. This night, the starter specials were scallops and springbok carpaccio. For mains, they were offering beef fillet and their line fish was sea bass. I was so confused - my favorite type of fish to eat is sea bass, but I had already set my eyes on the crispy duck. I was fixed on the pumpkin soup, but scallops... However, I decided to stick to my first choice and order the soup and the duck. My better half went all out springbok and ordered the carpaccio and the hot pot for mains.
Our starters arrived promptly. Perhaps it was because we arrived before the evening rush hour, but the service was very quick, nothing like the slowness a lot of reviewers have complained about. My soup was delicious - thick and rich, I couldn't finish it or else I would've popped by the end of the night. The pumpkin seeds added a nice bit of texture to the dish, but I thought the addition of the cranberries were a bit unnecessary - you couldn't really taste them and if you did, they didn't work too well with the pumpkin. My only other critique was that the 3 slices of bread it was served with were ice cold - I was expecting them to be as fresh from the oven as the slices we'd had earlier, so I was a bit disappointed. The springbok carpaccio wasn't bad, but also not great. An average dish and something you wouldn't remember or order again. In short, we enjoyed our starters, but it wasn't anything spectacular.
However, mains were another story. It was quite nice how our waiter asked if we were ready for our mains or if we'd like to wait a bit longer. We asked if we could have a few more minutes, since we were enjoying each others company and were quite cozy by the fire. When we were ready, they brought out our mains. The springbok was served in a mini potjie pot, layered with springbok, carrots and mushrooms and topped with mash. They give you a separate plate into which you can dish it out, but I would recommend eating it out of the pot (it can get quite messy trying to scoop it out of the pot and into your plate). Rustic, original presentation, but perhaps not all that practical. The springbok itself was perfection - soft soft soft meat, which is very difficult to achieve with springbok. But my better half felt there should've been more meat and less vegetables in the pot. My duck was devine - crispy like KFC, but without the unhealthy, icky oil. Soft, tender meat, not something you'd expect from a duck dish, since the meat is usually very tough. Cooked to perfection! Possibly the best crispy duck I've ever had in South Africa! It reminded me so much of the delicious crispy duck I had once on a trip to Germany, and ever since I've been looking for a dish that may come close to this. And now I have finally found it! And to top it all off, it's served in the most delicious sauce - I could literally have licked the plate clean. Mains get served with a complimentary side of roast vegetables, which consisted of potatoes, butternut, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, carrots and beetroot. I'm not a huge fan of cooked beetroot, so I can't comment on that, but I loved the butternut, sweet potatoes and pumpkin. The potatoes and carrots were a bit tasteless and sort of disappeared into the background.
We didn't even look at the dessert menu because we were too full! But satisfied - the food was fantastic and you definitely get what you pay for. Perhaps not the cheapest option around, but the Entertainer vouchers do help. The service was fantastic, our waiter was top notch, but I would recommend you come early (say at about 18:00) to avoid the dinner rush and slow service. The restaurant itself is very basic, made cozy and romantic by dimmed fairy lights, a cozy fireplace and a candlelit dinner. A perfect place for a romantic dinner date! I highly recommend this hidden gem (it's completely underrated) and would definitely return in future!
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