Review The Rat & Parrot - Grahamstown

Food is great. I would however recommend that they add a 'build your own pizza' option to the menu for those that don't find exactly what they want in the menu

Went to eat at this restaurant seeing that I was in the area. The food arrived so fast and the drinks. The waitress was so attentive and the food and drinks were great. The prices were relatively good. The venue is like a bar type of set up which was nice for relaxing especially after a very long day

Good place to chill and have a few drinks with friends or acquaintance

Had some tasty pizza, perhaps not as good as I remember it to be but still relatively good. Service was ok

Good vibes✨. Absolutely love it. I’m there right and I’m about to order another drink. Come check it out. A bit pricey but if there for vibes then it’s exactly what you were looking for.

Good place ... excellent service you can't go wrong...

Very nice place for watching real time live matches such as world cups, Rugby champions and grab a beer and relax. Its also a chilled place to go and dine in, they have their famous potato and pizza selection and my all time fave at rats is the Jam jars❤️ oh best beverage. You can also book a private space for your functions business meetings and get to gathers. They also have karaoke night I think its on Wednesday or Tuesday but its one hell of a night ❤️❤️. Very nice staff, love them to bits.

I have had their Thai Chilli Chicken pizza a couple of times and it is very juicy and tasty and will highly recommend it.

As an ex-Rhodent, the Rat & Parrot holds many memories dear to my heart. Went back today after 7 years, and the Pizza's are still the BEST! 🍕

I'm an old Rhodian. Coming here reminds me of my student days & youth.

I had a fantastic time here! The Bacovian pizza is a must try! The drinks are reasonably priced, and the food is everything to be expected from pub-grub. You have to come with people you enjoy though, otherwise it'll probably be quite average and possibly incredibly dull. The service is actually quite decent and pleasant. Give it a try if you have good company for a night out.

We had fun music was good

Great place for drinks and food. Absolutely amazing and within a walking distance from Rhodes University

Highly recommend this place, it's certainly the BEST bar I've been to! I'm not much of a nightlife(r) but, I was at the National Arts Festival 2016 and headed there for a night. It was totally awesome, the vibe was excellent, very diverse and altogether I was reminded how music and dance could bring people together. The drinks aren't expensive, the place is safe to party in, with bouncers allocated around the bar space, plus the service from bar staff is far beyond average! Thank You Rat and Parrot!

I loved this place! The vibe was great and had arguably thee best pizza I've eaten. It was my go-to place for the whole of the national arts fest. Amazing!

It was very relaxing. Brenda's platter was tops. Had a bit of a problem with the desert cream was sour but the manager sorted it out in ni time. Had a very good service.

Had a pleasant time,vibe was good music����food���we hah Brenda's platter nice succulant steak strips,calamari....would like to reccoment any one to try this,the couple nx to us asked me what me and my daughter were eating they ordered it and say quality food�thank to The Rat and Parrot_�

Great service, succulent steak,delicious smoked pork chops with baked potatoes,will definite recommend the place

We loved the Rat and Parrot .. great service , excellent pizza and cold beer...i will be back ,again and again and again 🍻😎

Thought it could have been better. They got the order wrong, twice, and the waiter argued.

The music ��i can drive from PE to the place again it was awesome.

Its da best place ever...i love it I'll cum bck if I hv 2

Warm beers, chips that were cooked in old oil and were completely inedible and oily, fish over battered and also inedible. When complained to the waitress she just shrugged her shoulders! Not a place to return to

Love, love, love it!!! Driving through from PE just for that was worth it :) will do it again! Pizza is just too good!!!!

One great little social hub, with a life and vibrancy that compliments its comforts of food and drink...

Awesome food and reasonable menu choice served great, friendly staff!!

We decided to go to Rat and Parrot during the Graham's town festival. I just want to say a huge thank you to the short young man with glasses as my waiter. The kitchen was only closing in 5 minutes yet no waiter was willing to take our order but this young man. So once again - thank you for not turning us away. The pizza's were delicious. :)

We enjoyed our burgers at the Rat and Parrot. The food tastes good, we got large portions and it was well-priced. The service was fantastic and the ambience was nice.

Cutlery always dirty. Terrible services. Waited for almost 15 minutes for our oder to be taken. Although they have the best pizza in Grahamstown.

This could be an excellent dancing spot, though the owners would hv to consider getting rid of the massive beer tables on a Friday and Saturday in the dance area to just let the people dance! Too much smoking in the dance area as well, especially when people can go closer to windows (higher deck) or outside. But this is where the young crowd comes to dance (or bday), good vibe in the 2017 arts fest, hence a 4.0!

Loud and smokey. This "restaurant" was more of a fully functioning nightclub when we attempted to finish supper. Prices vary dramatically between day and night. I am surprised we were told to go there at all. This is definitely not a place for anyone out of university to go to unless standing and dancing on tables is your thing.

We walked into the Rat expecting a fun pub atmosphere and great pizza. However the beers were warm and the pizza was tasteless and overpriced. We were rushed to finish our meal so the 'DJ' could set up for the night. What followed was hard to describe. The music was so loud we could hardly hear each other. People were dancing on the tables (I now know why we had been asked to move). The amount of bad language and aggressive behaviour was hard to bear. As we were making our exit we could not help but notice vomit on the floor. <br/><br/>This is definitely not a place to grab a chilled beer and something to eat as was described to me. I will not be going back.

It took me a good 7 years to actually walk into the Rat thinking it was a glorified pub. In general pubs are not my thing so I won't comment on the pub allure BUT I will say their food is a pleasant surprise and passes all my expectation for pub food. Their pizzas are hands down the best in town and the toppings are creative and generous. The half half option also allows you to add more variety which is always a win for me because I can't decide. The Rat can get super busy but if you catch them during a lull then I would say go for the food !!! Don't know many pubs in town that use as many fresh ingredients as they do. Super happy with the service as well.

Really great atmosphere and music as soon as you walk in. Unfortunately we had a mix-up with our order which was rectified by giving us a free starter. The food here is quite expensive and although the burger I had was relatively good, it definitely needed more suave.

Hands down one of the best pubs on the planet.  Good food early in the eve and the best / friendliest company late in the eve.  Not much else to say

Can always rely on The Rat for a good jol after hours! If you're there earlier on the food is always good and the specials are some of the best in town. There's a reason its busy every day of the week!

I love the Rat to pieces, it is basically my home. But i can't eat gluten, and when i asked our waitress to check if something had gluten in, i have never been more humiliated by her reaction. So disappointing.

The Rat & Parrot is a must if you are in Grahamstown. They have great drinks specials all week and their pizzas are great. There is a very festive vibe at the Rat, especially during the Varsity terms.

You cannot go wrong with their pizzas, seriously, they are loaded, filling, and I would challenge the Beast from Springboks to have a go at a Meaty Treat in one sitting. The price is high, R118 for a large 30cm pizza, but then again you get real ingredients, and a meal for two essentially. A must try for the first timer in the area.

The Rat is an institution. The pizzas are, however, not as great as they used to be. And neither are the waiters. But when you're looking for a great place to watch sports with friends- the Rat is the place to go.

Well done Rat , you're always such a treat! Delicious well known pizza , friendly service and great small town environment 👌🏼👊🏼will be back for a great treat 😅😜

The Rat is an institution in Grahamstown. During our time at Rhodes, we were repeat customers! So on this return visit to Grahamstown, we had to see our old haunt. They have done some renovations to the place which has added some much needed space.<br/><br/>The service hasn't changed, they are very slow. The pizzas are still just as good as we remember. Something that did bother me was that people seemed to be able to smoke anywhere in the restaurant which can be quite unpleasant. It was lovely to go back and next time we are in Grahamstown, I have no doubt that we will stop in for a drink and pizza!

I suppose the true test of a great restaurant is whether they get return customers. By this measure the ever popular 'Rat' may just be the top restaurant and pub in South Africa (move aside DWeleven 13, Five hundred, Cube and The Test Kitchen). <br/><br/>Alas, perhaps it is necessary to look beyond this simple metric. <br/><br/>Well, the beer is cold and there's a decent range available on tap. The recently expanded seating area (upstairs and down) is useful and necessary. The new balcony area upstairs is particularly pleasant. <br/>The pizzas are fantastic, I often have the 'Meaty Treat' pizza which is delicious and has a liberal amount of garlic (which I love).<br/>The service can be rather slow (even on quieter nights), occasionally resulting in a 15 minute wait for a beer., so if you are just going for a drink I would suggest ordering from the bar instead.<br/><br/>I have no doubt that I will return to 'The Rat' again the next time I pass through Grahamstown. It is truly an institution in this part of the world.

Great atmosphere- Best pizza ever! R18 a glass of nice wine😊😊Grahamstown's best!! You can never go wrong with a rat pizza and a couple of drinks ❤️

If you are looking for good pizza, The Rat is the place to go. The Bacovian, especially, is famous. <br/><br/>The Rat and Parrot is also a very common student hangout, so if you're looking for a fun pub vibe it's a great place to be. Order yourself a tower of beer, sit down and have banter with mates or watch whatever sport happens to be on any of the many HD TVs. <br/><br/>An excellent place to start a night out.