Thornhill Hotel

Hi di ho everybody out there, after a delightfully slow amble through the Van Stadens Nature Reserve Forest Walk a handfull of us tortoises went on to the Thornhill Hotel to quench our thirst and fill our bellies with fine pub fare. Admittedly, if you are a bit of a snob (and I have no right to be judging from my own humble abode) you need to close your eyes when you approach this quaint hotel. It is desperately in need of tender loving care even though you can spot the renovation a mile away. Tiled floors may be practical but they do not match the old building and stick out like a sore thumb making the place look less loved and deeply in need of a make over. That said, I must admit that the garden is green even in this drought and there is nothing nicer than sitting under a huge shady tree to enjoy a beverage. As I said earlier we went for pub fare and pub fare is what we got. 3 people had fish and chips,one of the 3 said it was a bit too oily but the other two enjoyed the meal and ate heartily. 2 others enjoyed toasted ham and cheese which comes with chips, too hungry to comment or complain they guzzled away until there wasn't a crumb left. The Grinch had boerewors, eggs, noodle salad and chips, he declared this a winner. Loved the noodle salad which was spicy and after encouraging me to a mouthful I had to agree with him. The wors was a bit thin but darn delicious. I myself, went for a hamburger and chips. Having gone to the loo when the bar lady explained the menu, I missed hearing the bit about the burger being served as a toasted sandwich. So, Yes, I was a little dissapointed when my plate arrived. The pattie tasted as though it was one of the frozen box kind you buy in a retail store. Not very good. After a week of living on soup to lose weight my complaint is more than valid and was not worth putting on the kg I've lost. However being in company and being extreemly hungry I tucked in and licked the platter clean. The chips were okay, a bit flowery but then thats me, no one else was complaining. There is no waitron here so the food comes to the table one plate at a time.I am the type of person who does not eat until the last person receives their meal and this was proving difficult. Eventually I gave up and tucked in as it seemed like one plate was cooked and served at a time. Meals and drinks are ordered from the bar lady who was polite and cordial. Our service was adequate especially as there was no waitron, no need for one really as the place is quiet and I think its only locals who frequent the place however, we could have been made a little more welcome. They do need to do something to encourage you to return but overall not bad, we will be back in time but not in a hurry

Cape Town Fish Market

This really is the place to go if you want to impress. As their advert reads it is for a Romantic meal for twoand it does have a vibrant and relaxed atmosphere. The place is chic. The staff are very friendly and the watron attentitive. Now to be honest I don't know how much of the "goodness" handed out to us was due to The Grinch knowing one of the partners and how much of it is real. What i witnessed was that nearly everybody knew the partners name and would stop by out table were he was enjoying a glass of wine with us to say farewell and they in turn were greeted cheerially by name by the owner. So it is a place where, if you are regular enough you will get personalized attention. This was our first experience of the place. They opened their doors +- 2.5 years ago, back then we popped in after eating at the Dros(next door) to say hi di to Grinches mate and wet our lips with a glass of vino. After looking at the menu (that is 2.5 years ago) we knew we could not possibly afford to darken their portals.2.5 years on, a good comm month and a reason to blog made our heads dizzy with expectation. The Grinch's mate lost no time in bamboozelling us with what was hot and what was not and we ignorantly agreed and went for a Prawn starter. They brought 4 humangus prawns on a plate with a side salad of green and red cabbage. Got to mention the side salad a Whew no lettuce, full marks for origionality. 2 Prawns each! Smack the lips they were good. Bring it on! A word of warning - they are NOT CHEAP. For the mains, I decided on sole, just so I could compare it to Aldego and Grinch decided on the Cape Salmon. I had veg with mine and Grinch went for chips. The Sole was done to perfection. It was moist, it was fresh, beats my 2nd visit to Aldego hands down but not the first, no smack of the sea which I admit was a rare find. The veg were a medly of Butternut,green and red peppers and courgetts. I think this is their everyday veg. Still full marks for not serving up the dreaded butternut and spinach combo.(Listen now, I love butternut, I enjoy spinach but the combo has been beaten to death. It is total non acceptable for every restaurant to serve it up. It's damn cheap, unimaginative and not worth paying good money for.) All in all, I ate heartily and was well sated. The Grinch had delicious, moist, every mouthful a miracal in itself kinda experience. The chips which I tasted just to measure the standard were flowery when eaten alone. When combined with a bit of fish they were acceptable. After mains...long after, we shared a pepermint tart. This is not large but, wowwieee it is good. The food here is excellent. The service is friendly, inviting, attentitive. Full marks so far. At over R100 for a bottle of Nederburg, which we did not order, had wine by the glass and a bill that came to over R400.00 including 10% tip, I have to take points off for being far too expensive for my pocket. Some meals are priced per 100gms, now that's trickey to budget your bill. This is a place for romatic meals as I said before and the reason for that is not the atmosphere, its so you can a) have an excuse to share and b) impress the chick with flashy cash. As good as this place is, it will be a couple of months before I go back. Next time it will be without The Grinch (he knows the owner and I can't be sure how much that played into the wonder of the evening) so that I can try the budget menu on the side.You can eat for R65/R85 and R100 if you choose from their menu mix and match.What a pleasant night. Really wonderful!

The Keg and Swan

What a lovely surprise, no spinach and butternut! We went to the Keg and Swan for Sunday lunch today. Absolute value for money at R65.00. Two meats,lamb and chicken drumstick,served with veg, roast potato and broccali,couliflower,carrots and courgettes done ala dante in a cheese sauce as well as the most devine pumpkin fritters with yellow rice and gravy. This was a full plate of food that neither of us could finish but gladly took up the offer of a doggey bag. Malva pud comes with the Sunday lunch and it is goood, my favorite pud so even though I was full to the brim and watching the weight I could not resist this delictable temptation. Worth every bite.Service was attentive and friendly. If you are looking for a relaxed, affordable Sunday lunch that's not buffet style then this is a recommendable place to dine. Enjoy!

Went back to Keg on 13 Feb after a long walk on Kini Bay beach. Hungry as hell! In need of fodder quick! We sat on the balcony so Grinch could smoke and as always, pleasant to be outside as opposed to indoors. I had a pepper and feta burger. The pepper and feta sauce was awesome, delicously peppery and the feta plentiful. The chips were a bit on the floury side though. Being hungry the food went down the hatch at high speed, my only complaint is that the burger was cold. I mean cold as in not warm, not even lukewarm. The Grinch gobbled his mini Footlong Pecker Pie quicker that you could say "fetch me another beer please" In his opinion it was just what he needed and he had no sympathy for me and my cold grub. This is a wonderful pub and it does have a relaxed atmosphere, however service is slipping ( perhaps something to do with change of ownership ? ) and may not stay on the list of places to go to. For this reason ( and cold grub ) I have taken 2 stars off their rating.

Rome

What O! Last night was delightfully spent in the company of Mr Grinch, K and R. We were being treated to a meal that R was paying for out of her very own newly acclaimed wealth. What a marvellous treat,one to be remembered for ever! As R is new to the restaurant scene Mr Grinch decided that she should book for us at Rome. (Do book especially if you want to sit in the garden as this place can get very full in the evenings) The weather was warm and perfectly calm, ideal for a meal on the veranda. We ordered a bottle of wine, scoured the menu, made our desions,sat back and relaxed into conversation. As none of us wanted a starter we went straight to main. K had baked pasta with chicken and bacon, R went for prawn and calamari and the Grinch decided on mamas meatballs. After I recovered from the shock of Mr Grench not eating the usual canaloni which he swears by and would bet on, I ordered the calamari having done so on a previously, memorable evening with friends from the UK. A word of warning here - the food does take long, so if you are hungry treat yourself or the table to a starter. The calamari and the prawn and calamri comes with a choice of veg or salad. And Yes, you guessed it. Once again the veg of the day was butternut and spinach. What happend to carrots, peas, beans,etc. (Can someone who's rich please sue the Keg for starting this boring and unimaginative trend)so obviously both of us decided on the salad, the salad is a real salad, with feta and a lot more than lettuce and tomato. Everyone of us smacked our lips and licked our chops. K and Mr Grinch who both have bird like appertites could not finish their food but took the rest home. Mr Grinch commented that the sauce over the meatballs was a little too sweet for his palate, the meatballs themselves though were moist and excellent. K declared her meal to be a winner, the cheese topping was real cheese,the kind you can pull, R and I cleaned our plates. The chips that came with my meal were in my opinion good, not flowery or old old. K who tasted the chips did not like them, in her opinion they were doughey? How can a chip be doughey? Anyway the calamari is "melt in the mouth" and is recommendable. My only complaint is that when we were there in December the portion was so huge I could not finish it. It was in deed a meal for two. This time round it was half the portion size and a meal for only one. Hmmmm, maybe they had run out of calamari or maybe the first experience was a loss on their part and a gain on mine. Consistancey in portion size as well as quality is very NB. As this was a treat everyone excluding me ( As my figure will at this stage not permit it) partook in Pud. Mr Grinch had the lemon merangue - gobble, gobble gone. In his words.."perfect". R had the pecan pie which she found a bit sweet, that however did not deter her from making sure the plate was licked clean. K went for pavlova expecting it to be a bit like the one at Old Austria but she was a tad dissapointed, it more like merangue with canned berries thrown over it in haste than a "worth putting on the kg kinda pud" Don't choose this. It's the only thing so far that we have found on the Rome menu that is not worth its weight in gold. The lass who served us was extremely attentative, so far the best waitron we have had. Rome is a PE favourite. You can always be assured that your meal will be good(excluding the pavlova, of course). The prices are reasonable, you can easly afford a bottle of wine. It is as advertised, 'great food with great variety'. Mr Grinch and I have eaten there on numerous occassions and we have never ever been dissapointed in the food. Yes it does take long to come but it is worth the wait. Obviously, we will be finding an excuse to go back asap.

El Greco

Hallo...Myself, K and R decided on a ladies dinner date. Our first choice was the Blue Waters however, we did not book and the place had no space. So..we took ourselves off the El Greco. K and R had never been before and were a little hesitent that the prices would be out of their budgets so we agreed that we would only linger longer if the specials advertised - Rump and a glass of wine or Hake and Calamari for R65.00 were still available. As luck would have it they were. R went for the Rump and K and I went for the hake and calamri. the Rump comes with chips and veggies. Unfortunately the veg were butternut and spinach. (what a boring combo. The Keg should be shot. All restuarants that serve this lack imagination!!!!!) R lapped up every morsel and declared it to be the finest meal ever. K and I found the hake to be moist but lacking in the taste of the sea. The clalmari was a bit on the chewie side and after a few mouthfulls we both pushed it aside. The calamri was served on a bed of rice mixed with veg. This was excellent,a tasty idea. Chips were also on our plate as a side dish. Unfortuately they were flowery. Not our kind of chip. the waitron appeared dissappointed with our decision to order the specials,as we never saw her again. We waited ages for our food. Had the service been better, we might have stayed longer, had another drink, partook in desert for instance...instead we paid our bill and headed off the Dulces were we partook in the deadent delights of Greek chocholate cake , brownies and various coffees. Knowing me, I will go back but not in a rush...Cheers till next time.

Adega

Hi di ho.. The Grinch and I first went to Adega just after it opened it's doors in P.E. That being our very first Adega experience. From the minuet we entered the restaurant to the moment we left, rose in hand,we felt special. We were shown to the smoking area which was comfortable and fresh (usually these places klank of smoke and you can hardly see in front of you.) The service we received from the Zambabwian watron was exemplarory. I went for the Sole, what a delightful...heavenly meal. For the first time ever, I could taste the sea in a sole, combined with the freshly squeezed lemon juice, it was to "die for". The chips were perfect. Not a flowery chip in sight. Even my meat eating hubbie declared it to be the best. The Grench went for the T- Bone special. He who normally eats like a bird, gobbled the whole thing up in a blink of an eye. After that we shared a pud which right now I cannot remember, we lingered longer over our drinks and being well satisfied declared this to be the BEST PE had to offer.
Sadly, on our receint visit, we retracted that statement. Once again, having Looved it soo much, I ordered the sole. The underside was charcoal, the flesh still moist however, there was not smack of the sea. The chips appeared old. The Grinch went for another special, Lamb chops and calamari. The lamb chops were finger licking good. Once again I was astonished and how much he could put away. The calamari was enjoyed as an accompiment to the meat. All in all still a good night out. I will be back.

On 14th Feb, after Grinch felt guilty enough about swearing off valintines day we venture off to good old Adega. The Grinch went for a Peri-peri Chicken and Prawn combo and I went for their veggie platter, wanting to make a differnce to my usual fish. Grinch feeling guilty about his non-romance offered me a prawn and a bite of his chicken. The chicken was falvourful, into the white of the meat you could taste the peri-peri. The Prawn made up for his bad start on the day. Fantastic, butterflied and done in lemon butter. Tasty and well recommended. The Veg Platter leaves a lot to be desired. On the plate you get one black mushroom stuffed with creamed spinach and covered with melted mozarella, yummy! In addition to this is pumpkin, cream spinach, yellow rice with about 3 raisins, 4 small baby potatos and fried haloumi cheese. Now spinach is good in itself but, mushroom stuffed with cream spinach and a dollop of cream spinach on your plate as your veg is a bit too much. The combo of Pumpkin/butternut and cream spinach is overdone by restuarants and not what anyone wants to spend good money on. The cheese over the mushroom plus the haloumi was also a bit of a cheese overkill. The rice is dead boring and a waste of space. As I said, this platter is in dire straights. The service was a bit intense with the watron trying to sell us and others who came to be seated in our area the most expensive dish on the menu ( seafood platter for 2 ), due to this there was a lot of jovaility between tables as we were all amused by his exuberant sales pitch. For the sake of being fair to Aldego I will be removing only one star from their rating, although I think it should be more. When this place opened its doors, it was fantastic now its medioca.