GrandSlam Sports Diner – Edenvale

This establishment is a sportsbar… so definitely not a place to take a date… unless they’re sports junkies.
If it’s good food and the rugby you want to watch (or any sporting event) this is the place to go to.

GrandSlam is open even in the odd hour matches, like the F1 at 6am or a Rugby Test match involving the ‘boks at 7am… the chances of GrandSlam being open is high…

The décor and floor setting is predictable for a sports bar with designated smoking and non-smoking areas… flat screen TVs everywhere, one big main wall projector screen above the centre bar but a wooden terrace (smoking area) with wooden bench tables outside with mist sprayers for those hot summer African days. Colin Moss and Tanit Phoenix was there once too…

Onto the food… The food served is phenomenal…
I’ve had three bad experiences of over done T-bone steaks of about the fifty times (plus) I’ve been there.

Absolute favourites are the Manny Specials (cubed rump cubes in a red wine sauce) served with chips. Optional is served with rice, but served with chips is better and more recommended. The soaked rice will be too strong on the pallet.

Another favourite is the rump espatada served with milho (deep fried miele pap). It’s the only establishment that I know that serves milho.

If you want burgers… this place has something called a Super Burger… and SUPER they definitely aint lying.
The bun is HUGE and so is the beef patty… its serious value for money.

The ribs are good… not as hood as Hill Side Tavern in Pretoria… but they come pretty darn close…
The oxtail is astronomical and definitely one of the best dishes that GrandSlam has going for it… unfortunately only served in winter…

The menu is unfortunately not available online… and there isn’t much for me to tell you to not have on the menu…

Parking can be an issue on days of big sporting events (Like UEFA Champions League finals) so make sure you get there early if you want a table. And a bit of warning that there is a HUGE Liverpool and Man United following in that area…

Dress code is definitely casual…

From a food perspective this place secures to notch points…
Service has had its moments and can get delayed on big games and events…
Décor is purely a sports bar setting… as the name suggests…

Overall GrandSlam gets a 4 of 5

GrandSlam Sports Diner
Corner Elm & Sycamore Str
Dowerglen
Edenvale

Phone (011) 4543700
www.grandslam.co.za

Montego Bay – Sandton Johannesburg

This World Cup Final weekend I decided to visit Sandton. My evening companion had a craving for sushi.

Our first choice was to go to CTFM, however upon arrival, all the tables were full with only one table near the cold entrance. If we wanted a table the wait would have been 40mins plus.

We then went to Montego Bay in search of a better table for sushi. Upon arrival there were more seats and in much better position than what was on offer than CTFM. And the ambiance felt good.

Once seated our drinks order was taken, to which some rather unorthodox comments ensued. My beautiful companion ordered a glass of hot water with a slice of lemon. The Maitre D who seated us had a surprise choice of words of “Excuse me, not to sound rude, but we charge for that, and we call it Mandela Tea…” With those choice of words… it did sound rather condescending. Nevertheless we let it slide.

We indeed ordered our sushi combo. A pleasant surprise was the butterfish sushi which was actually very good. Some other pieces were arguably fair and have had better at other places (CTFM). While ordering the combo though, we had an interest in the salmon roses, which only came in 6 pieces. We wanted to know if they could do a smaller portion of three or two, to which the waiter answered: “I just work here, and they only come in sixes…”

Wow… Not even the simple act of finding out from the sushi chef first before getting back to us.

We both agreed that with such poor enthusiasm and service we decided that our stay would be limited. So we can’t even comment on the other amenities. Once our dinner and drinks (which we were allowed to run dry for quite a while) were done… we called for the bill and did our graceful exit and had coffee elsewhere. The Mandela Tea, we didn’t mind paying for, although it appeared on the bill at R14, which to my mind, the cost needs justification for boiling water and a slice of lemon.
How does hot water and lemon come in at a cost of imported beer?

Overall, despite a seemingly more upmarket décor in comparison to CTFM, it seems that that day, we received a rather poor and stuck up service to match, which lead to a very touch and go experience, and us realising why there were more open tables at Montego in comparison to CTFM that night.

Montego Bay – Sandton gets a dismal 1 of 5.

Shop 31, Square Level
Nelson Mandela Square
Sandton
2196
http://www.montegobay.co.za

Village Cafe – Swakopmund

Every once in a while you come across a true gem of an eating place. This is the case with Village Cafe in Swakopmund, a quaint little eating place smack bang in the center of Swakopmund on the main road.

At first you would not expect too much, but the moment you enter, that changes. You are first greeted with a traffic light, which we later found out is used to indicate the amount of seats available. Green obviously means seating is available and Red shows “Stop, village overload. Please wait.” Wanting to the know the business hours, you will notice a sign indicating the the following : “We open when we arrive and close when we leave”.  Even though we went there for a spot of breakfast, it proved to be a very popular eating place indeed. Taking into consideration that Swakopmund has multiple restaurants, it takes more than just a normal average run of the mill restaurant to survive. Village Cafe most certainly is a cut above the rest.

From the decor that gives you the impression of walking into an authentic african village to the rustic african style music that plays. The atmosphere is great, increased by the friendly staff dancing and softly singing along to the music in the background. It did not take long for us to decide what to have to drink. Jeremy settled for a Cafe Latte and Jivika decided on the Cappuccino. With the order placed, we started the most important job – choosing what to have for breakfast.

Jeremy being a total and utter meat lover decided on the “Obelix” breakfast while Jivika had the Banana and honey pancake. At this point we expected the service to take a steep nose dive as it does with most other restaurants. The drinks always come quick, with the meal taking longer than you would like it to take. Since we were sitting in the non-smoking area, Jeremy decided this would be a good time for a smoke and headed off to the smoking area. The restaurant seems to be divided into three sections, the non-smoking area as you enter, then there’s the smoking area followed by an outside eating area.

When the food arrived in what we would term record time it looked as good as it smelled. The Obelix breakfast consisted of two sausages, both succulent and juicy, an egg, bacon, fungus (mushrooms – I don’t care for them much though), and a nice very well prepared game steak. The presentation fits well with the theme of the restaurant.

My pancakes were served in a boat-like little dish, perfectly arranged with the lightly sauteed banana’s wrapped inside 2 pancakes and a honey sauce poured over it with a touch of cinnamon sprinkled over. In another little bowl was the vanilla ice cream, which when poured over the warm pancakes melted into a cold cream. The contrast between warm and cold was divine. Of course the pancakes were wiped out in no time at all and washed down with the Cappuccino.

The overall experience we had at Village cafe can only be described as superb! We are therefore awarding Village Cafe 5 stars.

Village Cafe is located at 21 Sam Nujoma Ave, Swakopmund.

Visit their website by clicking here or you can phone them on +264 64 404 723