Durban Restaurants

This place is so seriously cool that I don't know why they allowed someone as uncool as I to venture in ... well, actually, it was closed at the time, so they could admit an unapologetic nerd such as myself without fear of embarrassment!

Gino's Bar is on the 33rd floor of the John Ross building, a short staircase up (and four decades on) from the 70s decor of the Roma revolving restaurant. The views across the CBD and port from here are glorious, and I struggle to think of anywhere better in Durban to enjoy a drink or two on a fine evening.

In sharp contrast to the James Last soundtrack on the floor below, the music here is resolutely up-to-date. Do try and visit towards sunset or after dark, when the view is much more impressive than it would be in daylight.

Then retreat downstairs (and nearly half a century) to enjoy the wonderful retro Italina cuisine of the Roma restaurant.

Many of my tips make reference to picnics - partly because I like picnicking, partly out of economy, and partly because one of the few things I have learned from motherhood is that it is wise never to venture forth with small children without emergency provisions!

So, how do you assemble an instant, delicious, value-for-money picnic? Easy - you find your nearest Woolworths!

Woolworths is to South Africa what Marks & Spencers is to the UK. The name is confusing, as it actually has no link to the Woolworths in the USA, Australia or Britain (the latter of which was a fixture of my childhood and is sadly no more). Woolies is a veritable retail institution, and a much-loved purveyor of aspirational lifestyle goods to the South African middle and upper classes (myself included!)

Everything at Woolies (clothing, homeware, groceries) is of excellent quality and reasonably priced, but we're talking food here. Woolies does an excellent range of pre-prepared food from designer sandwiches, wraps and rotisserie chickens to salads, cakes and beverages, and the range is both imaginative and affordable. You can assemble the components of a picnic in next to no time, and even buy an insulated bag to keep the lot cool (or hot) until you're ready to eat!

Woolies' range of 'instant meals' is also excellent for those who are staying in self-catering accommodation but don't necessarily want to cook from scratch.

Woolies has branches in virtually every reasonable sized South African town - see the website below for details. More recently, it has established a series of Woolworths Foods stores (which only sell groceries), and have also established scaled down Woolies Food outlets at certain petrol stations - these stock a limited range focusing on the sort of things that people need to pick up on their way home.

Bon appetit!

Favorite Dish: Bunny chow is the quintessential Duban food icon, and quite unlike anything you're likely to eat elsewhere!

On the face of it, bunny chow sounds pretty grim. You take a half a white loaf (brown, granary or anything else with nutritional pretentions simply won't do) and hollow out the middle, leaving a thick shell of crust. Then fill the cavity you have created with any curry of your choice - to my mind, the best are vegetarian, but any curry with boneless meat would work well. As the bunny sits, the liquid from the curry seeps into the surrounding bread, and you simply eat the lot.

There may well be a polite way to eat a bunny, but if there is, I've never seen it, let alone learned how to execute this gentle art! This is definitely 'food for friends' and about as low down the list of 'ideal food to eat on a first date when you're seeking to impress' as it is possible to go! I would recommend dispensing altogether with cutlery and letting the bunny cool down a little before disembowelling it. Then simply rip pieces of bread (with curry clinging to it) off with your fingers and shovel the delectable, soggy mess into your mouth as quickly as possible ... but then I come from unapologetic peasant stock and don't much care for appearances so long as it taste good!

Recently I had a superb Mozambiquean Bunny as a starter in the Protea Edward Hotel on the beach front - a crusty white Portuguese bread roll hollowed out and filled with spicy peri peri chicken livers - utterly divine!

Let me state up front that I'm not a great fan of the Moyo franchise, as I find their food underwhelming and their in-your-face pseudo African theme 'gimmicky' - the face painting and the dancing I can tolerate, but the ritual handwashing (with said employee subserviently murmuring "wishee washee") really tries my patience ...

However, I must concede that the location of their restaurants is superb. The one at uShaka World is probably the most impressive of the lot, being literally beachside. The downstairs bar area has comfortable sofas that you can lounge on as you relish your ice cold sundowner, and the restaurant upstairs features huge glass picture windows which look straight out over the Indian Ocean and the approach to Durban Harbour.

When I was there last, the waiter was clueless and, by way of example, his explanation of the complimentary starter platter was hopeless: since when does dukka feature peanuts? (and, having tasted it, Moyo's certainly doesn't!). I don't believe that the waiting staff are well trained, and they seem to rely on fawning, smiley charm to substitute for actual knowledge of the food, which is not acceptable for a restaurant in this price bracket.

I also find the unisex loo a bit odd, and it could be offputting for older/more sensitive clientele.
I would heartily recommend this restaurant for sundowners and snacks on the basis of its stunning location - however, I don't think that it's worth the money unless someone else is footing the bill (which is why I would only contemplate it for business entertaining of out-of-town guests)

Favorite Dish: Moyo's food is so so - but, to be fair, I imagine that most people go there for the 'experience' and location rather than for a gourmet experience (which is a pretty sad indictment of a restaurant).

To my mind, the best of the lot are the meatballs served with a little pot of mashed potato which come as a starter (but then I'm on a mission to find the Ultimate Meatball, and have seldom met one I didn't like) .

The seafood curry is ordinary, as is the chicken tagine. The ingredients used seem to be fine, but somehow in Moyo's desire to embrace pan African cuisine, the distinct flavours of the various regions seem to have been dumbed down. I would hate for visitors to return from South Africa (or the rest of the continent for that matter) thinking that our food is so bland!

Although it's always best to get restaurant recommendations from people whose taste you know and trust, there are times when that just isn't possible ...

At this point, "Google is your friend" (as Gerald_D would say) and it's time to minister to that rumbly tummy by getting those fingers tapping to access the online 'Eat Out' guide.

This is a very useful resource which covers the whole of South Africa. I haven't used it extensively, as our kids tend to rather constrain our fine dining these days, but I have used it to check out our usual haunts, and have found the commentary to be fair and balanced.

The website allows you to search on the basis of food type as well as location, and is so user friendly that even this Luddite encountered no problems!

Simply amazing! The Olive Garden is a new family restaurant which formerly was known as Riders Rest over looking the Dieters Nursery in Assagay. We went for a lunch last week and were pleasantly welcome with a beautiful rustic setting and surroundings. The food is all international Mediterranean dishes from Breakfasts, lunches, salads, platters, roasts, deserts, cocktails, tea and considerably prices and very well presented. I recommend sitting on the terrace overlooking and enjoying their stunning Bruchetta and a platter to share from Seafood to meat or even the Vegetarian option. A big thumbs up!

Favorite Dish: Bruchetta, Seafood, Breakfasts, Salads, Roasts & deserts

Most Awesome Experience... This restaurant is Durban's best kept secret -
The *Best* Food, excellent service and great winelist.

The food is superb - perfectly prepared, amazingly presented - looks good, tastes good!

You have to try the Liquid Nitrogen Icecream!!
Great selection of wine too....

We'll be back...

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

Favorite Dish: Sesame and Chilli crusted Linefish

I had marlin, cooked to perfection, juicy and tender, crusted in sesame seeds and chilli flakes. Set on a sweet potato rosti - I love rosti, and the sweet potato is a wonderful play on this. The coconut milk broth with lime, ginger and lemongrass flavours perfectly compliments the dish... yum - I'm drooling as I write this!

Also the griddled Watermelon and Danish Feta and Prawn Salad... Highly recommended!

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Our host Neville recommended Olive & Oil and that was just perfect. The dinner meal was delicious and we had fantastic red wine as well. On this occasion it was exceptional for me but I even ordered dessert this time which was excellent as well.
And, of course, the very friendly service, even if was sometimes a bit too formal, but that place has its class and in the end they were even posing for a staff photo.