De Kloof Restaurant

I am very confused. We arrived for lunch today being a Wednesday at De Kloof and were directed to the burger bar which is not what we wanted. The lady at the front disappeared so we couldn't ask anybody want was going on so we left.

My husband and I went during Restuarant week. What a sublime evening. The food was euphoric, with the perfect combination of flavours. The staff were knowledgable and friendly. Well done to the team at De Kloof Restaurant.

Beautiful views from the hilltop location near the golf course, just made even better by the awesome food. Really enjoyed the burgers, and would rate their burgers amongst the best in town. The flavour combinations are excellent and really complement each other. They also have a few great creat beers and delicious sides to accompany a great burger. The staff members are friendly, professional, and provided us with great service. Would recommend this spot for anyone who lives a good burger, or enjoys a spectator view.

To clarify rating, if this was an average restaurant it would be 5*. Beautiful location and view, friendly service, tasty food. However, De Kloof bills itself as fine dining, and it's what is missing in terms of this, like any awards since 2013/14.that makes the difference between a 5* fine dining restaurant and the De Kloof of 2019. Probably in summary attention to detail lacking, starting with a Restaurant Week menu in Autumn of 2019 that reads Summer 2018. Service is friendly but lacking in the nuanced etiquette required of a fine dining establishment. With regards to the dishes, as I said all were tasty, but lacked the variety of tastes, textures, colours and interesting presentation of De Kloof circa 2013. Worse, it lacked a number of the elements actually described on the menu across all courses. By way of example, dessert on the menu, "chocolate and lime soufflé, nartjie sorbet, miso yaki tuile, citrus sherbet“ actual dessert on table: chocolate soufflé (that stuck to sides of expresso cup.not a ramikin dish) tuile, and vanilla ice cream scoop presented in a branded expresso cup saucer. To end the evening and leave a literal bitter taste, was the cappuccino, not the chocolate that in the past accompanied the bill, which was part and parcel of De Kloof of old. Pity.

The night started with friendly smiles from the staff. We were seated on the patio where we could enjoy the sunset over the city. After sunset our waiter graciously suggested that we move inside since it became quite chilly outside, which we did.

We were treated to some bread while we decided on our starters. Things started going South when one of the items on the menu was unavailable because the restaurant was out of prawns. Really? No prawns?

The starters were small but tasty. We enjoyed the quiet ambiance while contemplating our main course. We did not opt for pairing each meal with a specific beverage. I still had to drive home and wanted to do so with a clean conscience.

Our main course was again small but tasty. My pork belly was cooked perfectly and the accompanying pear flavors complemented it very well.

After the main course things started to fall apart. Our waiter collected our plates and then seemingly forgot that we existed. Maybe the table outside with the sexy lady garnered all his attention. After 45 minutes I had to do something. I interrupted one of his many dashes to the patio with a snap of my fingers. 15 Minutes later our desserts were served. Mine was steaming hot and dry as if it was left in the microwave too long. My wife's dessert was cold on the inside as if it wasn't in the microwave long enough.

We arrived just after six and it was now after nine. We were tired and wanted to go home, not expecting a three course meal to take this long. In all I felt disappointed with the whole experience. If you want a fine dining experience rather go to the Black Bamboo.