The Grill Room in Franschhoek (a review)
The Grill Room in Franschhoek has been open for close on two months now and we gave it a try last Saturday night. I’m so pleased we did — we enjoyed it so much that I think I should plan ahead now and book a table for lunch for the Saturday of Bastille Day weekend!
Located on the main street, the L shaped building is inviting; I loved the seating area outside (with heaters of course for winter evenings) and I especially loved the black and white ‘photos’ transferred to wallpaper. Very clever indeed. The red brick walls, wood shuttered windows and red lanterns all add to the aesthetics. The main restaurant has about ten tables while the butchery section is smaller and a private dining area is available for hire upstairs.
The Grill Room is a steakhouse and lives up to its ‘genre’ of choice. The food was, if my Standard Eight French serves me correctly, tres bien! Most of us settled on a very tasty chicken liver pate starter served with toast (replenished when requested) and a red onion relish. Also up for starters is the 2010 version of the classic avo and prawn cocktail. It looked good but I was very happy with my enormous ramekin of pate and I’m a sucker for a piece of toast!
I’d had steak for lunch so for my main course chose the seafood tagliatelle. It was just what I felt like and I was not disappointed when Sibongile, our waiter, put it down in front of me. For once the ratio of seafood was for greater than the ratio of pasta which seems rare with restaurant pasta dishes these days. It was so tasty; crammed full of mussels, calamari and pieces of salmon. It was also generously topped with parmesan shavings. My friends all had steak and had a question and answer session with Sibongile first! How do you like your steak done, what basting would you like, what sauce would you like, what starch would you like?! At least only one kind of vegetable is served so a decision does not need to be made for that!
Our bellies were pretty full at the end of our main courses so we turned down the dessert menu and had an Irish coffee instead.
The food was excellent – prices not too over the top especially when taking into account the good service and the added extras like bastings and starches.
Sibongile did a great job – he always had a smile on his face and, having endured many years of waitressing I know that is not always easy! We saw him again the next day as we strolled the street and he greeted us, asked whether we had enjoyed our meal and said that he hoped to see us back again soon.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Grill Room and hope it does well in Franschhoek.
Contact:
The Grill Room, Heritage Square, Main Road, Franschhoek.
Telephone: +27 (0)21 876‑2548
Franschhoek Links:
Franschhoek Hotels
Franschhoel Accommodation
Franschhoek Attractions
Things to Do in Franschhoek
Have Your Say
Tell us what you think ...