The Brasserie at The Edward; Fig Tree at Simbithi Eco Estate Golf Club; curry buffet at The Oyster Box
While in Durban, Roy and I tend to eat out nearly as often as at home. For one thing, it’s relatively affordable. For another, I seem to become lazier by the year when it comes to the sort of dinner-party entertaining I used to do so effortlessly (as I remember it, anyway). Let someone else do the kitchen slog.
What’s more, my sister Dale arrived from England for a fortnight with us, complete with newly and painfully broken right arm in a cast and sling. (Blame the arrows of outrageous fortune.) As usual, she demanded regular feeding.
Lunch has become more of a thing for us since my mother entered her 80s and started preferring lunch dates, and also since Roy retired. So, here’s a selection of three midday meals enjoyed out and about last month – the first two with Dale and Mother, and the third with old friends Alicia and Ian.
* Not exactly “with us”, I should clarify. The room service chez Maree-Titchmarsh not being quite up to scratch, my sister prefers a hotel, often hopping between two or three of them whenever she comes to town.
#1 The Brasserie at The Edward Hotel
Having got a good deal at what used to be the five-star Grande Dame of the city’s hotels – established in 1909 and now a four-star Protea Hotel by Marriott – Dale spent her first three nights here on North Beach, the heart of Durban’s Golden Mile.
Actually, the Brasserie was better than I expected, apart from its stupefyingly slow service. We’d ordered à la carte, instead of from the buffet – which seemed popular, but gets less than stellar reviews. (There did seem to be a lot of chicken.)
Starters arrived after an hour and serial apologies; that, I suspect, may have been due to my ordering arancini (stuffed rice balls) that weren’t worth the wait. (For good ones, try Pintxada in Umhlanga Rocks.) Much better were Dale’s springbok carpaccio and Greek salad, Mother’s spicy Indonesian noodles or babik goreng, and my generous plateful of smoked salmon.
Like the Edward’s gracious lobby, the Brasserie is still a lovely room, complete with old-world tiling, chandeliers and comfy chairs that encourage lingering. And who minds waiting when there’s so much catching up to be done?
#2 The Oyster Box’s Curry Restaurant
This extensive Indian curry buffet (R450 a head) is part of the 5-star Oyster Box’s Ocean Terrace Restaurant and a good (if pricy) spot to while away a Sunday afternoon.
The fish breyani got the general thumbs-up, while Roy raved about the lamb curry, Mother voted for the vermicelli pudding and Dale kept the waiter on his toes serving her from the extensive buffet, bringing popadums and fresh ice and bearing cushions for her aching arm.
Slinging back a few lunchtime gins was no problem for us, as we could simply stagger back to our apartment at The Oysters.
#3 Fig Tree, Simbithi Eco Estate Golf Club
Alicia Hessel (now Bennewith) and I worked together in Durban in our mid-twenties, and we share plenty of memories of those days – hers substantially sharper than mine, it must be said. Now, their two grown sons educated and off their hands, Alicia and Ian have a lovely home in Simbithi Eco Estate – 430 gorgeous hectares of a “unique, eco-friendly residential community” near Ballito, about 30 minutes’ drive north of Umhlanga Rocks.
It also has a world-class golf-course designed by Peter Matkovich (for those who know about such matters). After leisurely drinks at Ian’s bar – mine a Cape Town Pink Gin with Leeds & Fitch pink tonic – he drove us to the Club for lunch at the Fig Tree restaurant.
It being a Sunday, the Drop Zone bar was doing good business.
An excellent pork belly for Roy, hearty paella for Alicia and me, and for Ian fried calamari with all the trimmings. I also seem to remember a coffee brûlée, which must have been gobbled up before it could be photographed.
Thanks, Alicia and Ian! We look forward to our next get-together.
