I ate at Home Again last night, it’s next to Carlyles in Derry Street, Vredehoek. It’s the same owner as the popular At Home in Harfield Village. I like the rumour that the owner of Carlyles and Home Again were good friends until the Home Again dude signed the lease and proceeded to plant a restaurant next door to Carlyles, without mentioning it to the Carlyles dude. So apparently they are not mates any more and you get to choose who’s team you want to be on. The folk at Home Again reckon there is enough patronage for them both and I happen to agree. Carlyles is too crowded a lot of the time so it’s nice to have an alternative close by. I suspect that this whole story might be an urban legend, so take it with a pinch of salt.
So, how was my Home Again experience? Well, for starters (haha) they are open on a Monday night which Carlyles is not. So on Mondays they are definitely my first choice of the two. The place certainly does not have the same ambiance and atmosphere as Carlyles, but when it’s busy I’m sure it’s quite vibey. I was pleasantly surprised by the food. They serve some spanish tapas, which I did not try but would like to at some point. I did try the peri-peri chicken liver starter, and that was fantastic. A lovely tangy sauce served with a section of fresh baguette. I don’t think they had to wash the plate afterwards because I used the bread to wipe up every last speck of sauce.
For mains we tried the calamari steak and the duck wrap. I had the duck, and it was nice. Not fantastic, but nice. I could choose between the usual starches or stir-fry veggies, I went for the veggies. I’m not a fan of calamari steak in general, but my dining partner said it was good. The menu us quite broad and there were a number of tasty sounding options. It wasn’t easy to choose. The menu us very well priced. The duck wrap was about R50 and shanks are R60, etc. Very good value for money. We washed the food down with beer and house red (which was quaffable).
The total bill came to R200 for 2 of us and the service was good. Although the restaurant was fairly empty so I would expect good service. I’d recommed eating at Home Again, the food is good and the prices very reasonable.