I ate at the Hussar Grill in Greenpoint for the second time last night. I have also eaten at the one in Camps Bay. I found the one in Camps Bay to not be as good as the one in Greenpoint. The service was not at all good, and it doesn’t seem to have much atmosphere. In addition, some people were not impressed with their food at the Hussar Grill in Camps Bay.
Four of us went to the Hussar Grill in Greenpoint, without a booking, and managed to secure a table. The place was pretty full but not completely full. The waitress reckoned they were quiet, so booking is recommended. The place has quite a nice feel to it, maybe a little boring but it’s clean and warm. The service was fine, although our waitress was a bit stretched by a the large table next to us.
I had the pork spareribs (800g R99) which were pretty good. They were nice and meaty and tender, but there was a lot of marinade and it was very rich. I could have done with much less marinade (I had the warthog ribs at the Camps Bay one and I think they were better, but they didn’t taste like warthog, so I’m confused). One person had the 300g Sirloin (R98) which was recommended. General concensus around the table was that it was a little tough. The third person had the Ostrich fillet with wild berry and apple schnapps sauce (R108), the meat was excellent and the sauce was interesting. The last person at the table had the Blackened Fish (R84) which was Dorado and she was very happy with it.
We didn’t order a bottle of wine (it’s been a heavy weekend), but I had a look at the wine list and there is a nice selection ranging from cheap options (Chateau Libertas at R63 and the Groote Post Old Man’s Blend at R96) to nicer wines, to some very special wines but all priced quite reasonably.
We finished off the meal with a chocolate martini which we shared as it is incredibly rich. We were quite happy with the dining experience, but not blown away. I will still keep the Hussar Grill on my list of options when looking for a steakhouse.
One thing that does confuse me is that one of their house specialities is the Bombay Gin & Tomato Soup, but we were told there is no gin in the soup and if you look on their website, the recipe verifies this. Do they bring you gin with the soup, or why do they call it that then?
Hussar Grill
107a Main Road, Greenpoint
Tel: 021 433 2081
http://www.hussargrill.com/
Comments
11 responses to “Hussar Grill review”
I would really recommend you then go to Hussars Grill in Rondebosch. Service is good (not way excellent but good enough not to be able to complain) and food is excellent everytime. It is perfect for a relaxed evening, or with a loved one for a romantic dinner. Must book though!
Hussar Grill is running a winter special for Sunday lunch. Roast lamb and veggies for R50. I tried the special at Camps Bay (Greenpoint was fully booked) and it was really not worth it. The Lamb was not nice at all and I don’t think you’re going to want to pay R50 just for some veggies.
Camps Bay Hussar is definetly the best, I think they moved all their good staff and waiters across there..I had a bad experience at the Rondebosch Hussar last night, shoddy service, waitress with an attitude, overcooked warthog ribs, corked wine, tacky wimpy like salt and pepper grinders…raise your game guys, its the original one and deifnetly not flying the flag…
I have a big issue with the Hussar Grill at the moment. It may only be the Camps Bay one, but until I receive further clarification, I will boycott them all.
You’ll notice my comment on the spare ribs in the 3rd paragraph.
Here is a link to Wendy Knowler’s consumer watch article in which a patron complains that the Camps Bay Hussar Grill is serving normal pork ribs as warthog ribs without informing the customer and still charging the higher price.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=3027
Unacceptable.
Had dinner at the Camps Bay Hussar two nights ago, and noticed that the menu had changed to indicate “Hog ribs” and “Spareribs”. Having already been alerted to the warthog scandal, I innocently asked the waiter what had happened to the warthog option. He replied that it had been taken off the menu, but (when I revealed that I was aware of the scandal) was honest enough to admit that he really had no idea when they stopped serving warthog ribs – or indeed if they had ever served them!
Thanks for that update, Jacques. They said they would be changing the menu in that way.
I don’t understand why they don’t just put “when available” next to the warthog ribs and inform people if they have them or not.
The thing that really irks me about this is that they have been knowingly deceiving customers for ages (since they have been open? my experience was early 2008, which is soon after they opened) and their defense was that “nobody complained before”. Are they for real?
I’m only sorry I didn’t say something when I had my initial suspicions.
Has this been the policy of the other two branches as well, I wonder.
Unfortunately there are many out there who will gladly take advantage of a trusting public. By way of example, many establishments list dishes containing so-called “buffalo-style mozzarella” (a non-sensical description if ever there was one) as “buffalo mozzarella”.
Simply put, buffalo mozzarella is only made from buffalo milk whereas mozzarella made from cow milk is merely “mozzarella” or, if you wish it to sound a little fancier, “fior di latte”.
There is no process or “style” that can magically turn a product made from cow milk into buffalo mozzarella and there is certainly no “buffalo” aspect to the fior di latte manufacturing process.
The only buffalo mozzarella available in South Africa is either imported from Italy (and must carry the DOP Mozzarella di Bufala Campana seal of authenticity) or the locally produced Buffalo Ridge buffalo mozzarella.
I too was probably fooled by the Hussar in Green Point late last year.
I contacted them a week ago after reading teh follow up story and got a manager(?) Adriaan to call me. He was very bolshy about the original complainant. I said to him that if Warthog ribs were in short supply then they shouldn’t be offered for that time, same as with any other dish.
He mumbled on about them being called hog ribs from now on. Does this means there are hog and pork ribs on the menu now and what is the difference apart from price?
He alos invited me to come taste them sometime. Hope he means on the house although not sure if i even want to go there.
Vic – the difference was explained to us as being different sections of the ribcage. The “hog ribs” were larger and meatier, while the spare ribs were what you’d usually expect as pork ribs.
had supper at rondebosch last night.Found service to be good and good vibe ,but food was disappointing.both myself and friend had steak and rib,but the steak was returned and was not much better when it was returned.
Afternoon Hemant
We take client comments and complaints very seriously at The Hussar Grill. I am very concerned by the fact that you were disappointed with your meal on 30 April 2010. I’d be most grateful if you would call me on (021) 6899516 so that I can personally address the issue.
Kind regards
Greg Bax