Saul’s Sushi & Saul’s Taverna review

Today is your lucky day, a double review. Most locals will know of Saul’s Saloon in Seapoint Main Road. It’s the kind of place you go to at about 4am after way to many drinks. Anybody who has been there in daylight and sober, won’t make that mistake again. It’s more about quantity than quality. A burger and chips is enough for 2 people, which gives them lots of room to maneuver on the quality side. Anyway, it came as a big surprise to see that Saul has decided to open a sushi bar down the road.

It’s been open for a while and a few people have told me that it’s not bad so the other night on the way home from working late, I decided to stop for some sushi. It was a Wednesday, and they have a special running on Wednesdays which is basically a mini-platter consisting of some Nigiri, California roll, maki and Sashimi. Plus a bowl of Miso soup to start. This all costs R80 and was too much for me, I took half home and had it for lunch the next day. The quality of the sushi seemed fine to me, although I have only recently got into sushi again after a 2 year absence due to a nasty sushi experience. Anyway, I did mention that other people have said the sushi there is fine and alright. I guess it’s what you would call good value for money. The menu looked quite diverse, they also have some other things like spring rolls and noodles and what not. The place is small, but it’s clean and the service is fairly efficient.

It’s not a destination venue, you wouldn’t make a mission to go there and have sushi. But if you live nearby or driving past, it’s not a bad option for a quick, inexpensive (for sushi) meal. I can’t compare it to the 10 other small sushi bars in Seapoint Main road, they might be a better option, but they might not.

I mentioned that at the end of Main Road, next to Jimmy’s Killer Prawns, there is a mediterranean taverna that has opened up. This is also owned by Saul, which explains why the signage says ‘Saul’s Mediterranean Taverna’. I tried it for dinner the other night. They have gone to some effort to make the place look and feel Meditarranean. They have put in pseudo-archways and a fountain and what not. It certainly manages to create some atmosphere which the previous restaurant did not have.

The atmosphere is one of the few redeeming qualities of the place. The others are the prices (it’s really cheap) and the friendliness. The staff is friendly but the service is not that great and the food is horrid. I had 2 starters instead of a main; stuffed calamari and peri-peri chicken livers. I was unable to finish either of them. My partner had the spit lamb with veggies which she liked but from where I was sitting it didn’t look that great.

I’m not sure what my recommendation is. I can’t believe the food is that bad all the time, because the place seems to be very busy most nights. Maybe it’s filled with people who want a cheap meal and don’t mind if it’s not up to scratch. Seeing as it’s up the road from me, I think I will give it one more try before making my final verdict.