The Tastes and Sips of Johannesburg

Johannesburg has no shortage of great restaurants. While South Africa may not have a globally recognizable cuisine, the food landscape in Joburg is incredibly diverse and has influences from the African continent as well as all over the world

Our first night in Joburg, we visited a restaurant that I fell in love with the first time I was in the city and stumbled across the restaurant on a long layover: Little Addis Cafe. The service was good, and the value for money incredible. The lovely waitress came around before and after the meal with a pitcher of warm water and a metal bowl for a handwashing service (since Ethiopian food is eaten with the hands). We got an Ethiopian sampler platter with an incredible variety of proteins and veggies, a spicy chicken stew with Peri Peri peppers, and two beers. Including tip, the grand total was 210ZAR, or $14, an incredible value.

After dinner, we ended up visiting the hotel bar for a glass of wine. The bar was relatively busy, though we found it strange a bit suspicious that we were told no menus were available and to just ask the bartender for what we wanted. Any price gouging fears were mostly dismissed when we received the bill and found the glasses of wine to be roughly 130ZAR each ($8). For the most part, we found the alcohol prices throughout South Africa to be quite reasonable, especially for on premise consumption. Most locations seemed to mark up beer and wine an average of 2x compared to retail, when I’m used to the standard markup for bars/restaurants in the states to be anywhere from 3x-5x.

The next morning, we were both wide awake by 6 am thanks to jetlag, and decide to indulge and get the hotel breakfast, purely due to convenience. Breakfast wasn’t included with the mid-tier Gold status I have with Marriott through the AMEX Platinum, so I had to pay. The cost was 220ZAR+tip, and for about $16 a person, and I found the offerings to be a poor value, especially in South Africa. All the hot dishes were lukewarm, and nothing looked that appetizing or fresh. The whole area was overrun with Chinese tourists, and one even scolded me while I was waiting in line for the fresh egg station.

(previous person had just finished ordering, cook turned around and starting to prepare his order. Chinese tourist is standing next to me on the hot buffet while I waited for the cook to turn around and take my order)
Chinese Tourist: (in Chinese) Did you order yet?
Me: (also in Chinese) No, not yet.
CT: Well what are you waiting for? Holler at him and get his attention!!
Me: (death glare)
CT: (turns around and goes back to picking over the bacon)

Seriously, how rude! A running joke between me and Robert is the nightmare of Chinese tourists overrunning the world. They are some of the worst behaved, most entitled tourists in the world. You know it’s bad when even the central government acknowledges that etiquette is a problem when its own citizens go abroad. I had an even worse encounter on a Singapore Airlines flight (which I’ll soon blog about as well) where I almost resorted to blows with an incredibly entitled mainlander who just couldn’t believe that I would be allowed to sit in Business Class and he couldn’t. And of course, to make matters worse, I look like them. I feel like constantly defending myself in certain contexts to ensure tourism employees don’t think I’m one of “them”.

Back to the breakfast, the selection was fine for a mid-tier hotel, but the value proposition was quite weak, especially after such a delicious meal the night before that cost 210ZAR total. Skip it unless it’s free.

The next place where we had something to eat was Cake & co, which was located directly adjacent to 27boxes, referenced in my previous post. It was a lovely boutique cake shop with friendly service. I had an espresso while Robert had a Brazilian Hazelnut Latte which he loved, and we shared a slice a chocolate cake. The cake was well made and beautifully presented, but a bit too sweet for my taste. It’s also worth noting that Cake & co is apparently quite highly regarded in Johannesburg, and has won a few awards for best cake in the city.

After an afternoon of shopping, we ended up stopping by Gerakaris Family Wines, located about 30 minutes NW of Johannesburg. Kath Gerakaris, from Auckland, is the winemaker at this tiny little family run operation. They source grapes from the Swartland region, just north of Cape Town. Their entire operation, from fermentation, aging, labeling, and bottling, is done in a small building roughly the size of an average American home.

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The Ellaki Chenin Blanc was 100% stainless steel aged, and I found it to be a bit harsh and aggressive on the minerality. The Tom Red Blend and Tom Syrah were quite decent, but overall unremarkable. The Thomas Syrah was quite nice though, with good depth and complexity, and we did end up purchasing a bottle for 280ZAR (about $18). It was really cool to see and support such a small producer, and at only 50ZAR (~$3) for the tasting fee per person, visiting is a no-brainer. It was a lovely way to spend an hour of the afternoon, with the cool spring breeze and the birds fluttering around the bird feeder contributing to a nice, relaxing ambiance.

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For dinner, I made reservations for us at Epicure, one of the fine dining restaurants in Sandton serving a selection of African cuisine. This was going to be our “flagship” dinner in Johannesburg, and Epicure did not disappoint.

The menu was a combination of influences from all over the African continent, but it was tied together with Chef Coco’s interpretation of the common ingredients and dishes. We started with a few glasses of Pinotage (South Africa’s signature red grape, a hybrid of Pinot Noir and Hermitage) and browsed the menu, and with help from our server, decided on Accra Love Bites (Plantain Gnocchi with Peanut Sauce and Hibiscus Caviar) and Leisurely Lagos (Char-grilled Calamari with Nigerian Spices and Crisps), followed by Maffe Sahel (Lamb Chops with Braised Goat, Attieke [Cassava] and Fonio [African Millet] mille-feuille, and peanut butter lamb jus) and Exquisitely Oudtshoorn (Grilled Ostrich Filet with Butternut Mash and Pinotage Jus).

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First we were brought a lovely breadbasket with a duo of herb butter and carrot/feta butter (our surprising favorite!). The calamari was absolutely delicious, fresh and tender with a nice combination of spices. The chips were almost superfluous, except to add some neutral crunch to the dish. Much to our surprise, the plantain gnocchi was simply outstanding as well. They were a little bit denser than traditional gnocchi, but had a nice chewy yet tender bite. The sweet gnoochi was bathed in a spicy and savory peanut sauce that had a lovely depth and complexity, and somehow managed to be rich yet light at the same time. The micro greens and hibiscus caviar added a freshness that kept me going back for more.

Right when my glass of wine was running low, the service staff came by and delivered this pair of beautifully presented cocktails. One of the managers accompanied them and wished us a happy honeymoon and described the cocktail to us; however, we were both so shocked and delighted that I completely forgot the name and the ingredients as soon as he left. I know it was a Bacardi 8 rum based cocktail, definitely with some floral notes. It resembled a Ramos Gin Fizz, while obviously being made of rum and also tasting sweeter than a traditional Ramos. There was originally a dome over the cocktail with some cinnamon smoke as well. Something tells me they have a Polyscience Smoking Gun behind the bar ;). It was a tasty, beautifully presented cocktail, and a lovely way to celebrate.

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The entrees were also delicious and beautifully presented. It was my first time trying ostrich and I was pleasantly surprised. It was quite similar to a venison strip loin, extremely lean but quite tasty. The lamb was flavorful and tender as well, and I enjoyed the polenta-esque side made with traditional ingredients.

For dessert, we had a few glasses of South African Bubbles (Graham Beck), and shared the Gateau Louz, which was a buckwheat pudding with orange blossom pudding and mandarin sorbet. It was beautifully presented and flavorful, though I found it a bit too sweet overall especially with the sugar tuile tower.

The next morning, we woke up early and skipped breakfast in favor of an early departure and drive to the Black Rhino game lodge.

South Africa has a much more vibrant dining scene than most people give it credit for. There were a lot of international options as well, though we tried to stick to food native to the continent whenever possible. Have you ever tried ostrich before? What about Pinotage? What did you think? Let us know in the comment below…