Chill at The Hussar Grill

 17 December 2021

 

AUNTIE SOPHIES KITCHEN (slight return)

Die Laan, Noordwal, Stellenbosch

 

After our first visit to Auntie Sophie’s Kitchen, I was quite enthusiastic about this place as a venue for hanging out and enjoying light refreshments. That view still stands but after today’s experience, I’m not so sure whether e general recommendation is in order.

 

Today, on a very hot and quite windy day in Stellenbosch, the wife and I brought my mother here for lunch. We sat outside again, in the abundant, welcome shade of extremely verdant trees, slightly bothered by flies, but otherwise quite happy. Oh, we also had the two Yorkies with us. One hated the heat and begged for food from everyone she could find; the other was her usual feisty, aggro and  extremely curious self. 

 

Auntie Sophie’s Kitchen offers a lime milkshake for my delectation and delight, which gets them points to start with, the wife had a coffee flavoured milkshake and the mother had a pot of tea.

 

The wife and the mother ordered the lasagna and I chose the curry and rice, seeing as how this dish seemed to fit in with the traditional theme of the restaurant.

 

The food was mildly disappointing. 

 

The lasagna consisted of flavoured mince with pasta, topped with a herd shell of melted cheese. No bechamel was harmed in the making of it. The best part of the plate was the substantial, lovely salad. The lasagna itself was pedestrian at best and the melted cheese was too rich.

 

The curried mince and turmeric rice were oddly presented, compressed in stack rings, probably the most eye pleasing way they could think of, which was kinda stupid, I thought.   Somehow, harking back to my childhood, I expected a dollop of rich mince curry on fluffy rice in a Styrofoam container. What I got was cold food and the yellow rice was too dry, as turmeric rice tends to be if not looked after during cooking, though the curried mince was actually very tasty and flavourful, with enough of a chilli burn to remind you of what you were eating. There was a good quantity of desiccated coconut and chutney and a lovely sambal as the zesty, fresh element.  The kitchen  seems to do better with salads than with warm food.

 

If my recollection is accurate, both dishes were R75,00.

 

Sadly, if the food from Auntie Sophie’s Kitchen is intended to invoke nostalgia for a previous age, say the ‘70s, it succeeds but not in a good way.   I suppose our standards might have been different then but I no longer want to eat workmanlike, pedestrian food.

 

The day was saved by the delicious freshly baked scone the wife had with her tea, though the promised wait of 12 minutes turned into something like 40 minutes. I had an equally good milk tart, not quite the strict traditional version but, thankfully, not the Maizena porridge with short crust pastry version either.  As I’ve said, come to Auntie Sophie’s Kitchen for a beverage and a sweet treat.

 

The total bill was R400,00 which is still a good price for lunch for 3 people but, I guess, this is where you say that the low cost reflects the low standard of the food.  Look, perhaps the chicken salad, chicken and mushroom pie or the “roosterkoek” burger are far better but, after this lunch, I’d be loath to recommend Auntie Sophie’s Kitchen unreservedly as lunch destination.