Going average at The Hussar Grill

  

6 July 2024

 

THE HUSSAR GRILL

Protea Hotel, Huguenot Street, Franschhoek

 

Okay, so it was the eternal debate: seeing as how we were in Franschhoek (if not the culinary capital of the Western Cape, then certainly a contender), should we: (a) partake of an expensive multi-course tasting menu dinner replete with reductions, foams, gels, mousses, other varieties of molecular gastronomy and all of it infused with Asian flavours; or (b) support a straightforward eatery for a decent, hearty, simple plate of food at a more reasonable price?

 

Tough choice.

 

The Hussar Grill was a mere stone’s throw away from our humble abode for the weekend and we didn’t feel like driving to dinner, so it won the coin toss.

 

I’d booked a table in die main dining area (there are a couple of choices of space) and when we entered the premises we stepped into a room with dark wood and a grand display of wines as well as a well-stocked bookcase and a burning fire. It was already well occupied but the single open table seemed to have our names on it.

 

To our mild surprise, the first service ambassador (yes, this is how they style themselves) to greet us took us to a small table in the middle of the floor in the room next door, an exposed table seemingly stuck in what looked like a spare space they didn’t know what else to do with, in front of the bar counter. Whereas the first room was atmospherically lit, this one was illuminated by very bright fluorescent lights that killed any vibe.  This was not the table you want on a date night.

 

No, no, we said. This can’t be it. We want to speak to a manager to resolve this outrage.

 

The manager quickly restored the natural order of things and returned us to the table we’d seen earlier. This was more like it.

 

Our table was next to the substantial wine collection and the bookcase was against another wall at a right angle behind the wife’s back. This room had the warm, cosy, luxurious ambience of an old-fashioned club, not quite what I would’ve expected from a Hussar Grill and therefore deeply satisfying.

Our second, and main, service ambassador informed us up front that the kitchen didn’t have ribeye or tomahawk steaks and the Hussar immediately won a major gold star for this forethought. We so often find, if something isn’t available, that the server will return to the table only after we’d placed our order, to inform us that we’d have to rethink our choice of meal.

 

However, this gold star was soon tarnished when I ordered pork belly as main course, only to then be informed that it wasn’t available either. This kind of thing crushes my fragile equanimity.

 

We started with bubbly, after which the wife went on to red wine and I had an Aperol Spritz, my cocktail du jour.  It was chilly outside, warm inside the room and we benefitted from a warmth in our hearts that made us more tolerant of the challenges of the evening.

 

My starter was a beautiful and fresh, inspirational caprese salad (R125). This is a perfect example of a very simple dish elevated to the sublime. 

 

The wife, ever a sucker for culinary tradition, ordered what’s described as an avocado and prawn cocktail (R125), expecting an Avocado Ritz type thang, but received, in modern parlance, a deconstructed version of it. A salad, if you like. It was still quite good though, with plump, succulent prawns and a generous amount of avocado.

Halfway through, we swapped starters. Both of us relished the other’s first choice. A win-win.

 

The wife’s main course was the 300g chateaubriand with a bearnaise sauce and a side salad (R315) and onion rings (R50 extra.) The flambé of the steak at the table was a lovely bit of theatricality I’d not seen before. I’m so gauche, I almost applauded.

 

The steak wasn’t cooked medium to rare as requested, but closer to medium, though the taste and flavour were good and the meat was tender enough. The sauce was rather bland and the salad was miniscule and lacklustre. So much for trying to steer clear of carbs.

 

The onion rings were crisp and tasty.

 

The wife’s view is that R315 for steak and a sad sack salad plus another R50 for some onions rings, is just ludicrously expensive for an average steak dinner.

 

I seldom order pork belly at restaurant anymore, because of a general experience of below par bellies, and it would therefore have to be the one night where I break the rule that it’s not available. 

 

I swallowed my bitter disappointment and ordered 600g pork loin ribs with grilled vegetables (R295). The vegetables comprised of mostly roasted bell pepper with some scattered bits of other things. Disconcertingly, although the ribs were succulent, tender and flavourful, they arrived on the table already lukewarm, as if they’d been standing on the pass for longer than necessary.  The vegetables also cooled down quickly.

At the end, both of us had no space for dessert, so the wife just ordered a mini chocolate martini, which was nice enough that she pondered getting another one but left it at that. It was on the house, though. 

 

We’ve not often eaten a steakhouse  dinner in  such splendid surroundings and we can’t complain about the service but our consensus was, overall, that the meal was average (the caprese salad was my highlight) and that we wouldn’t eat at a Hussar Grill again in a hurry. It’s a steak house, without pretensions, airs or graces but also without a compelling wow factor.