Sonny and Irene double whammy

 21 and 22 August 2024

SONNY AND IRENE

Ground Floor, Station House, 19 Kloof Road, Sea Point

Brunch

As mentioned in another review, we took a detour to Our Local last Sunday when we were supposedly on our way to Sonny and Irene but hadn’t abandoned that quest, so we popped in today after dropping off the Yorkies at a local dog grooming parlour.

The restaurant was surprisingly far less busy than we’d become accustomed to but I suppose that’s down to the time of year. The menu was different, both physically smaller and reduced in content. I’d always thought that the kitchen was a tad over ambitious in the number and variety of its offerings and the decision must’ve been to trim the menu to a more manageable size and to eliminate the less popular dishes.

The one dish that has survived the cull is flatbread eggs, the first thing I ever ate here, and I chose it again. Perfectly soft, lightly spongy bread with two fried eggs.  Lovely.

The wife had southern fried-style chicken on hotcakes, a daring venture out of her eggs Benedict comfort zone and was very pleasantly surprised. The chicken was succulent and flavourful though she felt that there wasn’t much textural difference between poultry and pastry, despite the crust on the chicken and that the dish became cumulatively too sweet.  As experiments go, it wasn’t an utter failure but next time she’ll order the usual, which is quite excellent here.

The coffee was good and the service was as friendly and efficient as ever.

We paid R500,00 tip included.

 

Dinner

At brunch, the wife noticed the winter set menu special and thought it might be an opportunity for a fam get together to celebrate the recent birthday of the younger goddaughter’s significant other but the elder goddaughter and her guy couldn’t make it, so it was a foursome.

At the start of the evening, we did Goldilocks style table hopping until the third one was just right, in a very empty restaurant. It seemed, either that the special offer wasn’t widely known or that the general perception of Sonny and Irene is that it’s a brunch and lunch venue only.  Some people, probably guests at the hotel in the building, came in as we left, but that was all.

Our server and the kitchen staff were dedicated purely to our needs and wants.

The wife and the birthday boy shared an excellent bottle of shiraz, the younger goddaughter drank a cocktail and I quaffed two glasses of bubbly.

The set menu is either two (R345) or three courses (R395).  Three of us opted for three courses but the wife stuck to two because the dessert options didn’t quite appeal to her.

The wife’s selection was the beef carpaccio and prawns and fries and she was, to say the least, highly satisfied. She loves a good carpaccio and this one hit the spot. The massive bowl of succulent, very well-cooked and deeply flavourful prawns caused her to grin from ear to eat and make little happy noises whilst chowing down. I love to see that woman enjoy her food!

I ordered the salt and pepper chilli baby squid, the grilled sea bass with new potatoes and the burnt custard (or crème brûlée). The squid was a tad chewy but tasty and the sea bass, in an astonishingly huge portion, was perfectly cooked and very flavourful.  The dessert had a thin, crunchy brûlée lid and the sublime custard had the perfect viscous yet light consistency and wasn’t overly sweet.

The others ordered the chicken schnitzel with respectively a mushroom and a pepper sauce. They preferred the mushroom sauce and thought the schnitzel was good but not mind-blowing in any way.

For dessert, the goddaughter chose the Eton mess topped with mango sorbet and her guy also preferred the burnt custard.  He liked the custard; she wasn’t madly keen on the mess, which was sparse on the meringue but she adored the superb sorbet..  She and her friend shared their desserts except for the sorbet where he bagged most of it because it was so good. She leant the important life lesson that you gotta get while the getting is good and that politeness may sometimes bite you where it’s tender.

We ordered salt and vinegar onion rings as a side dish for the table. The batter was crisp, the onions were tender and, a bonus for me, the dish wasn’t too vinegary.  

The birthday guy also got surprised with a slice of the most delicious chocolatey chocolate torte we’ve ever tasted, as a gift from the kitchen to wish him a happy birthday. A fabulous, much appreciated gesture.

It’s the little things, eh?

The total bill, including water, drinks and an espresso, came to R2435,00 before tip.

The service was highly efficient and very friendly; as mentioned, we were the only patrons in the house but it was nonetheless exemplary as always. The food was excellent and the special menu is well worthwhile trying.  

We really like Sonny & Irene for brunch, lunch, dinner or something sweet with afternoon tea. The place is gorgeous, the quality and quantity of the food is excellent and as a bonus, they are dog friendly.