I found my thrill at The Grille Shack

 6 April 2025

 

THE GRILLE SHACK

Clarence Drive, off R44, Gordon’s Bay

 

We vacated our weekend rental in the Hemel & Aarde Valley outside Hermanus by 10h00 and drove back to Cape Town along the coastal road, with the most spectacular views of the mighty Atlantic once one passes through Rooi Els.  We do live in one of the best parts of the world, don’t we?

 

Our destination was The Grille Shack, where we’d eaten once before, in January 2024, I believe. We’d enjoyed the food then, the ambience of the garden at the back was wonderful and it’s pet friendly. The Yorkies were with us and we hadn’t been able to treat them to an outing to Creation Wines.  This one was for them.  

 

We arrived at what was obviously peak breakfast time, for the parking lot was packed and the tables in the garden were almost fully occupied but Von-Mari spotted a vacant table at the back. For the sake of the other diners, we prefer to be on the outer circle so that the Yorkies won’t cause too much havoc as cute as their shenanigans may seem to others.

 

There have been some changes since our last visit. I think there are more tables outside, arranged somewhat differently now, a sizable kid’s play area and the raised deck at the one end, under construction at our first visit, has been completed.

 

To our dismay, we were a few minutes late for final orders for breakfast, which close at 11h15, and looked to the lunch menu for our vittles.

 

Von-Mari, who needs coffee to kick start her day, ordered a flat white and later a cortado while I asked for a tall, cold lager with lunch but did drink a cappuccino with my dessert.

 

The menu is pretty much what one expects from a grill shack and the best one can hope for at this kind of joint is that the kitchen executes with care and attention. We don’t expect fine dining finesse, just the basics done well. 

 

I ordered the classic cheeseburger and fries (R149) and Von-Mari had the  southern fried chicken waffle burger with salad (R169) and mayonnaise on the side (R25).

 

I scoff at the concept of the “gourmet” burger because it’s no more than pretentiously tarring up a very simple item, to justify a higher price, and I generally don’t eat burgers at restaurants. However, this cheeseburger, perfectly medium rare, is possibly the best such burger I’ve eaten in a very long time and really emphasises how dire fast food chain burgers are. The bun was fresh, soft and had actual flavour, the condiments brough unctuousness to the table and the meat was juicy, tasty and substantial.  The chunky fries were excellent too.

For Von-Mari, the waffle concept was probably not the best idea because the once crisp waffle got cold and turned soggy far too quickly. The well-cooked chicken was perfectly succulent and flavourful and very satisfying.

Seeing as how it was my birthday weekend, I finished with Milla’s apple pie (R79), which resembles a lidless chicken pot pie, with luscious chunks of soft yet not mushy apple slices inside the pastry, smothered in a sumptuous, not very sweet, caramel sauce and served with refreshing vanilla ice cream. It’s a bit messy to eat but well worthwhile.  I do love me an apple dessert.

The bill came to R582,00 before tip.

 

As mentioned, the joint was packed when we arrived but soon started emptying out before the lunch crowd came in, and it was quite busy for the duration but even with so many adults and kids it never got loud. It was almost genteel in its laid-back vibe. The area along the coast was quite windy but the backyard of the Grille Shack is pretty much sheltered and it was a very satisfactory  experience. Even the Yorkies were mellow and content … well mostly.

 

It's like chalk and cheese, I guess, but I’d be so bold as to say that the burger and beer at the Grille Shack gave me more straightforward satisfaction than the fine dining lunch at Creation Wines the previous day. Sometimes refined subtlety and picture-perfect presentation can’t compete with unpretentious, well-cooked grill shack food, especially when it's clear that the short-order chefs care about what they put out.