A return to the Hussar Grill (Camp's bay)

 17 May 2025

 

THE HUSSAR GRILL, CAMP’S BAY  #2

Shop 2, 108 Camp’s Bay Drive, Camp’s Bay, Cape Town

 

Von-Mari expressed a desire for a good steak and after looking at various steak house options around the CBD, and audibly gasping at the prices some of them charge for a bit of grilled beef, we decided to return to Hussar Grill where the ambience is elegantly cosy, prices are reasonable and the steaks had been exceptional at our previous visit.

 

Tonight, the restaurant was at best half full throughout our time there, which suits us (but wait, there’s more later) given that we prefer a quiet atmosphere where you can have a conversation at normal volume. We were seated in a corner, to boot, which made the setting even more date night intimate.  The “vibey” restaurant ain’t our scene.

 

The free snacks served before we ordered, comprising of crisps, olives and biltong, were sufficient as starters and we simply ordered mains and two glasses of the quite quaffable Môreson Miss Molly MCC.

 

Last time around Von-Mari’s 200g chateaubriand had been an absolute masterclass in steak cookery and she ordered it again and it was again as superb (R264).

 

When we ate at Hussar Grill in Franschhoek last year I wanted to try their pork belly, which, wasn’t available, and I decided that tonight was the night to risk it, well, 300g of it (R198).

 

Well, folks, I cannot lie, my considered thoughts on the Hussar pork belly is that it’s a lazy dish that doesn’t quite reach the heights of their steaks.

 

I say it’s a lazy dish because the pork is obviously precooked, sliced into the serving portion and served with enough  sauce to cover a Mediterranean cruise ship, and a long sliver of crackling.

 

It’s the least visually appealing pork belly dish I’ve ever been served.

 

The good news is that the meat was succulent, tender flavourful, very well cooked indeed. However, even at 300g it’s too much meat for even me, who adores pork and is partial to fatty meat, and weird as it might sound, a 200g portion would’ve been adequate. I finished the belly but the last bit was a struggle even if the meat was succulent throughout.

 

 The BBQ style sauce doesn’t have any depth of flavour, adds nothing to the meat except to disguise it and could happily be half the quantity.

 

Suffice to say, this dish is hardly the gleaming jewel in the Hussar’s culinary crown. The chef should rethink the plating and the sauce.

 

Our sides were butternut and spinach combos (included in the main course price) and fries (R42). The latter were excellent, crisp on the outside, smooth on the inside and perfectly seasoned.  The vegetables were good though Von-Mari didn’t like the spinach (“tastes like soil”) whereas I thought it was tastier than standard creamed spinach.

 

We didn’t order desserts, partly because there wasn’t much to tempt us and partly, for reasons set out below, we were keen on getting the hell out of Dodge asap. The free chocolate martinis were superb, though.

The date night had been going swimmingly until two young German tourists were seated at a four seater table next to us, mind you, in a restaurant that was, as mentioned, half empty.  We don’t have anything against tourists, German or otherwise, but when they sit down and almost immediately start up a loud Facetime conversation with their friends back home (some who were in a night club and speaking very loudly), one understands why some people in, for instance, Barcelona might be unhappy. The intrusion was exacerbated by the contrast with the generally hushed atmosphere of the restaurant. The Facetime conversation continued until they received their food but of course they first showed their buddies their food first, all exclaiming loudly, before they finally ended the call. By that time Von-Mari was very aggravated. It’s bad enough that digital nomads have multi-party, unmuted Zoom meetings in coffee shops, oblivious to the rest of us, but it’s just rude to have a loud Kaffeeklatsch at the Hussar on a Saturday night next to a couple who clearly was trying to have an intimate dinner experience. 

 

Von-Mari mentioned her displeasure at our neighbours lack of consideration for others to the server who relayed this issue to the manager, who, and kudos to her for this gesture, removed the costs of the two glasses of bubbly from the bill.

 

The bill, inclusive of a bottle of sparkling water and minus the MCC, came to R556,00 before tip, which was a very good price for a dinner for two.

 

We like the Camps Bay outlet of the Hussar Grill for its style, get up and atmosphere, the service has been excellent,  the steaks have been superb and cooked exactly to order and the prices don’t make one wince. I just wouldn’t order the pork belly again. Tonight, management was quick to address and  mitigate an unfortunate situation, which wasn’t of their making (other than seating the miscreants next to us) and that’s a sign of well-run business that cares for its patrons.