The Girls on the Square, Wilderness

 2 May 2025

 

THE GIRLS ON THE SQUARE

The Square, Owen Grant Street, Wilderness

 

The final act of the extended birthday celebrations was played out at The Girls, a Wilderness restaurant we’d heard of  but hadn’t tried yet.

 

We’d scouted venues the day before (nowadays Wilderness has an abundance of eateries; there’s even a branch of Mozambik but Bootlegger is glaringly absent) and the shortlist came down to Salinas, with beach views, and The Girls, which seemed to be more upmarket and considerably cosier and with possibly a better, definitely more diverse,  menu.

 

The restaurant is part of a “rustic” village of attractions and  other ventures with an extensive exterior space.  I can see where it would be much fun on a warm day. However, today was yet another cold, wet day and it was much nicer being indoors in a private room just off the entrance where a table for eight had been laid for us.

 

The interior is divided into various spaces creating a sense of connected yet separate semi-private dining rooms which vaguely reminded me of Bilbo Baggins’ house in The Hobbit trilogy. It’s dim and intriguing, to say the least, with dark wood and paintings that are for sale at astonishing prices considering the subject matter and, as far as I know, obscurity of the artists.

 

Trendily, the menu has “tapas and small plates” masquerading as old school starters, and the rest comprises of burgers, grills, seafood, sushi and much more. There should be something for everyone.

 

An interesting concept, reminiscent of how curry house menus are set up, there are 8 burger types, according to sauces and/or condiments, and each can be customised as beef, chicken or veggie burger.

 

Only a few of us had alcohol, after last night’s blow out, some had coffee, there was a lot of water and I started with a hot chocolate. 

 

Von-Mari ordered the seafood bisque (SQ) and I had the grilled haloumi with a coriander chutney (R88).  

 

The bisque, in a very generous portion, was disappointing in that it lacked the proper depth of flavour one expects from a bisque.  

 

The haloumi “mini bricks” were too thick, went cold too quickly and became rubbery but the chutney was a splendid complement. However, I felt it was rather expensive for what one received.

 

Main courses were more varied, with two people choosing the line fish of the day, which was grilled kabeljou with a pineapple salsa, three people (me included) chose the mango chicken curry (R165), Von-Mari chose the chicken burger and fries, her mother ordered the mango prawn curry with cous cous (R205)

and the youngest member of the party wanted the nachos.

 

As usual in such circumstances, I had no opportunity to create a detailed pictorial of the food on the table.  Big sorry!

 

I asked for two rotis instead of a roti and either Basmati rice or cous cous, which seems superfluous to me if you already have roti.

 

The kabeljou eaters were very happy with their choice, the chicken burger was excellent and the prawn curry, with a glut of fat succulent prawns and a delicious cous cous enhanced with crisp onion and a dukkah mix, was very enjoyable.  Apparently, the part of the nachos the youngest ate, was toothsome too but she had only a few mouthsful before she was done for the day.

 

The chicken mango curry, called a Cape Malay curry with coconut milk, warm spices and no chilli, was very good with a deeply flavourful sauce once one seasoned it properly and succulent chicken. It seemed like mostly a sweet curry until right at the end when a warm, gentle heat  lingered on the palate.  The rotis were well cooked, soft and slightly chewy.  There was a side (a salad? A useless raitha?) of diced  banana and diced tomato, which came across as an afterthought  and served no real purpose.

Mother-in-law loved her prawn curry. The prawns were fresh, juicy and in abundance.

 

I don’t know what the total bill came to. Father-in-law picked up the tab.

 

The service was efficient (except for a mishap when the youngest was initially served something other than the nachos she wanted) and friendly, the food was good and in generous quantity and the ambience was welcoming.

 

Definitely worth a visit when next in Wilderness.