On our travels from Australia to South Africa, we booked an evening meal at the Nacht Wacht months before our holiday started. We built in an extra night into our itinery to stay near the remotely positioned restaurant. On the day, I called to confirm the booking, and spoke to Melanie Albrecht, the owner and chef extraordinare directly. We arrived for dinner at 7,30 pm - and were the only guests for the night. After 10 minutes of awkward hanging around in a lovely environment, we were greeted by a very pleasant Melanie Albrecht, who informed us that she would not be our chef for the night as she was off to a function with her kids. That was the first disappointment of the night. We were assured by Melanie that her stand-in was well trained and would be equally as good. What we were served in Melanie's abscence was 'just not good enough'. After uniquely lovely Mussel Soup (pre-prepared) and an unexciting Springbok Carpaccio, disaster hit with the mains presented on small dinner plates overladen with chunky mash sloped onto the plate, a dreary mixture of way undercooked mixed vegetables (hard - not al dente) near raw Rack of Lamb (apart from the singed/seared exterior), and an overcooked piece of Yellowtail fish. No special presentation. No special sauces. Unceremoniously plonked on the table by the stand-in chef/waiter/wine steward/hostess/and pot washer.We left most of the food on the plate. I wish I could be kinder - but I can't. I'm still in shock a month later back home in Australia, now. Sorry Melanie. You need to address the standards of your stand-ins - or close the restaurant for those nights you can't be on duty!! This is the first time I've ever put pen to paper to give feedback, as time is ordinarily too tight. However, the discrepancy between the promise and the delivery is too great to keep my silence.