Joburg loves its restaurants that overlook carparks. I’ve never understood this phenomenon, nor have I understood tipping a guy to watch your car that was in your direct eyesight the entire evening. I once went to a restaurant that jutted out into the parking lot so I opted to stay in my warm car and have a drive-through experience instead.
So it has been a while since I was in a restaurant with a view. The Bistro @ The Peech doesn’t just give you a view of the gorgeous gardens, it also gives you the whole five star experience that I so enjoy and can never afford.
A fireplace (suited to your temperature requests), small intimate tables and a waiter so friendly I wanted to take him home with me added to the experience. Being a boutique hotel, the diners tended to be from far off lands or people from the area in search of delicious food and great service.
Our table was very quickly mixing with guests swapping stories of countries they had been to while I surreptitiously ate their food. Had I someone else’s credit card with me, I would have booked myself in for the night, just so that I could sample their breakfast menu.
Once we’d worked our way through food cooked to our own specifications (whether it be a starter of seared beef carpaccio served with dressed green beans or the off-the-charts main of grilled chicken breast stuffed with four cheeses served on creamed polenta), they pointed us in the direction of the champagne bar. I would imagine heaven to look similar.
I turned down the option of dessert only because I had finished off everyone else’s food. While my guest flirted outrageously with a rather delicious-looking Austrian man, I had helped myself to his tuna ceviche and was completely and utterly stuffed.
Their champagne bar is similar to their restaurant: simplistic, chic and sexy and has the effect of making you feel like you have every right to drink only the finest drinks while chatting up a complete stranger who you will never see again. That being said, I could have also easily sat back and had a beer.
When The Friendliest Waiter in The World brought me a take away desert, I went in search of their Head Chef Greg Jardim to ask him if I could be the next Mrs Jardim. Luckily for him he was busy doing what incredible chefs do and I left the Bistro reluctantly for the reality of home.
For those looking for a reason to spoil themselves, someone else or enjoy the treasures that make Joburg so international and worth living in,(and don’t want to pay five star prices) head for the Bistro in Rosebank. Or just sit at the champagne bar and put on a fake accent… you’ll fit right in.
The Bistro @ The Peech was reviewed by Baglett. Read her tea-snortingly funny blog here.