Professional and rather effortless
Chez Nous 7 Westville Road,Westville Phone: 031 266 7011 Hours: Mon to Sat 7am to 9pm, Sun 8am to 4pm CLEARLY this is one of Westville’s more popular eateries – for family birthday celebrations but also for couples just going out for a meal.
I say this because we arrived on a weekday night and could see many empty tables. We were only offered a table in the doorway or outside in the mall eating area. We chose the latter, but I muttered to my wife that by the time we left the tables we could not sit at inside would still be empty. I was only half right, because a steady trickle of people went inside and were seated. But there were some empty tables by the time we left.
We ordered a lime and soda (R20) and a glass of Anura Legato red house wine (R40).
Generally the restaurant has a pleasant ambience and the staff are friendly and welcoming to diners, especially those they know.
For starters we chose the a delicious fresh tomato and basil soup (R48), and deepfried squid heads served with a sweet chilli dip (R58), which were very good. It was a generous helping and pleasantly crunchy.
For our mains we chose the Moroccan chicken stack – grilled medallions layered Ratings (out of five) Food Service Ambience with roasted Mediterranean vegetables and a creamy coriander and red and yellow pepper sauce (R99). The other was a 200g Casablanca beef burger (R79), topped with brie, avocado and caramelised onion.
The main courses were a bit underwhelming. My wife said the chicken was a bit dry and tough. The veggies were okay and the sauce bland. The beef patty was a little more charred than I would have liked and the caramelised onion taste dominated the other flavours. The fries were your standard industrial variety.
A couple were seated at a table near us and I admired how their waiter effortlessly took them through the specials, suggesting various options. It was all professional and seemingly effortless. Nothing was too much trouble. Our own waiter had not even bothered to take us through the specials.
By now our waiter had gone missing in action for quite a time and when he finally did reappear we were happy to settle the bill and head home. The next time I will book in advance and ask to be seated inside the restaurant. I hope we get the good waiter.