Laid-back venue offers beer and charm
Station Forty Three (S43) 43 Station Drive, Morningside Hours: Tues – Sat: noon to midnight. Closed Sun – Mon. Phone: 031 303 2747 I WAS very taken with the covers over the lights. With a bit of imagination they look like dinosaur eggs or the eggs from the Alien movies.
Not that I want to scare anyone with those thoughts. This is a fun, laid-back venue and I was looking forward to experiencing a place I had heard good things about.
We were shown to a table in a corner, with a view of the railway tracks and the artwork on a boundary wall. Lots of gritty charm. During the course of the evening we watched several trains go by.
The restaurant is cavernous, with one wall taken up with giant brewing vats. There is a funky bar and quite a few booths for larger parties. There are also tables and chairs for intimate groups.
First order of business was to try one of the beers from this, the home of That Beer & Food Factory. The choice was between a light ale, a Germanstyle Weiss beer, an Irish cream ale and an Americanstyle pale ale. I chose “The Blonde”, described as light, gold, crisp and refreshing.
On Wednesday there is a burger and beer special for R85.
My wife had a lime and soda (R20). From the tapas and street food menu I chose chorizo and prawns (R80) and my wife the green chilli and sweetcorn cakes, which she said were delicious and light, with a hint of chilli. Both dishes had a pleasant spicy tang.
Accompanying the sausage slices and prawns was some crusty bread soaked in olive oil. It was quite a generous helping and I enjoyed the combination of flavours, dipping some of the bread into the sauce to get more of that bite.
For our mains, we chose from the selection of gourmet burgers. The restaurant uses a mixture of chuck and rump to make up the beef burgers. I chose a cheese burger, which was part of the special with my beer.
The meat was nicely seared, but a tad too well-done for my taste. Our waiter had not asked me how I wanted it done. The grated cheese was good and the bun was layered with sliced gherkins, tomato, onion and lettuce. Very satisfying.
I was also very happy with the potato wedges – crisp outside and fluffy inside.
My wife had a black bean burger (R80) which was done Mexican-style: spicy, but she told them to skip the gaucamole. The sauce was great.
We had no room for dessert and wanted to finish with coffee, which was not an option. The service was friendly and efficient.
I love these craft brewery and restaurant combinations. They are a lot of fun and this one is right up there. We will definitely be back.