Glorious winter’s day, fabulous venue and serving of good food
Blue Zoo Mitchell Park, Morningside Hours: Daily from 8am to 4.30pm Tel: 031 303 3568
WE’RE getting to the part of the year when it’s a privilege and a joy to live in Durban.
Those glorious days of warm sunshine, with no humidity, on which it is a grievous sin to be within four walls. What better way to enjoy them than to eat outdoors?
Add to the mix the lovely setting in one of Durban’s treasures, Mitchell Park, and good food, and you have the makings of an ideal Sunday lunch.
Blue Zoo offers all that: the outdoor eating area was pretty full on the Sunday we went, near midday, for lunch. It was delightful to see a couple of people comfortably ensconced at their tables with their dogs at their feet. A real casual, relaxed family vibe, surrounded by trees and groups of people and children playing and chilling on the grass nearby.
The menu is rather extensive, so it took us quite some time to decide. There is a wide range of breakfasts, sandwiches (toasted or open), wraps, curries, pastas and salads, light meals, tramezzini.
While we perused, we enjoyed a lovely cappuccino (R22), and settled on Blue Zoo specialities chicken Dijon (R89) and an avo and feta fillet (R135), with a Coke (R22) and crisp fresh orange juice (R24).
Both mains were served with chips, creamed spinach and butternut mash, all of which were good.
The chicken breast medallions, sautéed in garlic and mushrooms and served in a creamy Dijon mustard sauce, were lovely. The meat was tender and all the ingredients produced an excellent lunch, very tasty and not heavy enough to induce a post-lunch coma.
The steak – served with tomato salsa, avo and Danish feta – was done to perfection and was almost too attractive to eat. It was, however, and was declared delicious.
We rounded it off with a warm chocolate brownie and ice cream (R30) which was, unfortunately, good but not exceptional.
We left satisfied, happy, and relaxed, and will visit again on one of the many gorgeous winter days coming our way.