The Reviews

**** The Baron, Dunwoody Centre, Woodmead, reviewed 14 December 2011 by Rick

Sharon generously invited the Ward 109 Party committee to an end-of-year get-together at The Baron –thanks, Sharon!

The Baron is famous for its steaks: Several of our party of eleven had steak, and it did not disappoint.  Others tried the spare ribs, pronounced good, and the sausage in a roll, likewise.  I ordered oxtail, which came with mash: Delicious, and too big to finish at one sitting.

No-one had space for desserts.  The cappuccino, coffee, Irish coffee, and Dom Pedro with Peach Schnapps that various of us finished with, were pronounced good.

It is essential to book well in advance at this time of year and the restaurant was packed with groups having their year-end parties.  This made it a bit noisy.  The acoustics of the main room could be better, and it was difficult to have a conversation with anyone more than one person away.  There is TV, with the sound turned down, as a sort of moving wallpaper if the company is not entertaining enough.

All-in-all a lovely evening with good food at a price to match.

Contact Details for The Baron.

*** Ciao Baby Cucina, Cedar Square Shopping Centre, Cedar Road Fourways, 10 December 2011

The closest restaurant to the cinema where we went to see Puss in Boots.  Prices have escalated in the past year, which was surprising as they actually seem to have risen out of proportion with other restaurants in the area.  We decided to share a pescatore pizza and admired the view out across Riverbend - it is spectacular and makes the visit very worthwhile.

Service is good, but check the wine pricing as wine by the glass needs careful choosing as prices range from R30 upwards!  I chose the Graham Beck Chardonnay and Rick had Appletiser.  The pizza was somewhat lacking on seafood, but had a good crisp base.  We followed with a sorbet and tiramisu.  The latter was too much and both were very good.

Contact Details for Ciao Baby Cucina – Shop Number: U6.1 and U6.2, Cedar Square Shopping Centre, Cedar & Willow Roads, Fourways. Tel 011 705 2770, Fax 086 610 8897, e-mail cedarsquare@ciaobabycucina.co.za, web site.

**** Cesco's Portuguese Restaurant & Pub (Kelvin), 18 Southway just south of Kelvin Village Shopping Centre, 19 November 2011

A very different restaurant and one that was booked out on the night, although we did wonder where the patrons for the area below us were, as this remained empty the whole time we sat and ate in the non-smoking bar!  The car park in huge, but needs to be much larger as, when we left, the road was also full of parked cars.  This certainly points to Cesco's popularity and we are interested in joining the Science Fiction group (who had their annual dinner) in the future.

The first thing that struck us was that they had possibly too few waiters to cope with the patrons. The second thing was that the waiters were cool under pressure. They only had Appletizer and red Grapetizer in plastic bottles; this was of concern since these ones are enhanced with preservatives, which destroys the flavour and purity of the drink.  Fortunately, white Grapetizer was still available preservative-free in glass.  The Tall Horse Sauvignon Blanc was a great find – too few restaurants stock this really good, affordable range of wines!

On the food front, we started with Chicken livers and squid heads, accompanied by a chilli sauce on the side.  A bit too much parsley in chilli made it difficult to locate the chillies but once found they were suitably strong!  For our main course we had the bar menu's liver and onions and  the prego roll.  Both were good and I made an satisfying end to the chillies with the prego!

Service was good and the evening was very enjoyable.  The other parties in the restaurant seem to be enjoying themselves too –definitely a place for corporate events and parties!.

Contact Details for Cesco's Portuguese Restaurant & Pub.

***Adega, Bryanston Shopping Centre, corner William Nicol and Ballyclare Drive, 9 October 2010

A very busy and successful restaurant that has moved into a franchise.  We arrived without booking on a whim and were seated within minutes.  However, we would advise you to book.  We looked at the menu and decided on three starters rather than main courses – calamari, black mushroom and chourico.  I ordered white wine –a very pleasant Sauvignon Blanc– and my companion ordered Appletiser.  The Black Mushroom was rather over cheesed with both Feta and Mozzarella, and the Chourico was rather strong on its own.  The calamari, served with spinach rather than rice, was excellent.  Service was somewhat confused so perhaps Fridays are not the best time to go.  A little noisy, however the ambience was good.

The restaurant is well attended, service is acceptable.  My feeling is that the franchise needs to look at how it is maintaining its standards.

Contact Details for Adega.

*****The Baron, Dunwoody Centre, Western Service Road Woodmead, 17 September 2010

After the unfortunate experience at Giovanni's, we felt that trying the Baron out might be a good idea!  So off we set on a much warmer night.  The Baron has a large non-smoking dining area, which they expanded some time ago, and we were offered a table towards the back.  A request to turn down the music was complied with, which meant that we could hear each other talk.

We ordered an Appletiser and a bottle of Chardonnay before perusing the menu.  (See I still feel mellow!)  Then we ordered just our usual one course.  Inevitably, I ordered calamari grilled with a lemon sauce, rice and a side order of spinach.  My companion ordered his favourite, liver and onions.

What really delights about the Baron is the crisp linen and heavy cutlery.  It feels like a special evening out, with flower arrangements around the room, mirrors and brass fittings.  Old fashioned brought up to date with good service and greater lightness of touch.

In good time, our food arrived.  It was well presented and the spinach was excellent.  So were the calamari and the liver and onions.  We dined in contentment, thoroughly enjoying the evening, the well-timed attention of our waiter and our surroundings.  We ended our stay with a cup of coffee, also good.

All in all a good place to go, they were busy and the waiters cope easily with the patrons.

Contact Details for The Baron.

*****Cucina Italiana, Elizabeth Ave, Benmore, 31 July 2010

This was a party of four, headed by Winston, and completed by Rick, Lynne and myself.  This is a boutique restaurant with an expansive host in Paulo, who breaks into song from time to time!  He imports very good Italian red wine and makes extremely good food.  Our choices were the liver and onions, Putannesca pasta, Prawn pasta and the AOP (Garlic, Oil and hot peppers) pasta.  It was a leisurely meal enjoyed in good company, which was enhanced by the excellent food and wine.  We finished off with coffee and felt content.  A good way to end the week, Cucina Italiana is to be recommended.

*Giovanni's at the Dunwoody Centre, Western Service Road, Woodmead, 25 June 2010

This restaurant has been there for some years and is no longer part of the franchise.  It is a warm and friendly restaurant on entering and the staff are attentive.  I was disappointed that the advertised clam pasta dish was not available.  In fact it is very seldom available, as the restauranteur will only use unshelled clams.  I then ordered the Linguine Squid Heads instead and my partner a Quattro Stagione pizza.  The Leopards Leap Sauvignon Blanc came promptly and was good.

The food arrived in due course with the linguine served is a large copper pan, looking very festive.  This reminded me that the Giovanni portion size is actually large enough for two people!  On tasting the tomato sauce, however, I was overwhelmed by how incredibly sweet it was.  I called our waiter and enquired if there was sugar in the sauce and discovered that there was.  The cloying taste stayed with me for the rest of the night even though I had only taken one mouthful!

Even eating a slice of the excellent Quattro Stagione with its olives did not remove it.  I do not appreciate being served a main course which tastes like half a bag of sugar has been dumped in it.  No mention is made on the menu that sugar is used in the tomato dishes, putting diabetics at risk.  I am at a loss as to why sugar is becoming a must-have in many main course dishes, as it is alien and also bad for people's health.  Like over salting dishes makes them unacceptable to people who actually like to taste their food, using sugar again destroys the balance of the other flavours completely.

The owner was thoroughly unsympathetic: The recipe calls for sugar, he's been putting it in for 20 years, he doesn't care if it is bad for his guests, no-one else complains (they might of course not come back).  Not recommended.

Contact Details for Giovanni's (if you really want to go there).