High Steaks: There’s a Lot to Love at The Hussar Grill [Review]
Carnivores, assemble! Lovers of all things meaty will not be disappointed with legendary steakhouse, The Hussar Grill. Up there with some of South Africa’s best steakhouses, The Hussar Grill brings together a wonderful fusion of comfort food and modern South African flavours, while also offering the best steaks in the history of ever. And, the best bit? With multiple restaurants across the Western Cape and Gauteng, the chain is one of the few that manages to keep their standards up year after year and I just love that you can always be sure you’re going to get your money’s worth when visiting one of their eateries.
Case in point: The Hussar Grill Steenberg. My family usually visits the Camps Bay branch but last week the boyfriend and I ventured into Cape Town’s deep southern suburbs to try out The Hussar Grill Steenberg. Despite the brand-new location for us, it felt like I was coming home. Walking through the door at the Steenberg branch you’re immediately greeted with the familiar relaxed sophistication that The Hussar Grill is so well known for. From the décor to the friendly staff waiting to greet you at the door, The Hussar Grill offers a feeling of home and family long before your food even arrives at your table.
Of course, you don’t go to restaurants just for the cosy vibe, so it’s lucky that The Hussar Grill’s food is top notch. They take steak very seriously at this joint and it shows. The restaurants’ top quality meat is always matured on site (meat is hung on the carcass for up to seven days, whereafter it is ‘wet aged’ for periods varying up to three weeks!) and they take great pride in their knowledge of cuts and in offering diners something different each time. Your waiter is always at the ready to give you tips on the cut of the day to ensure your meal lives up to steak great expectations and their daily specials always offer something new and exciting for regulars to discover.
The Hussar Grill’s extensive menu offers a range of red meat delights as well as poultry, seafood, salads, light grills, and desserts. This time around, flambéed Chorizo served with fresh basil, tomato and red pepper sauce, and lightly toasted baguette (R80) was a great way to begin our meat-filled adventure. The boyfriend and I opted to share the starter but, instead of bringing us one serving to share, the kitchen was kind enough to plate up two separate meals for us. It was a small gesture but so much appreciated! Back to the Chorizo — this was my first time ordering this starter, and I was blown away. The sauce was so good I was still shoving spoonfuls of it into my mouth long after my sausage was gone. It was the perfect accompaniment to the slightly sweet, flame grilled Chorizo and the dish as a whole is an absolute winner of note.
For mains, I opted for the beef Espetada special, accompanied by the restaurant’s legendary Café de Paris compound butter sauce, as well as potato chips and creamed spinach and cinnamon butternut on the side. The meat was tender, juicy and tasted so good it made me wonder why I don’t order Espetada more often. The boyfriend stuck with an old favourite for his mains — Spare Ribs (800g for R250). Basted in the classic Hussar Grill basting sauce, the sweet, sticky ribs give meat lovers a delicious opportunity to get their hands dirty at the dinner table.
All of Hussar’s meats dishes are served with a complimentary choice of traditional fries, rice, mash or new baby potatoes and diners can then choose to add creamed spinach and cinnamon butternut or oven-roasted vegetables at a nominal charge. The creamed spinach and cinnamon butternut is a definite must-try if you want to treat yourself to veggies the way your mamma used to make them.
We paired our meal with a bottle of The Hussar Grill 50th Anniversary Red (R150). This easy drinking red is a well-balanced blend of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and pairs beautifully with any red meat dish. It’s a must order when you visit. Something else I adore about The Hussar Grill is that they don’t charge corkage – ever! Diners are welcome to bring their own wine along to enjoy at the table, and they won’t charge you a cent for it. If you can’t be bothered to take an entire bottle of wine with you then fear not because they also have one of the best wine lists in town and stock a vast selection of award-winning wines by the bottle and by the glass.
We were a little too full for a big dessert, so we just indulged in The Hussar Grill’s signature dessert — a Chocolate Vodka Martini (R40). A Hussar Grill post-dinner tradition, these heavenly mini chocolate martinis brought our meal to a delightfully boozy end. If you’re not in the mood for dessert I would highly recommend ordering one of these to satisfy your sweet tooth without pushing yourself over the edge.
For more information on The Hussar Grill Say Hi to The Hussar Grill on Facebook or visit their website.
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