San - Sandton Sun, Johannesburg, Sandton

FJune 2015 - Sadly my recent experience to the establishment was a big let down compred to my visit there a year ago. Their potion sizes have been dramatically reduced. The wonderful large Caesar I had last time is now served in a side dish bowl and still charged at R75. When queried I was informed that they had changed their dishes/sizes. They attempted to redo it but basically put the contents of the small salad on a large plate. The place is fine to sit and work at between meetings (although they are busy with refurbishments, so it is noisy) but I doubt they will see me there for a meal. 

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June 2014 - This is not the typical place that I would generally go to, but it was surprisingly nice. It's linked to Sandton City and I needed a place to sit and work in between meetings and there was a great quiet area where I could sit at a proper table and work while having lunch.

  

FOOD - Their menu seemed quite limited, but I prefer that than having to trawl through thick menus. Am I right in thinking the thicker the menu the more average the food?

Had the Caesar salad - it was a huge portion and very tasty. Delicious bits and pieces in it that complemented each other wonderfully.

I have also had a wrap there - the chips were amazing, but the wrap nothing really spectacular to write home about - the salad would be my recommendation - especially on a hot day, sitting on the balcony over looking Sandton with a glass of white wine -

DRINKS - this time I only had a white Grapetiser.

SERVICE - Quite good, friendly servers.

VALUE FOR MONEY - Look, it's Sandton so it is bound to be more pricey, but the food was good and the portions decent.

RECOMMENDABLE - Yes. (can get a bit noisy later in the afternoon / early evening)

7/10

Restaurant - JB's Corner - Melrose Arch

18 March 2014 - This is one of my favourite spots at (the very pretentious) Melrose Arch. The décor and ambiance resonates with me. I love the high ceilings and the glass jars of confectionary and decadently looking cakes in the display cabinet.

My sidekick and I had supper, the waitress recommended that their burgers, steaks, pasta and pizza's were the best (so basically everything!).

FOOD - Mark had a 500g T-bone steak, egg and chips. He was asked whether he wanted bbq basting, he was a bit wary as at some other restaurants in the past the sauce dominates the taste and you don't taste the meat. The waitress promised that she would request only a bit of sauce. According to Mark it was cooked to perfection and just the right amount if basting.

I opted for the Kleftiko, Greek meatballs served with lemon and humus. I was expecting a couple of meatballs the size of golf balls. What I got was three hamburger patti sized meatballs, deliciously spiced and cooked medium-rare, just as I like it. It is a great alternative to a hamburger. I only managed to get through one and a half of the 'balls'. The chips it was served with were crispy and tasty. For a moment I did get confused between Halumi and Humus so was a bit disappointed that it was humus as I'm not a fan of it, but that is minor compared to the rest of the food.

Dessert was very tempting as we sat right next to the cakes, but we were both just too full.

DRINKS Mark opted for a Jack Black beer (R35) I was very tempted to go for their mixed drink consisting of Chardonay, appeljuice and other delicious sounding ingredients, but at R80 for 500ml it was a bit excessive, too much just for me. So I went with a glass of (my absolute favourite) Fat Bastard Chardonay (R55) I tried not to think that I had recently paid less than that for a bottle at Pick n Pay. But as with all restaurants they make their money on the mark-up of their drinks.

VALUE FOR MONEY Including the tip, R350 for food & drink, pricey but reasonable for quality of foodand taking into consideration that it was at Melrose Arch.

RECOMMENDABLE Definnitely, we'll be back!

SERVICE Our waitress was very attentive and made great recommendations. We did not wait long for our food, drinks or bill.

RATE 8/10