So what’s a person to do if they want to celebrate local South African goodness with hungry family, friends, or visitors? Get yourself over to a stalwart classic like The Hussar Grill of course!
Celebrate meat & other SA must-eats at The Hussar Grill
There are certain dishes you have to eat in its country of origin if you want to get right down to the quintessence of what makes it so very wonderful – think pastéis de nata in Portugal, pizza in Italy, apple strudel in Austria and malva pudding in South Africa. Sure, you can eat these dishes in many places these days, but it’s when you sit down in the midst of the very specific local spirit that originally shaped it that you truly get the gist of it.
South African food culture is such a vast melting pot of influences that it can be tough to pin down our most obvious must-eats. Between the singular magic of koesisters, umvubo, chakalaka, biltong and bokkoms, our taste of place is all over the map.
At The Hussar Grill you can sit back and dig into a variety of hearty, stick-to-your-ribs South African dishes without the need to do any washing up afterwards…
The SA classics you must try at The Hussar Grill
So of course, The Hussar Grill is all about the meat. These guys take their meat super seriously. Every cut served in their restaurants is carefully wet-aged for a minimum of 28 days to ensure superbly matured, tender and flavourful steaks.
This is a big part of what makes a meal at these renowned eateries so swoon-worthy. Best of all, you can trust that you’ll only ever dig into A-grade meat sourced from the very best South African farms and that every steak on offer is individually cut and cared for in its own special way.
Insider tip: Look out for speciality cuts like the Tomahawk and Picanha that are offered as blackboard specials at certain restaurants.
But that’s not all, by a long shot. You can also look forward to other traditional South African dishes like flame-grilled boerewors, cured springbok loin carpaccio and marrow bones – a hearty, oven-roasted delicacy. Not to mention skilpadjies (lamb liver wrapped in caul fat) and 250g game steaks that are (wait for it!) subject to hunt. Yes, it’s as real and authentic as all that.
Also look out for the robust lentil curry – a traditional Cape Malay curry complemented with seasonal roasted vegetables, a cherry tomato sambal and fried poppadum, and the piece the resistance – sticky, sweet, spongy malva pudding served with a drizzle of custard to round it all off.
Don’t forget about the award-winning local wines!
Get ready to be bowled right over by some of SA’s very best. In fact, The Hussar Grill is the proud recipient the prestigious Diners Club Platinum Status Award for their selection.
Think Warwick The First Lady Chardonnay from Stellenbosch, Môreson Miss Molly MCC from Franschhoek, Steenberg Chenin Blanc from Constantia, Newton Johnson Felicité Pinot Noir from the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, Allesverloren Shiraz from the Riebeek Valley and Kanonkop Pinotage from Stellenbosch.
Feeling a tad overwhelmed there? Top tip: you can’t go wrong with The Hussar’s own signature 50th Anniversary Red – a smooth-drinking blend of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot that will subtlety enhance your meal.
If that is not great enough guests are also welcome to bring their own wine to accompany their meal, free of charge. The Hussar Grill never levies a corkage fee.
Do you know The Hussar Grill’s super cool backstory?
The Hussar Grill has been around for 55 years already! It started out as an old-school American diner in Rondebosch with long shared tables, and knives and forks in metal containers, canteen-style.
Back then, it mainly catered for Ikey students and professors who would come to the restaurant to tuck into a good meal while they discussed all sorts of scholarly things. Very Good Will Hunting and Dead Poet’s Society.
Today, the super successful grill house is known for their old-world dining rooms, bars and premier grill rooms with award-winning speciality steaks and wine selections, superb service and a warm ambience.
Best of all? The restaurants have found a foothold all over South Africa (the Western Cape, Gauteng, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and even Zambia and Saudi Arabia), so there is bound to be one near you.
The vibe is very The Godfather
If you’ve been looking for a solid excuse to get dressed up for a good, old-fashioned date night dinner, The Hussar Grill will also not disappoint.
The vibe is very dapper and debonair, like somewhere the upper echelons of the Corleone family from The Godfather would hang out when they were tired of being all badass and wanted to sit down with the family to a nice steak, some good red wine and an evening without any mayhem.
Think wood-panelled walls, atmospheric artwork, leather-clad booths and antique furnishings. To sum it up – it’s full of character and nostalgic to the core.
They’re cool about sustainability
The Hussar Grills’ vibe might be old-school cool but their penchant for sustainabiltiy puts some of the trendiest spots to shame. Here at Eatsplorer we do have a bit of a soft spot for a restaurant that is serious about doing their bit for our planet.
The Hussar Grill is committed to sustainable business practices through their Eco Pledge sustainability programme. They are making a concerted effort to ensure that their environmental sustainability policy is a living reality in their restaurants by focussing on water conservation and waste reduction.
So, what did we tell you? That’s a whole lot of good stuff right there. Go on, take a moment to dig into a bit of true blue South African nostalgia; you know you want to…
Where: Find The Hussar Grill nearest to you by visiting their website, or simply follow this link to book now. You can stay in the loop on the latest news, or offerings on their instagram, facebook or twitter pages.
Psst: The Hussar Grill is closed during the Covid-19 lock-down. Once doors open again you can rest assured that The Hussar Grill have implemented the promotion of WHO and SA health authorities’ best practice guidelines for all staff and grill rooms. Stay abreast on this here.
