Yesterday Elize Skriker and I went to have lunch at RocoMama’s in Green Point, having been challenged to try the Burger and Shake eatery as an 18 year old!

I had been to interview Joe Stead of the Spur Corporation about the group’s Sustainability program, and we spoke about the Restaurants forming part of the Corporation, as Joe heads up the Marketing for the company too. She described RocoMama’s as a youngster hangout to me, and I said that I would try it as an 18 year old, taking Elize with me to eat the foods I no longer can due to my healthier eating program. Joe had told me that RocoMama’s is one of the best performing Restaurants in the Group, operated by franchisees, as are most of the 500 or so Restaurants in the Spur Corporation. 

The interior is predominantly orange, with touches of yellow added via lampshades and chairs. We sat at the far end of the restaurant, against a small-tile wall multi-coloured wall. Tables were dark wood and we sat at one with a bench, far too big for the two of us. The table had two serviette-rolled sets of cheap-and-cheerful cutlery, forks being Stainless Steel Caisine and the steak knife by Cuisine. A bottle of Heinz ketchup comes standard too. The kitchen is open-plan to the restaurant. 

The pay-off line to the brand is ‘Not Normal’, and in many respects this was spot on. The menu is the first ‘not normal’, it being a tear-off pad of menu pages, on which one ticks off and specifies the quantity of items one wishes to order. One can add one’s name too. Odd was that the waitress had to borrow my pen to add notes of my salad ingredient exclusions, and Elize’s Order. Joe had told me that RocoMama’s is known for its selection of funky burgers – there are seven – and its milkshakes. Oddly the beverages are printed on a standard menu, and these are ordered verbally. 

We started with an order of a cappuccino each, and I was surprise to see LavAzza branded cups for the coffees, an adult brand in my perception. My water request was forgotten, and took ages to be served. I ordered a Greek salad, very reasonably priced for the serving size, at R35, with tomato, cucumber, olives, and feta. I requested that the red onion and balsamic vinegar drizzle be excluded. The waitress offered to add the olive oil on the side, as well as an additional portion of guacamole, at a very low cost of R7. An alternative salad, at the same cost, is spicy coleslaw with bacon.

Elize ordered a portion of six chili cheese bombs, coated with bread crumbs, at R35, but I do not eat chili, so could not try hers. They were well-presented, even topped with a chopped herb. Elize was brave with her food order, requesting the MushroomSwizz, a ‘double up’ two 100 gram beef patty (one can order it with chicken or vegetarian too) Smash Burger (‘smash’ seems to be the lingo for the patty). This was served with Emmenthal cheese, sautéed mushrooms, and RocoMayo, and costs R80. A standard version of this Burger, with a 150 gram patty, costs R64. Other options have ‘not normal’ names, and include OldSkool (patty, red onion, tomato, and mayo, at R45/R57), and RockStar (patty, emmenthal cheese, caramelised red onion, mayo, at R64/R75). One can also order a standard SmashBurger, with tomato, a 150 gram patty, red onion, and RocoMayo, at the base price of R45, to which a selection of 25 additional ingredients can be added, each ingredient price itemized, bacon being the most expensive at R12. Elize ordered a small ‘Turbo charged’ basket of shoestring fries, nice and crispy, topped with chili con carne, at R33.  A normal serving size of fries costs R18 – R38, depending on the size. 

One can also order beef or pork Ribs, chicken wings, as well as nachos. 

In the very last minute, when we were getting really anxious about the slow Service, Elize’s Double chocolate milkshake (R60) arrived. It was extravagantly topped with cream and Oreo biscuits. I had a sip of it, and it was decadently chocolate in taste!

The Service speed, or lack of, was not normal, at over half an hour, not receiving any part of our order, not even the salad, the chili cheese bombs, or the milk shake. Everything was brought at one time, but not simultaneously, and we still had to chase the milkshake. I requested the bill three times as the food arrived, having to be elsewhere at 14h30, and it finally arrived. Then the waitress had to go back to fetch the credit card machine, even though I had asked her to bring it with the bill. Then she could not print out a customer copy of the credit card slip, as it just did not print it! She seemed to have done a reprint of all transactions of the day, instead of my last one, and not one person at the counter was able to assist her in doing the reprint, absolutely unacceptable. We did get take-away containers for our food, as we did not have enough time to eat it in the restaurant! 

It was clear that there was no managerial level staff member at RocoMama’s yesterday at lunch time, definitely the most ‘Not Normal aspect of our RociMama’s experience! 

RocoMama’s, 107A Main Road, Green Point, Cape Town. Tel (021) 433-2816. www.rocomamas.com Twitter: @rocomamas Instagram:@rocomamas  Open from 10h00 until 23h00. 

Chris von Ulmenstein, WhaleTales Blog: www.chrisvonulmenstein.com/blog Tel +27 082 55 11 323 Twitter:@Ulmenstein Facebook: Chris von Ulmenstein Instagram: @Chris_Ulmenstein