Tag Archives: The Rex Hotel

New restaurant openings give hope

A number of new restaurants have opened recently in Cape Town, and this is a positive sign that restaurateurs see an end to the credit crunch and are positive about the future.

New restaurants, as featured on the Eat Out website, include Bravado, an Italian restaurant in the previous Melissa’s in Green Point; an Indian restaurant Bhandaris in Tokai; the bistro Cafe Sociale in Woodstock; a fusion restaurant Cheyne’s in the City Bowl; and Kassia and Figg, a deli and health shop in Kalk Bay. 

In the Helshoogte Pass between Stellenbosch and Franschhoek the chic Delaire Graff Estate restaurant has opened with chef Christian Campbell at the helm.   It promises to offer fine-dining at its best, and will be an interesting counterpoint to Tokara directly across the road.

In Knysna the new DISH restaurant, with beautiful interior decor, has opened in The Rex Hotel.   The chef was previously with Tank in Cape Town.

Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

Knysna Tourism Sweet and DISH Sour Service Awards

The Sweet Service Award goes to Keagon of Knysna Tourism, who twice within 24 hours showed how he walks the extra mile for the tourists coming to Knysna, a reason why this Tourism Bureau is rated so highly.  At first a visitor to Knysna wanted to find the Knysna Fine Art Gallery, not to be confused with the Knysna Art Gallery.  The former was not listed in the Garden Route Art brochure, so Keagon googled the gallery, found it, and called them to confirm their address.  The following day the tourist asked Keagon to help her trace Piccolo Italia, a coffee shop across the road from the Tourism Bureau.  As he had no contact details for them, Keagon offered to go to the outlet to get the name of the owner, and his contact details, which he did promptly.

 

The Sour Service Award goes to DISH at The Rex Hotel in Knsyna.  A customer walked past the restaurant, and was impressed with the look of the restaurant, and its interior design in particular.  The lone waiter/barman had the airconditioner on high heat, at a European level, as he was so cold.   It was unbearably hot.  He seated the customer, the only person in the large restaurant, right at the back of the restaurant, so that he could keep the airconditioner closest to him on.   The pasta dish was tasty, but the waiter took no trouble to interact with the customer, other than to answer questions when asked.   When the customer left, he did not bother to say goodbye or thank you.   The Rex Hotel brochure contradicts itself in describing the restaurant’s fare as “5-star cuisine” and then as “upmarket Bistro style cuisine”.   Adding to the positioning confusion is the restaurant’s newsletter, which talks about its “comfort food”.   Restaurants, or food served by them, are not judged on a star basis, as are accommodation establishments.

 

The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog.  Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com.   Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.