The Quest
I love searching for unique little restaurants but living in Durban makes this quest of mine quite challenging. The fact that I have two toddlers doesn’t make this any easier as I more than often find myself having nachos at the Spur while staring at the native American against the wall. But being big on me-time  (or rather we-time since I’ve been married) I eventually get back to basics, which is a chatty night out with my man.

No better way of doing this than a slow, chatty evening at a cozy restaurant. This is my number 2 requirement: The Vibe. The Number 1 requirement being The Food, of course. That being said, I would rather have an okay plate of food in a creatively designed restaurant than a award-winning piece of steak in a buzzing, but dull-looking restaurant.

It’s about the pretty.

The Plan
Many of my friends have been going on regular date nights with their spouses (which made me not want to do this). Just because. So now we’ve decided to do a once-a-month thing, not naming it. Chat, catch up and eat good food, without having to stuff our faces quickly in case a child gets up to mischief between the foccaccia and the bite of pasta.

I’ll be on the look out for quiet little spots with great food around Durban. Perhaps even make my own Top 10 Durban list, seeing that we don’t feature at all!

The Nominees
The popular restaurant guide, Eat Out named their favourite South African Restaurants:

Aubergine, Cape Town
Bosman’s, Paarl
Restaurant Cristophe, Stellenbosch
DW Eleven-13, Johannesburg
George Jardine at Jordan Restaurant, Stellenbosch
The Greenhouse, Cape Town
Hartford House, Mooi-River
Jardine, Cape Town
La Colombe, Cape Town
Linger Longer, Johannesburg
Mosaic Restaurant, Pretoria
Overture, Stellenbosch
The Restaurant at Waterkloof, Somerset-West
Reuben’s, Franschhoek
Roots, Krugersdorp
The Roundhouse, Cape Town
Rust en Vrede, Stellenbosch
Tasting Room at Le Quartier Français, Franschoek
Terroir, Stellenbosch
Zachary’s, Knysna

Reference: SA Good News