HQ (Headquarters) 

Food:

Steak is the star here, done any way you want it. Top it up with fabulous chips, a simple salad, and lashings of rich café de Paris butter sauce. Decadent desserts range from chocolate fondant and cheesecake to malva pudding and crème caramel.

Wine:

An excellent list with some unusual offerings carefully selected to pair with the red meat.

Service:

Friendly, professional, and snappy.

Ambience:

The courtyard is one of Cape Town’s most trendy places and attracts a crowd of aficionados most nights. The restaurant is very New York, with long rows of individual two-seater tables or multiples thereof. It’s very busy, so there’s little chance to get into an intimate dinner mood.

And...:

Check if they have any specials running which can cut the cost significantly. Also, try one of the great cocktails. (GL, October 2011)

Michelle Gross Gross
27-Mar-2012

I used to frequent the bar / restaurant that is today HQ in my earlier youth and somehow preferred the atmosphere then. Personal choice I suppose but an observation.



The decor is quite smart in what is a basic venue. We went on a Monday and had the salad, steak and chip half price deal for R160 for two which was a good deal but I certainly would not have paid R160 per person. The service was organised and efficient and we enjoyed listening to their live reggae band (although it can make conversation somewhat difficult). They were good though. We sat upstairs and found it to be very hot and rather airless. Definitely a young and happening vibe. Bar area with cocktail specials.

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Marianne Engvall
25-Feb-2012

HQ has a really smart concept - steak. And fries and salad. Dessert if you want. It's a really cool and vibey place on Friday nights, you usually end up staying here until late/early... But it's not because the food is good - HQ serves over prized, barely average quality meat, ordinary chips and a standard salad. Too expensive for what you get. Wine list is (of course) excellent. And what's going to make this a good night is your company and the DJ after dinner.

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Carl Heinz Habel
25-Feb-2012

What a lack lustre experience. On arrival, we had to ask to be seated, then request menus. We then asked someone to take our oder. We then inquired if it were possible to order drinks as well. This process continued until we had to ask for the credit card machine, after asking for the bill. At one point I complained, did not even receive an apology or a visit from a manager. The courtyard, where we were seated was dirty. There were cigarette butts every where, including stuck in my table, along with an old straw and other debris. My cutlery was dirty and practically all the crockery that arrived at my table was chipped. The steak was perfectly cooked, as per my request, but the Cafe de Paris butter slightly unbalanced by bitter raw herbs. The french fries are bought in which left the salad as the highlight of the meal. Finishing with a dry and very poorly executed chocolate brownie left us with the feeling that all the care, which once existed here in abundance, is far gone. R500.00 for two, including a 4% tip (just to annoy them).

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Ian du Toit
13-Dec-2011

The most over-rated, under-achieving restaurant in Cape Town. A group of us have been trying to find the best steak in Cape Town for the last 2 years, we've tried HQ twice and been bitterly disappointed on both occasions. The steak is very expensive and really not great. If all you have on your menu is steak, you'd think that it is the best around. They have such a smug attitude too, like they are doing you a favour by letting you eat there. After our last visit there we sent a letter of complaint. We got a read receipt on the e-mail, and then a week later a delete notification. I thought that it was a polite, constructive e-mail, and I got no reply, even though they had read it. Fellow diners, don't waste your money at HQ, there are many, many better restaurants out there.

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