Dear Me

Food:

Chef Vanessa Marx turns out wonderful, comforting food with free-range, sustainably–produced produce at its heart, at this buzzing city lunch spot. The menu changes daily, depending on what Vanessa has sourced that day – from grass-fed beef, to braised free-range pork knuckle and trotter faggots with mustard mash to delicious pork rillettes, with apricot and rosemary relish, poached quince and toast. As the name suggests, they focus on looking after the self, and make a real effort to cater to special dietary requirements. The menu offers suggestions for which meals can be made wheat or dairy free, vegan or are suitable for diabetics or those with Celiac disease.

Wine:

With over 90 different bottles on offer – a good number of which are served by the glass – you won’t have any trouble finding something to match your meal or your pocket.

Service:

Warm, friendly and helpful; you won’t feel as if you’re being rushed out for the next table either.

Ambience:

Walking into Dear Me is a little like stepping into a fairytale. A converted 181-year old Longmarket street house, the interior has been lovingly remodelled into a mix of modern and classic. Think screeded concrete floors, old exposed brickwork and retro wooden shelving. There’s also a beautiful function room bathed in white, upstairs.

And...:

The restaurant is open on Thursday evenings for reservation-only food and wine pairing evenings. (June 2011, KJ)

Mira
5-Apr-2012

Very cute place with a comfortable atmosphere. Really delicious food, I had the couscous salad with pomegranates, pistachio and goats cheese and the crème brule which were both delicious and I tried the duck croquette which was divine! Four of us were having such a pleasant lunch until we had to pay. After an unsuccessful attempt with the credit card machine the first time, the waitress tried again successfully. My father who paid for lunch, got two sms’s from 2 separate company’s charging us for lunch. Dear Me charged us for lunch which was correct and then we were charged for the same amount from another company, Rooftop something or other which was owned by the same people. My father immediately assumed the waitress deliberately swiped and charged his card twice and immediately went back to Dear Me to report it. As he reported it to the manager or owner, she called in the waitress and told the waitress that she has to pay back my father from her own pocket. The waitress did so by gathering money from her co-workers to pay back my father. No one denied that she swiped and charged the card twice; she did know that she did it and it seemed as if it wasn’t the first time this has happened there and they calmly got my father’s money back without questions or an apology as if they do this often. If you go to Dear Me to enjoy the good food, hold onto your handbag tightly and you better pay with cash because it looks like only thief’s work there!

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Michal
18-Feb-2012

Dear Me was absolutely fabulous for a dinner. Had a great time. The food was beyond the term excellent. What I particularly enjoyed was the fact that the food kept its natural taste - not experienced too often. I would also like to complement the staff for an efficient and pleasurable experience.

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Claire Marx
1-Feb-2012

Another outstanding quick drop and go lunch at Dear Me yesterday. Amazing. Lunch tomorrow with my tart friends from PE. I am sure we will not be disappointed!

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