The Leopard

Food:

Parkhurst’s newest addition might have been named after a book (the Italian novel Il Gattopardo, a favourite of the owner’s family) but it sure isn’t doing things by the book. Simple and comforting, yet surprising food is the order of the day. With influences from Spain, Germany, Asia and South Africa, the food can best be described as global. Breakfast is served all day and includes interesting options like pistachio-rolled labneh with star anise poached apples and pears; basil mushrooms on toast; and fruit, salted and sugared nuts, honey, and lime with yoghurt and toasted coconut. Choosing a dish for lunch is difficult, so listen to the waiters and order a few to share. The options include an amazing Italian spinach dish (prepared with nutmeg, cream and parmesan), son of Caesar salad, lamb merguez sausage on butter-bean stew, and the current menu favourite: Saldanha Bay mussels with wine, cream, ginger, lime and confit tomato. As for dessert, the bananas in hot fudge sauce are unmissable.

Wine:

They currently don’t have a liquor license, so you are welcome to take your own.

Service:

The quirky woman behind it is Andrea Burgener, previous owner of Superbonbon and Deluxe. At her side is head chef is Leah Tsonye, an extraordinary person by Andrea’s account: “She has the most remarkable palate and can interpret ideas in ways that I’d never thought of. You could give her a stone and pint of water and she’d make it taste good. She’s a fiery, determined person who started as a sculler with me in 1999, and shortly afterwards was cooking like a pro.”

Ambience:

It’s a simple, light, white space with an eclectic mix of antique and new furniture and crockery. A welcome haven on the buzzy Fourth Avenue.

And...:

It’s Delightful. The perfect spot to sit and read the whole paper – and perhaps enjoy the whole menu. Best of all, they use only grass-fed beef and free-range chicken and eggs; their milk, cream and cheeses are from small producers who do not use growth hormones or antibiotics; and all fish/seafood is on the SASSI green list. So it’s a good choice all round. (AG, November 2011)

Natasha Faria
11-Apr-2012

This little gem in Parkhurst is the perfect spot for brunch. The retro, charity-shop decor is surprisingly minimalist, as is the food - served on plastic and tin plates. However, once you taste your meal you quickly forget about the frills (or lack thereof).



I had the French toast with free-range, dry cured bacon and syrup, and my fiancé had the quasi huevos rancheros. Despite my deep love for the syrup/bacon/French toast combo, I could not resist stealing a few bites. His eggs were perfectly done, the bean and tomato base was delicious, and the accompanying salsa brought the huevos to a whole new level.



My French toast was really French toast - baguette that had lovingly soaked up some creamy, free-range eggs and milk. It was perfectly cooked, but the bacon was unlike anything I'd ever tasted - smoky, crispy, salty. The menu proudly boasts that the pigs are free to forage upon whatever they please, and you can taste the herbs and grasses coming through.



My cappuccino was indecently delicious, as was his latte, but The Leopard's selection of cold drinks was the cherry on top. Delicious iced coffee for me, a ginger and lemon Rooibos for him. We didn't even manage to try anything else...except for the decadent dark chocolate brownie we took away to share. That...you have to go and try for yourself.

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Peter S
7-Apr-2012

The sad thing about our experience is that none of the 8 people at our table will go back, despite the food being good. We arrived at 10am. When, at 11.30, I queried why only half the people had food I was told by the guy in charge that the kitchen was small and "everybody must just relax". He then made a special effort to come to our table to show us the slip that said the order had only been placed at 10.45? So basically it is okay to take 45 minutes to get our order in the system, another 45 minutes to get our breakfast, and then arrogantly show us the slip to tell us to stop complaining?

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Pierre du Plessis
23-Feb-2012

It's a shame that such a well-priced, healthy and delicious menu is rendered completely inaccessible by The Leopard's utterly horrible service.



First time we went there, we only had dessert. This was shortly after the restaurant opened its doors, and everything from the food to the service was fantastic. Sadly, the second time we went there things didn't go as swimmingly - our order was somehow lost in the system and we ended up waiting about an hour for the food to arrive. Despite this, we decided to take some friends there, but inexplicably they're not open on Saturday evenings. We made a final attempt to go there again on a Wednesday evening and I made sure to call ahead to book, but was told they don't take bookings and we could just pitch up. But when we arrived there at 7pm, half the tables had reserved signs on them and we were simply told "we're full", something I've never ever had a restaurant say to me. We won't be going back to The Leopard.

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Nikki Lewin
16-Feb-2012

My husband and I decided we wanted to enjoy a casual evening out last night. Loads of friends had recommended The Leopard and I had read the review on your site. We ended up having a below average experience and were extremely disappointed.



Firstly they had no stock of what people had recommended, which were the mussels. On one of the busiest nights my recommendation would be that one either takes it off the menu or tell customers as they arrive. The service was shocking and the waitress contradicted what management told us about the starter, which was also out of stock and then in stock 10 minutes later. To be honest the chicken Prego (our second and simple choice) was less than mediocre. On the 4th Avenue strip it’s extremely competitive and if you are going to offer simple meals, the food should be tasty and exceptional. Not a flower or candle on the table, no salt or pepper and no salad dressing for the lettuce leaves that were served with the Prego. At the end of it all the waitress then announced our card was declined. When we queried this, it was due to the fact that there was a connection error with their terminal and nothing wrong with the card. Imagine how anyone would have felt if they were trying to impress someone on a date. Staff training and etiquette is critical to your success. I can only hope that their breakfast and lunch menus are better and they need to considerably lift their game if they want to remain competitive on a street which has a number of restaurants to choose from.

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