DK Gourmet Burger & Craft Beer Bar

Saturday, May 23rd, 2015

Reviewed by Star Walker

After trawling eatout for a nice fine dining restaurant for my boyfriends birthday, I stumbled upon DK Gourmet burgers and thought hmmm now that would be a nice change from fine dining, informal, fun, tactile and the menu looked yummy! Not to mention the craft beer selection and the location looked awesome. So I booked. When we arrived at the restaurant we were greeted warmly at the reception and were taken through to our table and that unfortunately is where the disappointment started... Problem number 1; The very first words that the waiter uttered to us was and I quote: "what do u want to drink?" I was rather taken aback and sarcastically said "Hello" he replied "oh, hello" and stood there looking at us and waiting for us to give him our drinks order. That was the sum total of the welcome we received from the man. Problem number 2: our drinks glasses were dirty and I had to ask for clean ones. This seemed like a major effort for him when I asked him to change them. Problem number 3: we asked the waiter about the "wine by the glass" options and he brought a glass to the table to show us the difference between small and medium. To demonstrate this he placed two fingers from the top of the glass, against the glass, to show us a medium glass and three fingers from the top, against the glass to show us a small glass. Then he went back behind the counter and instead of getting us a new clean glass he happily proceeded to serve the wine to us in the same glass that only moments ago he had put his fingers all over. Problem number 4: for starters we ordered the Salt and pepper squid. When it arrived it was very tasty but it was also very over cooked, dry and chewy. Problem number 5: after our starter we noticed that our waiter had struck up a conversation with the only other table in the restaurant that was seated behind us. He proceeded to stand there and yack for ages, completely forgetting about us and the fact that we still needed to order our main course. I eventually had to lean back on my chair to interrupt their conversation and asked if we could place our order! The best part of it all is that the lady at the table apologized to us but not the waiter!!! Who once again, sauntered over to our table with an attitude of sheer arrogance and asked us what we wanted to eat. No apology, no personality, no attempt to make us feel like we were welcome there, just his sheer arrogant, nonchalant attitude that left us feeling like he was doing us a very big favour! Problem number 6: while we were waiting for our food the waiter was doing stuff behind the counter and while he was doing this he was whistling very loudly to the music. I was quite surprised and looked at my boyfriend, who was also not impressed, and asked "What the hell, does this guy think he is at home?!" Even though the place has a casual vibe and a casual look and feel, it's still a restaurant and as far as I am concerned his behaviour is rather unprofessional and a little bit too casual for my liking! Compliment number 1: (the only one!) our Wagyu beef burgers arrived and they were delicious. We thoroughly enjoyed them along with our onion rings, chips, smokey tomato sauce and side salad! Problem number 7: after eating our burgers, I went into the ladies bathroom to wash my sticky hands and the first thing that hit me was this terrible smell. It was a combination of smelly "she bins" and something sour and pungent. I walked over to the basin to put soap on my hands and when I looked down to turn on the water I discovered a basin full of purple colored, bubbling vomit!!!!!! Naturally I started to gag and had to run out of the bathroom before I threw up too!!!! I went to your reception desk and told them about the mess. The gentleman there ushered me into the paraplegic toilet to wash my hands and hopefully went off to attend to the vile mess in the ladies bathroom. At one point we saw him come into the restaurant to get a spoon behind the counter and then he left again... After just having eaten, I felt sick and queasy after seeing that and all I wanted to do was pay the bill and leave. At no point in time did anyone come to our table after that to apologise to us for such a dreadful and disgusting experience. R600 later and I can honestly say that this was one of the most disappointing and disgusting experiences we have ever had. Definitely not value for money and definitely not the fun, pleasant and enjoyable evening that I had in mind! Barring the burgers, the rest of the food was dismal, the service was absolutely shocking and the over all experience was so poor that the restaurant has been put on our never to be repeated list!