pageview

Reviews

Saint Restaurant

Friday, September 21st, 2018

Reviewed by Helet Lerner

The Sins of a Saint When I heard that a new restaurant was being opened by Marble founders chef David Higgs and Gary Kyriacou, the excitement was palpable. Shortly after it opened, I read reviews and saw pictures scattered across on social media – it all looked and sounded incredible, so I decided to treat my husband for a special evening at Saint at the Marc in Sandton. We arrived to a sea of people in the bar area, and the hostess swiftly escorted us to our table. The wide expanse of the interior was a lovely surprise – it is a big restaurant with many tables, but it doesn’t feel packed in like sardines. Our 2-seater table felt very crammed, however, with very little space amongst the table lamp, wine and water glasses, and side plates. I was really looking forward to seeing the overhead projections on the ceiling, which is one of the main showstoppers of the interior – but to my disappointment this did not work on the night of our visit. Our waitress was sweet but she did stumble on a few of our questions when asked for recommendations. I was excited to see the arancini as a starter. This was a great dish and I highly recommend it. Hubby ordered the squad ink croquettes; it was good though not on par with the arancini. My main course was a saffron risotto with ossobuco, while hubby had the lamb meatballs with rigatoni pasta. The risotto on its own was perfection. Having said that, the dish as a whole felt disconnected as the risotto did not complement the ossobuco. In fact, the meat was dry and pretty bland. Hubby enjoyed his dish which was layered with flavor in the pasta sauce, which also packed a spicy punch. Unfortunately, he found a piece of bone in one of his meatballs. This was quickly taken up by the manager who escalated to chef Higgs. They took the dish off our bill without hesitation, and the consideration by management was well received as there are families who dine at Saint with their kids and the dangers of small bones are obvious. The dessert was the clear winner of the night. We had the orange cake with Campari and pistachios. What an absolute delight this dish was! The cake is served warm with a delectable orange glaze, accompanied by a smooth Campari sorbet and toasted pistachios. The warmth and sweetness of the cake combined with the slight bitterness of the Campari sorbet and nuttiness of the pistachios was a gastronomical experience. Undoubtedly amongst the best desserts I have ever eaten – and honestly this saved the night. All in all, I have to say I was disappointed with the experience. I think if we had ordered only starters and dessert it would have been incredible. The main courses were a let-down given the cost, especially the rather expensive yet disappointing risotto dish. The restaurant is probably a better option if you have a big group of friends, but for a two-person table you do kind of feel that you are shuffled into a corner. The only saving grace was the attentiveness of the staff and the dessert.
Please log in to reply to this review.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Promoted Restaurants

Eatout