The Royale

Monday, January 22nd, 2018

Reviewed by Christine Scholtz

We were very excited when The Royale opened up almost next door. I've been there for a photoshoot or two, and it's been widely popular on Insta, so it seemed worth a proper visit. My partner and I went there a few weeks ago. As many of the reviews reveal, there's nothing Cuban about The Royale. There are a bunch of guys in tropical shirts, some cool lighting on the walls, but no Cuban rum or any Cuban cuisine. This also had a negative impact on my prospect of a proper Mojito. Service was not warm and welcoming, and we were far from feeling Warm & Glad. We struggled to get our waitress' attention, as she befriended someone at a table nearby (and spent most of her time there). Our request for a menu was also received with snark. Now, I'm from Cape Town, so I understand when waitresses aren't so friendly, or like to make you feel out of place, but there's no need for that in Jozi. The menu is fairly simple, and fairly priced. I ordered the prawn curry, which came with rice. There was nothing wrong with the prawn curry, but the rice was undercooked. It's a nice place to meet your film industry/ad agency/model/creative/musically inclined friends for a drink, but the food is bang-average, at best.