The Royale

Sunday, November 19th, 2017

Reviewed by Jonathan Singh

Food: I had the rump steak, cuban chicken, cheese croquettes and chorizo rice. My first impression of the food was, "what makes this Cuban?" - on the assumption that this was a Cuban restuarant and that meant there would be Cuban food on the menu. So without critiquing what constitutes Cuban food at all, I can only comment on the quality of food served. To this end, I don't believe anything I ate constituted restaurant quality food. There was generally a dearth of flavour and imagination. Each dish reminded me of what I could have easily made as a student, especially the chicken which I couldn't help but feel was previously frozen solid. The food certainly did not justify the price I paid. Service: I guess there were people to bring you your food. As far as any knowledge of the menu or any underlying ingredients, there was none and the guys aren't shy to admit that. You'll also need to forage on the restaurant floor for your the one or two salt and pepper shakers that the restaurant has. Ambience: I think the price of the food prices in the guarantee of a stylish neon light wall, quite obviously designed for the purposes of instagrammers and ultimately a marketing springboard. I think the cost of the food prices in the guarantee of being in the same place as Johannesburg's most enthusiastic scene-sters. My impression is generally that it provides a space for people to easily transition towards Melville, Hell's Kitchen in particular - and I think that's a good function for the restaurant. As for any Cuban atmosphere, I swear the soundtrack of the movie Chef was playing on repeat, either that or Putumayo's "sounds of Cuba" or something else generically Latin American. So I would say, it's a bar first, with stuff on the menu to eat later. Disclaimer: It goes without saying that this review is from my perspective alone.