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Food
Situated on Parkhurst’s 4th Avenue, Coobs is one of four restaurants, along with Il Contadino, La Stalla and Douglas + Hale, developed by chef James Diack’s The Brightside Group. The menu is a seasonal offering, which means you might find an entirely new menu on your next visit, or ingredient adjustments or flavour variations on your favourite dish.

The menu is divided into sections for starters; light meals such as schnitzel on panini, craft beer-battered hake, and a tuna poke bowl; salads; pasta; mains and desserts. It also offers a provenance menu for R250, which includes three choices of starters, mains and two desserts as well as a four-dish specials menu that changes every week, for those who prefer a narrower selection.

The crispy wild mushroom wontons in a tom yum broth swimming with kimchi, pickled ginger and cucumber are a must for whetting the appetite, as are the slow-braised chipotle pork soft-shell tacos. The Coobs Caesar is a popular and filling favourite made with poached free-range eggs and crispy wild boar bacon.

Try the free-range pork Bolognese with tagliatelle if want to experience the restaurant’s home-made pasta made with free-range eggs and the acorn-fed pork reared at the Diack family farm in Magaliesberg. The roasted Jerusalem artichoke soup served with croutons and imam bayildi (Turkish-style stuffed brinjal) with bulgar wheat and cherry tomato tabbouleh is a tasty and thoughtfully developed option for vegetarians.

Seal the deal with the chocolate fondant with mascarpone whipped cream, berry gel and rosemary shortbread, or the Coobs malva pudding with custard and toffee sauce and salted caramel ice cream.

Drinks
A fine selection of wines means you can taste new and smaller releases. And the Coravin list (using a wine preservation device) allows you to enjoy rare and expensive wines per 125ml glass. The cocktail list offers flavour combinations to suit most palates – from cream- to tomato-based and citrus-infused.

Service
The waiters are happy to recommend a wine to complement your meal and can answer any questions regarding dish ingredients.

Ambience
A largely wooden interior kitted with Ghost chairs and big glass windows and doors create a light atmosphere that works for sunny summer afternoons or winter evenings, when gas heaters are fired up around the room.

Best for…
A cosy romantic dinner for two or a stylish Sunday lunch with the family.

(August 2019)

Eat Out critics dine unannounced and pay for their meals in full. Read our full editorial policy here.