Upon 1st impression I assumed this was a small restaurant, but to my surprise as I was escorted upstairs to a private area of this spacious restaurant. Seated at a square shaped table, I joined foodies for an excellent four course tasting menu, wine and a whole lot of banter. My favourite starter was the peri peri chicken livers served in phyllo pastry (great Banting option). Karoo is known for their steaks, their best seller is the rump steak paired with their in house mushroom sauce was truly sublime. The lamb shank just melted in my mouth. The Karoo lamb pie is a definite must. We were served a trio of desserts to end the evening. Try the Malva pudding next time you dine here. Just be warned the serving sizes are very generous. Thank you Sir Rod and your team for your impeccable hospitality and thank you Uzzi for your "bullet speed" service. Good food and good company.

We visited the restaurant before and it was such a blast, good food and great service. However the last time we were there with friends it was extremely noisy, they seated us next to a bridal party (bachelorettes) and it was one shout after the other. The food was still worth it, but we weren't allowed to move as they were quite full and the serves was a bit of a let down. Not the normal experience we are use to.

Karoo Cattle and Land is a meat-eaters place. When you walk upstairs, you smell meat sizzling away ... and you start to salivate. Decor is really cosy, different and quirky. Wire animals greet you on the first landing, next to a miniature windmill. Upstairs are a few rooms that can be closed off for private parties. All of these rooms look out onto the lovely hoofs and udder of the 'buried cow' in the Irene Mall courtyard. This is also a favourite play area during hot days - parents know to bring extra clothes or swimsuits on hot days, so that the kids can splash away. Service is really good, although I wasn't that impressed with the salad bar ... the potato salad was nice and the crispy onion shavings too, but the rest was just ... okay. No bread or cheese at all. I was quite taken aback when I asked about a bread basket and was told they do not provide one - at all. Hmmm. My choice was the BBQ chicken wings starter - there were 6 huuuuuge wings and they were really good! Crispy outside and soft and juice inside and the BBQ sauce, really good. Hein had a pepper burger - the pepper sauce was exactly what he wanted and the bun, chips and onion rings good!! Hugo had Sirloin with chips (the steak was cooked perfectly). Deon had Surf and Turf with a fantastic peri-peri sauce. We told the waiter, Vuzi, it was Deon's 50th bday. Vuzi made jokes about age and should he bring crutches, etc. It was really fun. At the end of the meal, Vuzi brought Deon ice cream with choc sauce in a very interesting glass. Although the prices are not cheap, the food is of excellent quality and the ambiance screams for a party with friends!

MASSIVE portions and the steak was very good although not exactly to the requested temperature. The peppermint crisp tart was horrid (Die Karoo Tannies sou hul skaam!).