Brads Grill

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, in my mind there is nothing better than a good quality steak. After much debate with my family as to where the best steak house in Cape Town was, my arm was eventually twisted and I was reluctantly forced into trying something other than the Hussar Grill. The restaurant I was being dragged to for the night: Brads Grill. Brads Grill is situated in 2^nd Avenue, Kenilworth. Within this little gem of a street exist a number of restaurants. There are restaurants there to satisfy the pallet of any individual regardless of your preference. The variety is impressive. There’s an Italian restaurant for the pizza and pasta lovers. There’s a curry restaurant for the spice cravers. There’s even a sushi restaurant for the raw fish eaters of the world. As impressive as this array of variety is it does make life incredibly difficult for a restaurant owner in the area because it is just so dam competitive. Due to the competitive nature of the area over the years a number of restaurants have come and gone as they attempt to succeed but subsequently fail. While there have been a number of restaurants that couldn’t handle the pressure and competitive nature of 2^nd Avenue, there has been one that has maintained its popularity for on the street for over 30 years, that restaurant is: Brads Grill.

After hearing so many wonderful things about Brads Grill it would have been wrong of me to remain in the comfort zone of the delicious, tender and juicy Hussar steaks, so I reluctantly decide to give the much talked about Brads Grill an attempt to overtake my beloved Hussar Grill as Cape Town’s best steak house. As we walked into the restaurant I can’t say I was all that impressed with the décor of the place. The colours were dull and lifeless, shouting from the kitchen can be heard throughout the entire room and the restaurant itself is very petite in size, making customers feel cramped and claustrophobic. However, despite it failing the visually impressive test, the restaurant itself was quite vibey and the atmosphere was fairly festive. The waiter need not bring me a menu as my mind was already made up as to what I was going to eat. ‘Bring me your biggest steak, cook it medium rare and throw some mushroom sauce on the side’ I thought. My order reflected my thoughts as I prepared to get stuck into the 700gram mini dinosaur like steak that was awaited my devouring.

When critiquing a restaurant, I find it is unfair to just judge the restaurant based on one aspect and , to do justice to the review and the restaurant, one should judge it on all the aspects. One of these crucial aspects is: service. The service at Brads Grill wasn’t the best I have ever seen. The waiters seemed inexperienced and nervous like in their work. This was evident when our waitress poured our drinks all over my recently purchased jeans; needless to say I wasn’t impressed and thought to myself: ‘this steak better blow my mind’. Much to my surprise, it did.

I found myself greeted with a beautiful cut of rump steak, perfectly basted with a marinade only found in Brads Grill restaurant. The meet was cooked to perfection with every bite I took my taste buds rejoiced with jubilation and celebrated a combination of beautifully well balanced and exquisite flavours. Wow, what a steak it was. There a few cases when the word “beautiful” would be applicable to food, but in the case of this steak, beauty couldn’t be more appropriate. Yes, the décor didn’t blow me away, and yes the service wasn’t great but if you looking for a great steak, a festive atmosphere and an all-round good night Brads Grill is the place that should dominate your calendar for an evening. I wouldn’t say it’s the best restaurant in Cape Town, but my word its close.