Sandton, South Africa
Nice hotel, but the restaurant needs
work
Dined
in December 2013
It had been a very long day, and I was looking forward to a
good dinner. I had woken up at 5 Am to go on my last safari while visiting the
Leopard Hills Lodge private game reserve near Kruger National Park, then began
a drive through the Blyde Canyon region, and a long 500 km (310 miles) drive to
the outskirts of Johannesburg to get to my hotel. On that drive I was stopped
due to an accident further up the road, and some idiot behind that was not
paying attention hit the back end of my rental, so this added two hours to my
trip since I had to stop and file a police report. Damn I needed some alcohol
and food right now. When I arrived at the Hilton, their restaurant was
calling my name…well mainly the bar, but food was good to at this point. The Tradewinds Restaurant
instead of what I needed, gave me slow service, a slow bar tender, screaming
kids, and high security because of VIP’s. Just shoot me.
World’s Top 100:
Other South African
Restaurants:
Star
ratings chart:
5 stars
|
Extraordinary
|
4 stars
|
Outstanding
|
3 stars
|
Exceeded
expectations
|
2 stars
|
Above
average
|
1 star
|
Average
|
No star rating
|
Basic,
poor, or appalling
|
Review basics:
Star rating by Wine,
Dine, & Play:
|
No star rating
|
Quality of food:
|
6 of 10
|
Presentation:
|
5 of 10
|
Wine selections by
region:
Scroll below the main review section to see the tasting
notes of the wines chosen.
|
4 of 10
New World:
1.
South Africa: Stellenbosch, Tulbagh, Paarl, Elgin, Franschoek, and
Wellington
|
Customer service:
|
4 of 10
|
Ambiance:
|
6 of 10
|
Corkage fee’s:
|
S. African standard is R80.00 per bottle
|
Restaurant style:
|
Casual
|
Dress code:
|
Smart casual, or Casual attire
|
Reservations:
|
Not Required
|
Walk-ins:
|
Accepted
|
Child policy:
 |
The Restaurants reviewed on
this site may have a child’s menu or cater to them; however for full
enjoyment of food and wine, it is recommended for children not to be in
attendance. Hire a Babysitter. Alinea Baby Gate
|
Cuisine style:
|
Contemporary, South African, Mediterranean, Asian,
Vegetarian, English, and Indian.
|
Music styles:
|
Background instrumental
|
Experiences:
|
Tourist grabber, Seafood, steakhouse style with sushi bar
|
Gratuities:
|
South African standard is 10% added to parties of 6 or
more
|
|
Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Diner’s,
|
Parking:
|
Parking garage and valet
|
Transport options:
|
Bus, taxi, limousine, personal vehicle, and walking
|
The restaurants reviewed on
this site may have Wi-Fi, but do not require you to go online, because the
excitement of the food and wine alone will keep you too entertained instead
of checking your social media and emails.
|
|
Noise level:
|
Low, to medium
|
Smoking:
|
Nonsmoking restaurant
|
Patio:
|
No
|
Chef:
Shaiful Kassim
Food price per person (excluding gratuity)
Price chart:
$£€ - Under 50.00
$£€ x 2 - Under 75.00
$£€ x 3 - Over 100.00
$£€ x 4 - Over 200.00
$£€ x 5 - Over 400.00
My food bill:
|
Currency :
|
Price chart :
|
R360.00
|
ZAR
|
|
$32.28
|
USD
|
$
|
£19.43
|
GBP
|
£
|
€23.58
|
EUR
|
€
|
$35.71
|
CAD
|
$
|
$37.03
|
AUD
|
$
|
¥197.01
|
CNY
|
¥¥¥
|
د.118.54
|
AED
|
د. د. د.
|
Visit these sites to
get up to date currency rates:
Or visit:
Scroll down below the main review to see cost of wines and tasting
notes.
From restaurants home page:
Locals and guests can enjoy stunning garden views at
Tradewinds Restaurant. Savor delicious local and international cuisine from the
a-la-carte menu or spoil yourself with our traditional buffet. Unwind during
the summer months on the outdoor terrace and take in fresh air and enjoy rich
Sandton blue skies.
Main review:
How to start and where to start. From the introduction you
could tell I was ready for a drink. When I went down to the Restaurant there
was no host and I waited for over a minute before the bar tender seated me.
From there it took several minutes for a person to come to my table. It was not
a very good start. The restaurant was nearly empty with only a few tables, so
there wasn’t an excuse that I could see. I had a menu so with the lack of a server;
I had plenty of time to read over it. When a server came by I asked for a bottle
of the De Toren Fusion V 2010, (Scroll down below the main
review to see wine tasting notes), which was one of the
few wines on the restaurants reserve list, since the main list did not really
excite me. I had De Toren several times back in the United States as it sold as
one of the main Meritage style wines from south Africa, and it was very good.
I placed my order of two courses, which took even more time,
and another ten minutes for my bottle of wine to be delivered to the table.
Thank god I had a room in the hotel to take the bottle back, so at least I
could enjoy that. I sure hope the food would be good, because a re-training of
the wait staff is top priority. You would figure that the staff would be on top
of its toes with the VIP’s the hotel had. While I was there, the Canadian Prime
Minister Stephen Harper, Zambian President Michael Sata, and two or three other
foreign leaders. The neighboring hotel had American Presidents Barrack Obama,
George W. Bush, George H.W Bush, and Bill Clinton. Nelson Mandela had died one
week before and his funeral was the same weekend that I had checked into the
hotel, so security was tight. Then there was the screaming kid. Sitting next to
me was a Muslim couple that allowed their child to run around the table
screaming and yelling, until I had to distract them and have them tell the kid
to shut up.
 |
| too busy on her cell to control her kid |
My first course arrived which was the Jo’Berg Deli Salad
which was a butter lettuce salad, with persimmons, candied pecans, cured
organic Kudu Biltong,
which is a species of antelope, toasted sourdough, with marula vinaigrette. It was very tasty, so
things were starting to look up since the service sucked and the kids were
screaming.
For my entrée course I had the 200 gram (7 ounces) Beef
fillet, cooked to a medium-rare, served with a peppercorn sauce, and a
vegetable medley of green beans and onions. With the wine, the steak went very
well, so overall I was impressed with the food, but not the service. When I had
the bill charged to my room, for the first time I did not leave a gratuity
beyond the 10% that was added to the check.
Cost of wines and other
alcoholic beverages:
R600.00
Tasting
Notes:
Wine & Grape:
|
Nose (Bouquet):
|
Palette Experience:
|
Cabernet Sauvignon 57%, Merlot 14%,
Malbec 13%, Cabernet Franc 11%,
& Petit Verdot 5%. A dark intense color reveals levels
of fine spices and an array of flavors combined. Decant 1 hour.
|
Intensive Black fruit, wood tannins combine with well
integrated ripe grape tannins to create an intense wine has never been
achieved before. A powerful earthy wine with an elegant palate that has a
long, sweet finish with a creamy richness. If stored in
optimal conditions, this wine should last 10 – 15 years.
|
Restaurant address:
Hilton Sandton
Rivonia Road,
Sandton 2031,
South Africa
Neighborhood:
Financial District of Sandton & Johannesburg
Cross streets:
Fredman Drive & Maude
Street
GPS Coordinates:
Latitude
-26.1020119906267
-26° 6' 7.24"
Longitude
28.0596611061628
28° 3' 34.78"
Contact Information:
Maître d, reservations
|
+27 11 322 1527
|
Website:
|
|
Email:
|
Hours:
Breakfast:
Daily: 06:30 - 10:30
Lunch:
Daily: 12:30 - 14:30
Dinner:
Monday
|
18:30 - 22:30
|
Tuesday
|
18:30 - 22:30
|
Wednesday
|
18:30 - 22:30
|
Thursday
|
18:30 - 22:30
|
Friday
|
18:30 - 22:30
|
Saturday
|
18:30 - 22:30
|
Sunday
|
18:30 - 22:30
|
S. African Standard Time (GMT +2:00)
Proprietor / Manager:
Justin Griesel
Sommelier:
The wine menu was put together by Derek Ramsden, a Cape Wine Master
Review by:
Chef Sean Overpeck (CFE) being crazy in Toronto 2010
Chef Sean cooks for soldiers in Afghanistan, 2012:
"Culinary perfection
consists not in doing extraordinary things, but in doing ordinary things extraordinarily
well."
TTFN
