I don't want to "ruin" (at all, and you know me) this event, but please read about our experience there (and there is a whole thread about it).

Honestly, the food is good. The service is atrocious. I will never give them another penny of my money.

oh dear, JLF, thanks for pointing this out, the service sounds really atrocious from your description. I hate that. is there another south african restaurant in ZH?
I was so keen to try that "mince pie" you were describing at our last epic "Taste of Switzerland" (I can't remember the name of the dish, sorry)

federica, what do you say?
I'm sure you won't want a restaurant where they serve turtle soup, will you?
by the way, how many did you save? I look forward to hearing your african adventures.

Wow, thanks for the heads-up, JLF! The people who recommended it to me talked about "great food, nice decor, a must-try", but probably I should have also used the search function (n00b!)

I read a bit on the thread, I am really, really sorry you had a very negative experience. However, if I don't go, I will be forever curious.
I will walk in fully conscious of the positive and negative reviews I've received, and give them the benefit of doubt, for the first time. I am fully aware I can be disappointed, but I hope not

And by the way, I completely agree with you - excellent food doesn't make up for lousy service. We'll see! Thanks again for the info though.

I say I will give it a go one time, conscious it could go either way.
No turtle soups for me though

Yeah. No worries. Like I said, food is quite good. And I totally expect you to go try it out. Just wanted to give a heads up.

I hope they have done a major overhaul of their service and it will be good for you guys.

ok federica, your optimism is contagious... let's give it go and hope to have something positive to report !

Hey guys (and gals),

Hopefully as you are going for lunch they wont be as busy and the service will be better.

Another thing we could possibly plan for spring/summer is having a proper braai (South African BBQ) down at the lake. I'm sure with all the Saffers on the forum we can knock together some real South African cuisine (koeksisters, melktert, babotie, etc etc) for everybody to try.

count us 4 in now!!!

Never tried SA food - exciting Walk past Mama Africa all the time and always wondered what it's like!

JLF - Hopefully your experience was a one-off. We'll update you next week!

I had dinner there in December - my husband took his research group, so we were 9 or so, upstairs. The food was quite good, the service was a little uneven - but not horrible. I'd definitely go back.

Heard about these 'braai' things, where do I sign up. I've made Babotie at home (great dish, easy to make) but apart from biltong and various veg that I've forgotten in the last 30 years cannot think of other SA food I've tried.

About to raed the other thread on the place for next Friday.

Hello Federica,

I was in this restaurant on August,2011. The place is nice decorated and the food is also good. However, the service was not so nice and the food took soooo long to came (maybe because we were in a big group - 15 or 20 people). Everyone was almost starving when the food arrived and then, the staff changed the orders and it was a little mess.

But this is a simple problem, it can be solved with a little bit of patience.

Anyway, I have a friend from South Africa and I'll tell him about the event.

Bye.

I am sooooo in!

Hi all!

I'm also South African, and just moved in to Winterthur! Unfortenetly I can't go to the Lunch in Zurich, But im open to a Braai!! I miss a good Braai and some Koeksisters xD

* Update *

Ok, I'll be there, i can go

would you permit the presence of east islanders with offspring?

Koeksisters = Yummy! Haven't heard that expression in 19 years. Oh to have the syrup dripping from the end of your fingers......... sigh!

I'm not south african, but parts of my grandfather's family migrated to SA in the early 1900's, no idea what happened to them, tho. Also my husband is Dutch so I vaguely understand some Afrikaans. But no idea what the food items are.

So anyway, I'm going to try to come.

Hi Guys & Gals

I am also South African, and moved to Zurich in September last year... The sound of a braai and koeksisters sounds great...keep us posted.

Thanks
M

Better than me then, I don't know Afrikaans (shame on me...) left SA in a young age and just learned english

But i know the food! haha my dad has a recipe for Koeksisters, let me see if I can get it from him...

Anybody but the Ozzie's.

Just kidding. EVERYBODY will be welcome. Such is the South African hospitality.