It is such a pity that the Grand's good and service let it down. It is such a lovely place, arriving at sunset the mood was set with the picturesque pink hues of sunset blending quite well with the vintage furniture. Initially our waitress mistook us for 'real' food critiques,after we righted that error it was downhill from there. The bread rolls were the highlight of our meal, freshly baked and after Banting for a while it tasted like manna to me. My friend had the prawn bisque as a starter which was, for lack of a better adjective ok. My fish cakes with a lemon zest sauce were a disappointment as I was looking forward to the beef carpaccio but alas they were out. Next we had the chicken breast with olive gremolata. The chicken was quite dry and lackluster, the slight saving grace being the gremolata which added some flavor to the otherwise bland meal. We then prayed that they don't mess up our favorite dessert of cheesecake, surely this would be a grand affair? The baked cheesecake with peanut brittle was anticlimactic, firstly because it was a fridge cheesecake with a very soggy pastry, I mean really now, the reason we eat cheesecake is for the delicious buttery crunchy pastry. To top it all of it was quite cloying in texture and dry, a sauce would have aided in the flavor and palatability of the rather generous slice, what a waste. All in all a beautiful setting with a below par food standard, I was quite disappointed because I love the setup but I would not go back there as the food was a bit dismal.

I've eaten here before but it was many moons ago, when they first opened in 2009. I liked the cocktails then but not the food so much. I'm looking forward to trying their food now and hopefully they've improved with age.

The directions/'Findability'
It doesn't seem fair to judge them on this category since I knew where they were located and didn't need to get any directions from them. But I got parking, I didn't have to pay for, without any problems.

The location/venue
It is literally on the beach, they've made their own man-made beach. They've really struck gold with this location, other than the sea view, they are located in the heart of the Cape Town buzz. They are flanked by the V&A Waterfront on the right, high end hotels on the left, the sea in front and the World Cup stadium behind.

The decor is crispy white, with hints of shine and greys and fresh pink roses on the tables adding a summery feeling.

I personally judge a place by their bathrooms and house wine, regardless of how many stars they claim to have!. Speaking of bathrooms, very clean with quirky decor but the icing on the cake was the magazines inside every bathroom stall. I'm not sure how long they wanted me to stay in there.

The drinks
I'm always on the lookout for beer on tap, because of my husband of course. It is a deal breaker or maker with him, but I'm happy to see they have 5 options of draughts and most importantly the faithful Italian, Peroni draught.

They have fair options. But I'll have to try their house white today, to honestly judge them. I am impressed though, that they Pongracz as their house sparkling wine.

Back in the day, in my student days, I loved their cocktails and I think it's fair I try some today. So I tried a Basil martini and a Ginger Rogers( ginger with ginger extracts and mint). With the basil martini, a little heavyhanded with the basil to a point it's tasting medicinal. Served as a palate cleanser it would've worked. And the ginger Rogers, it tastes and looks like a ginger mojito

The food
The offering; a two course meal lunch, starters and mains.

I was not impressed by how limited the menu was. Not just the special menu for Restaurant week but their everyday menu as well. Too constricted. And the actual printed menu, on a piece of 'newspaper' paper, too flimsy.

Moreover, it's so disorganized, drinks and food mixed up.

Menu options are: Starters- chilled watercress & yoghurt soup, which I chose OR garlic snails, parsley & croutons. This just seems too basic for me. I'm expecting a bit of an effort to impress, it is restaurant week after all.

My starter: it's soup, basic soup! There's nothing jumping off the soup and grabbing me. It was made well, creamy but a little under seasoned but it was still cold soup.

I'm really now scratching for good things to say about this soup! At least it was chilled, you wouldn't want a warm soup on a beautiful summers day. But I can still think of a lot of things I'd rather have. The only other option was snails and I'm not the biggest fan, I love oysters but can't do snails. So my only option was soup!

My main: options are short rib burger, white truffle aioli, fries and onion rings OR penne pasta with mussels, bacon and thyme cream. Obviously I chose the pasta, but if they had given me a 3rd option I would've gone for that. But I'm hoping it'll taste so good, I'll have soup amnesia

The verdict: good start with the visuals- no mussel shells, thank you. I hate it when restaurants serve you fork food with shells.

And oh yes it did, give me soup amnesia, that is. It was just perfect :) ! The pasta perfectly Al dente, the rich bacon and mussels, just one word; yummy! And the thyme cream sauce just rounds everything up with a flavorful velvety finish. This is what a perfect pasta dish tastes like. I'm so excited, now! It is so perfectly seasoned that i don't even need to add parmesan.

It's a pity they didn't get me this excited from the word go. The portion size is also very appropriate for lunch. But I will take marks off because I was not really given much choice, it was either this or go home hungry.

The service
My waiter was a very chatty Gonny, who impressively is turning 60 in a few months and yet he looks like a 30 year old. He also happens to be my homeboy, he's from KwaZulu Natal as well, in Westville, so immediate bonding was a result. He was very attentive but sometimes a bit too much, at the beginning. But I could see, he really meant well

I do feel like I was getting special attention though because they knew I was there to review their restaurant. But as much as the kitchen was prompt with the food, it took forever to get drinks.

The ambience
This is where they get top marks. There's good background music, a lot of patrons enjoying their lunch, smiles from the staff and everyone generally helpful. And the much appreciated touch, is the 2 pink painted strokes on their cheeks for breast month awareness.

Overall: I had a good day, I'm glad I picked this restaurant today. My experience was good and the place made me feel relaxed and not old. A lot of upmarket restaurants make me feel old, and I'm not!

Now time for the scores!
Like previously stated I won't judge findability.
The location/venue- 10/10
The food/beverages- Drinks- 7/10. Starters- 4/10. Mains- 8/10
Service- 9/10
Overall experience/ Ambience- 9/10
TOTAL Score = 47/60. Average = 7,8/10

In conclusion will I go back for lunch? No, not to eat. As much as the food was a let down, the location and ambience will make me comeback for drinks with friends