Restaurant Week aims to make patrons discover a restaurant by offering an affordable taste of their chefs' signature cuisine. View, however, stands out as the exception to this laudable rule. For R400 a head, we were served what at first glance looked aesthetically pleasing, but promptly turned out to feel more like a hospital tray presentation of the entire (small) lunch on one plate: rather astoundingly, the chef had decided that it made sense to serve a hot starter and hot main at the same time, meaning that unless you ate your mushroom consommé too fast to allow for a pleasant experience, your fish or meat and their accompanying elements would be cold by the time you tackled them (the latter's temperature would however prove to not be their main flaw). Besides this incredibly poor choice from a professional kitchen, the presentation also allowed you to see at once that you did not get much, in terms of inventiveness, care and even quantity, for R400: a small bowl of insipid mushroom consommé (which tasted suspiciously like something that was not made from fresh mushrooms), a piece of underseasoned fish (in -thankfully- a delightfully crusty batter, the only notably good element of the entire meal) on a dispirited bed of mushy peas (do not expect here a thrilling reinvention of fish and chips), a plate of underwhelming carrots, whose elaborate terrine presentation was its only interesting point, and a small bowl of what could have been a lusciously creamy dessert, but was a grainy, unimaginative conclusion to what decidedly felt like disdainfully put-together portions on a conveyer belt.
This left us with the distinct impression that the chef had reluctantly accepted to be part of Restaurant Week, and that instead of seeing it as an opportunity to showcase his culinary style, he was rather expressing contempt for punters not paying his usual lunch price (yet cynically charging them unjustified rates compared to other restaurant offerings this week), and in serving the entire meal on one plate, could not wait to see them out the door as soon as possible.
We, dedicated foodies who adore indulging in the finest culinary haunts of the world, had driven 45 kilometers to enjoy a taste of his cuisine, and would happily have put View on our culinary map as a spot worthy of regular visits, had it proved to be the fine dining experience it was promising.
We may go back for the exceptional beauty of the location; but we do not recommend it to discerning patrons in search of a exquisite feast. Fine dining restaurants abound in Johannesburg. View, from what we have experienced, cannot feature on that list.