At school they tell you not to judge a book by it’s cover, but damn, it’s hard. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll eat anywhere. I’ll go to a restaurant no matter how dodgy, strange, small, illegal it may look and I will find something to eat. But every now and then, even I succumb to expectations, which is exactly what happened at Peddlars.
It’s just a pub, right?
Wrong. Peddlars is waaaaay more than a pub. It has the pub-sport vibe in one section, it has the beautiful sunny garden in the centre, and it has a full, pretty restaurant to the side. It has everything.
Something different happens at Peddlars pretty much every day. On Tuesday, order a main and get any 2 glasses of Groote Post Brut Rose, Sauvignon Blanc or Old Man’s blend red to go with it. On Thursday is the famous, quiz night. Sports events are screened at the bar and on big match days they have a full braai. During the month of September they’re running a DELICIOUS Italian menu paired with wines. And finally, their lunch special runs from Monday to Friday from 12pm-3pm, and you choose either, 2 courses for R110 or 3 courses for R140, which includes a glass of wine!
Marvin and I went to try the lunch special the other day. To start I had the Beef Carpaccio with chopped celery, rocket and parmesan, then drizzled with a home-made mayonnaise dressing. The dressing was light and well flavoured, the beef was perfectly thin and the celery, which I was a little worried about, gave delicious crunch.
He had the Canjun-style, pan-fried Patagonian calamari tubes, on a bed of Moroccan spiced couscous. The calamari was tender and generously portioned, and was neither overpowered nor disappeared amongst the divine couscous. It was really delicious (I was slightly jealous).
For my main I had Butter Chicken served with jasmine rice, coriander, sambals and a poppadum. The curry wasn’t as spicy or creamy as I expected, as was more of a simple, spiced curry than Butter Chicken. The chicken itself was soft and had been marinated beautifully, perhaps they just got the name wrong – it was delicious nonetheless.
Marvin had the lightly smoked Franschhoek trout fillet served on a mixed salad, with oven-roasted tomatoes, avo, feta and a citrus dressing. The fish was flaked and a tad watery, but it was perfectly smoked. The oven-roasted tomatoes added richness and in my mind, you can’t go wrong with feta and avo. The dressing was phenomenal, even for me, someone who isn’t a fan of citrus-based vinaigrettes.
Make sure you check out the rest of the Lunch menu – it’s a special you don’t want to miss out on.
Peddlars is always happy to try something new and if you have ideas for them, they really do take them on board. It’s a family restaurant, it’s a pub, it’s a sports venue, a party venue, a place to entertain and be entertained. It’s schizophrenic, and it works.
