Station Drive is the buzz point. First it was a brewery and pub from the S43 team, and now upstairs it’s Distillery 031 …
It’s a trendy space, all bleached wood and screeded floor, with a bar area, some communal tables and a smaller eating area. And on the side, the stills where all magic is made. It’s a comfortable space.
So getting into the spirit of things, I meet Jason and Ingrid for a drink and a burger at their in-house restaurant. There’s a vibe already: a large table tasting the gins and vodkas, and probably a few absinthes and things.
The menu is somewhat basic – but celebrates fresh ingredients and artisan methods. It’s basically three or four burgers and a wors roll, a few sides and some daily specials. But then these are no ordinary burgers.
We started with a few sides to nibble on while we were tasting the local gins. When the distillery opened late last year I was impressed with their spirits, but even more so with their home-made tonic water. So we had to order one of those – and then we were offered a cocktail with the said gin and some sort of naartjie concoction. Those, too, went down well. There were a few more of them as the night progressed.
So back to the sides: there are hand-cut chips dusted in beef fat and biltong or truffle oil, or crispy spiral zucchini fries with cayenne pepper. A special for the evening was the mac and cheese balls: delicious. I also enjoyed my fries. They were nice and crisp and served with wasabi kewpie and kimchi tomato sauce. I am not sure what goes into this, but suspect some fish sauce somewhere. It had a good flavour kick.
For mains there’s a pineapple and bacon jam burger. That’s a beef and oxtail patty topped with said pineapple and bacon jam and red pickle onions; or a chicken breast burger topped with chakalaka jam. The veg patty is made of tomato aubergine and Mozzarella and topped with pesto and rocket.
Jason went for the lamb jalfrezi burger – minced lamb on a raita, topped with onion bhaji and a zesty jalfrezi sauce. I liked the patty, but the bhaji was inspired. He was happy.
Ingrid went the more health- conscious route with a salad of rice and grains and what looked like the kitchen sink. it was an attractive mix, although I would have preferred to pair it with some protein. She was in her element.
My very posh wors roll, which boasted that it was ouma’s wors topped with wasabi, more kimchi tomato sauce, crispy seaweed and sesame seeds, was most enjoyable.
Desserts were even simpler. There’s a banana split – there are too many memories of Wimpys as a kid for me to ever order such a creature again – baked Alaska and a selection of ice-creams and sorbets.
Well, the latter take in the full range of the hooch the distillery has to offer. There’s a gin and tonic sorbet and and a mojito one. I opted for an orange, star anise and absinthe sorbet paired with a scoop of lemon curd ice cream. Both were delicious, the spiciness of the star anise lifting the sorbet, the ice cream deliciously creamy.
Ingrid and Jason jumped at the baked Alaska, which was that lemon curd ice cream served in a cup and topped with a baked meringue crust. It’s unlike any baked Alaska I’ve had previously, but they both enjoyed it.
The Restaurant at Distillery 031
The Foundry
43 Station Drive
087 232 4453
Open Wednesdays for dinner only, Thursday to Saturday for lunch and dinner. Call for details of monthly jazz evenings.
Eora in Florida Road is now open for breakfasts. Which is great news because their Umhlanga branch is one of my favourite breakfast spots when I find myself in “The Village”.
Most of the dishes I’ve enjoyed up north are on the Morningside menu. I was invited this week to the opening.
After not one, but three great cups of coffee – I needed to wake up – I really enjoyed the baked brinjal and feta omelette. It’s a dish I hadn’t tried before.
Perfectly poached eggs could be paired with smoked salmon, or spinach and mushroom (which I relished) or lamb kofta or even spicy cannellini beans with chouriço sausage. All topped with a good Hollandaise, naturally. Not normally a beans fan, I also enjoyed the latter dish, especially spiked up with their home-made chilli relish on the side.
And then there’s a variety of interesting fruit, nut, granola and smoothie options for the health conscious.
It’s a great addition to the breakfast options here in the city.
Eora
275 Florida Rd, Morningside
031 312 5522
Open: Daily 7.30am to 9.30pm.