Fireside Bistro
Grant Avenue
Norwood
011 483 2060
Ratings:
Food:* *
Service:* *
Drinks:* * *
After last week’s shock announcement that bacon and other processed meats are being ranked on a par with cigarettes, formaldehyde and gamma radiation as cancer-causing substances, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has apparently insisted it is not telling people to stop eating the meats.
The report, by WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, said that eating just 50g of processed meat – or two rashers of bacon – a day increased the risk of bowel cancer by 18 percent.
But the WHO said it was merely emphasising recommendations made in 2002, that people moderate their consumption to reduce cancer risks. Sanity has prevailed and the advice is, as it has always been, that moderation is key. Which means, in South Africa, the braais are fine as long as you don’t indulge in them too often.
I’d first come across Fireside Bistro in Norwood a few months ago, when the owner, Terrence Klaff, invited me to his restaurant. This past weekend, we popped by for an unannounced visit.
The central theme is built around the braai – Klaff personally braais meat on a wood fire to order and on Sundays he puts a whole lamb on the spit. The spit costs R150 a person, and you can “top up” your plate as often as you like. This is served with oven-roasted potatoes and a choice between roast vegetables or a salad.
Popular starters are salads, boerewors with chilli flakes and cumin, chicken livers peri peri, and queen prawns – lemon or peri peri – but the real treats are reserved for mains, and meat-lovers are certainly spoilt for choice. There’s an Argentine chimichurri rump steak, kudu loin with a black peppercorn sauce, lamb cutlets and deboned chickens, with lemon and herb or Mozambican peri peri-style.
Heartier fare includes an oxtail potjie with butterbeans, and lamb shanks braised in tomato, onion and mustard. Fish dishes, which are prepared in the pizza oven (no pizzas, though), include oven-baked with capers, Italian parsley, lemon butter and black pepper; tuna steaks; Norwegian salmon; and baked kingklip. Again, all mains are served with the roast potatoes, roast vegetables or salad.
We started with chicken livers (R52) and snails cooked in a creamy garlic and parsley sauce (R54). I wasn’t blown away by the livers – while they were juicy and cooked perfectly, the thin sauce was overly astringent and the accompanying bread was raw.
The waiters didn’t seem to notice this small detail, bringing me more of the raw bread when we complained. The snails were lovely, though – tender and generous, while the sauce was lovely and rich.
Our main course order was more successful – the peri peri chicken (R132 for full portion, R78 for half a bird) had a pleasant smoky flavour and was quite juicy, the spit-roasted lamb was beautifully tender, and the kudu (R156 for a 300g portion) richly flavoursome and tender. I had asked for the kudu to be served medium, not well done, so it had to be re-done. Again, probably a service issue. I prefer a slightly fruitier sauce with kudu, and asked for the cranberry jelly as an accompaniment, which worked better than the sharp pepper sauce.
Sweet lovers will enjoy the variety of desserts on offer. The chocolate brownie with roasted pineapple, flavoured with vanilla, brown sugar and cayenne pepper; the malva pudding with roasted peaches and custard and tubs of Pete’s Super Natural Ice-Cream – in double Valrhona Chocolate, Ethiopian vanilla, Vietnamese coffee, popcorn cream with toasted marshmallows and honeycomb and a rose; pomegranate and Turkish delight – will all appeal (R35 a 150ml portion).
The winelist has been thoughtfully compiled, with quality bottles on offer at reasonable prices and passable Van Loveren wines available by the glass – in addition to a decent beer offering.
However, the restaurant needs proper ventilation – fast.
On our visit, it became oppressively smoky and hot inside, and we had to move outside. At least they have that option, but one would have thought that, if you’re braaiing in a restaurant, a proper extraction system would have been in place.
Fireside has potential, with more hits than misses menuwise, but ventilation needs attention – and the staff could possibly do with more training in customer care.
Still, it’s one of the better options on Norwood’s Grant Avenue, which finally seems to be picking up.