On a miserable Thursday night, 14 on Chartwell is packed. There’s only room at the bar and our hostess welcomes us into an opening. The place is abuzz with Umhlanga’s beautiful people.
It’s a smart restaurant with a lounge-like feel at the front, tables spilling out on to the pavement (I do wish the Protea Hotel building site would finish soon), and more intimate banquettes at the back.
The decor is self-consciously retro, from the shape of the chairs to the style of the low-slung chandeliers, the amber glass and seventies green and yellow colours.
On the left there are two businessmen munching ribs and plotting a deal. On the right the cougar dispatches the tweens to other parts of the restaurant so she can chat up the hipster in the football shirt. Across the way it looks like the makings of a stag night.
The one thing about eating at the bar is that you do notice what’s going on around you. And the bar, of course, is the centre of attention. You can’t miss it.
Here they have one of the better selections of craft beer on tap, and an entire three-page menu by the bottle. There are premium spirits. Luke was most impressed they had his favourite fynbos gin. And a boutique wine list.
And craft is the name of the game when it comes to the menu. It’s a small creature that takes in the soak-it-up pub-grub style with some gastro pub highlights. It’s all produced in house.
We were impressed with the bowl of candied cashews brought to the bar, soon followed by a loaf of craft bread to nibble on. Good soaker-uppers, both.
Platters may include a beer and cheese or beer and brat option. That’s a selection of craft beers with a selection of cheeses or sausages. There’s halloumi and fig and prosciutto spring rolls, cauliflower soup, or honey spiced chicken wings with blue cheese dipping sauce. Cider-smoked mussels and tomato and basil bruschetta sound good.
The salt and pepper calamari with chilli and ginger jam was good, the calamari nicely seasoned. I liked the jam too, but felt it clashed with the calamari. Luke was more than happy to smear it over that excellent bread. The Asian lamb riblets with nam jim dipping sauce were enjoyable, with a good spike of chilli.
When it comes to mains there are a couple of options in a bun – that’s for those who can’t leave the burger behind; although the pulled portobellini mushroom bun sounds like an interesting vegetarian option.
There’s a pie of the day – this time it was a lamb shank version, which was obviously popular as they were flying out the kitchen. The bone stuck through the pastry topping artfully.
T-bones, lamb cutlets, pork ribs, grilled prawns and fish and chips complete the picture. There’s a coconut and cashew nut chicken curry that sounds good, plus a selection of sides and sauces.
Luke opted for a jaffle. Now when last did you see that on the menu? He went for the pulled-pork variety and enjoyed it immensely. It came with a very good side salad.
Lobster mac and cheese piqued my interest. It’s a trendy pub grub dish doing the rounds in London. It was pleasant without being remarkable, somehow lacking any oomph one might expect from the cheese or lobster. But it was a generous portion.
Going with the craft theme, coffee features big here. I was told on opening night the story of the coffee machine imported from Belgium at the cost of some hundreds of thousands of rands. And the man working the gleaming behemoth boasted that tonight’s beans were a Nicaraguan blend. It was superb, and on complimenting the barista, I got a wide smile of gold teeth.
Stuffed to the gills, we skipped desserts. These might include Bar One spring rolls, or a choc fudge sundae or Eton mess. There’s a mojito cheesecake that sounds fun. And the humble Pedro has morphed into the spiked shake. There’s chocolate peanut and frangelico; and coffee, chocolate and Tia Maria; and coconut vanilla and rum. Wonderfully boozy.
14 on Chartwell
Address: Chartwell Drive, Umhlanga
Phone: 031 561 1017
Open: Daily 11am until late. Kitchen closes at 10pm