Butcher Boys
Where:
170 Florida Road, Morningside
Call:
031 312 8248
Open:
Daily lunch & dinner
I was looking for a chilled spot to watch some of the World Cup action and settled upon Butcher Boys one Sunday afternoon. I sat at the bar drinking beer on tap and munching on one of the better burgers I’ve had in Durban. All this while watching England demolish poor Panama in a score line that looked like rugby.
The burger (R110) was cooked to order - medium rare - was packed with herbs and flavour, and it was a good size patty topped with bacon, mature cheddar, lashings of their house mayo and a spicy chimichurri sauce. That’s a sort of Argentinian pesto made with lots of parsley and a few chillies.
So often burgers are dwarfed in bread, the type where you simply can’t face the top of the roll. Not so here. And besides the good flavour and plenty of messy ingredients, there were good hand-cut chips. Plus the amiable chatter of the barman as we discussed a rather one-sided match.
And so when the gang from Joburg descended last weekend I had no problem suggesting Butcher Boys for an early evening dinner and to take in the Sharks’ narrow win and Cristiano Ronaldo’s unceremonious exit. And yes they too were impressed.
My 300g rib-eye steak (R195) was cooked a shade more medium than medium rare, but it was still a good juicy cut. A friend’s avo dijon sirloin (R200) got the thumbs up. This was a 300g cut topped with avo and a creamy honey dijon mustard sauce. The prime rib (R215) too cracked the nod, a massive steak on the bone which could easily feed two. The 200g fillet (R165) was cooked to perfection and meltingly tender, and mother enjoyed her massive lamb shank (R210) served with vegetables and herbed mash.
One of the good points here is the choice of sides. It can be the usual chips mash or baked potato, but there’s also a side salad - which was generous - and creamed spinach - which actually a) had some spinach in it and b) had some flavour. No, this was not the usual green grey glue-like slop. The vegetables of the day were a medley of about 8 different veggies, all properly cooked.
And then I ordered the onion rings R28, some of the best I’ve had in Durban. These are real onion rings - that’s onions lightly dusted in seasoned flour and fried until golden brown and crisp. Not these monstrous things in heavy batter that look like donuts.
We had a most enjoyable meal, with good service, even if that cheating, ear-biting Suarez got through to the next round. Obviously, we can’t win them all.
Food:
4
Service:
4
Ambiance:
3 1/2