The Hussar Grill Willowbridge — Local services in Bellville

EDIT: Received a personal call from the owner, Russell where he invited us to "redo" the date night on any night at his cost. He told us that there was an error with the system and in his many years of owning the restaurant, it was the first time he had encountered that mishap. We came through to Hussar and Russell was there ready to welcome us and apologise in person - we had a lovely waiter who was attentive and complementary. We had the same food we had the night of our original review, but can say with pleasure that we were back to the good old Hussar Grill Willowbridge that we had come to expect. It was not that Hussar gave us a "free" meal, it was the personal call to apologise and listen to my feedback, the attentiveness to us during our "redo" and just the offer to even do this for us at all that really stood out. Russell could have just apologised and moved on - but he really went above and beyond to fix our dining experience. This was the stand out for me and I appreciated this gesture more - and I think a review showing how they fixed a bad review, shows even more how they go above and beyond for their restaurant and guests. Thanks Russell and team!

ORIGINAL REVIEW: I don’t usually leave reviews BUT we went to Hussar for my fiancés birthday, it was just him and I. Started off well, I made a booking and we sat down at our seats at 6pm, ordered our drinks and were enjoying the evening. Everything went downhill from there. We got our starters, and from there, waited 2 hours for our mains with not one waiter or manager coming to check up on us, let us know there was a delay, ask us if we wanted more drinks - nothing. For two hours. Eventually we waved down the woman who seated us to ask where our food ways, she said there was a delay in the kitchen and she would check - however at this point, two larger tables that had sat down way after us had all received their mains. 20 minutes pass and we get our food at 8:30pm - undercooked and very rushed with one wrong order. We leave it and begin to eat but I then ask to cook my steak a bit more by waving down another waiter from a different table - by the time the steaks came back we were so tired, it was 9pm, nobody had come to check on our table and we just wanted to leave. I would have been fine if it were just any other day, but specifically booked Hussar grill for something more special for my fiancés birthday and was heavily disappointed. When we finally got the bill and asked the waiter what the delay was, he said it was the kitchen and he asked a manager to come let us know and he saw nobody did - and yet, continued to leave us alone for 2 hours without an update. Terrible. Won’t be back...

Yesterday evening we decided to treat the family to a nice dinner. The ambiance is very nice and being meat lovers and having visited this Hussar Grill before we were excited to go. Unfortunately the experience wasn't one to be excited for. We ordered the Calamari for my youngest son and half way through I see a piece of plastic in the bowl. The manager came, apologised and put the blame at the supplier because in his opinion it was cartilage, but since I had to clean squid for years myself I am pretty sure I can recognise the difference. We had the steak tartare and this was good, not special. As a main course I had the chateaubriand that was cooked well, but that was served with a cold bearnaise. Maybe this is a matter of taste, but I don't understand why one would serve such a beautiful sauce cold. My wife had the lambshank that whilst regenerating was burnt. We mentioned this to the waiter, but not really a reaction. As a desert we ordered crème brûlée that had a sugar coating that they burnt, so the sugar was very bitter. Shame for such a classic dessert. The chocolate fondant spent a bit too much time in the oven, so became a chocolate cake. I think the only real positive was the waitress that really tried her best. The kitchen staff needs some extra training and fine tuning, especially for the food they want to serve and the price they ask for. In the end I am pretty sure I won't come back here any time soon. I love good food, really don't mind spending top dollar on it, but this was really...

We celebrated my son Owen’s 21st at The Hussar Grill Willowbridge, and I can honestly say it was an absolutely exceptional experience from start to finish. A huge thank you to Director Russell, who stepped in when the weather turned and made the brilliant call to move the party indoors. He then had the inspired idea to open the outside area for welcome drinks and integrate it with the indoor seating — creating a truly extraordinary space that set the perfect tone for the evening. Manager Leandra deserves special mention — she was incredible. Every time I turned to find her, she somehow appeared, ready to help with anything we needed, yet never intrusive. She managed everything so gracefully that the whole night ran effortlessly. Our waiters, Cliff and his colleague (whose name unfortunately escapes me), along with the rest of the serving team, were simply world-class. They kept the drinks flowing, the guests happy, and the service was so polished and on point, felt like we were at a 3 star Micheline restaurant. And last but not least — a massive shoutout to the kitchen team. We went with Set Menu 2, and every single guest came to tell us how incredible the food was. The pork belly and steak were the absolute stars of the night — perfectly cooked and full of flavour. Thank you to everyone at Hussar Grill Willowbridge for making Owen’s 21st such a memorable and special evening. You turned what could have been a rainy night into something truly unforgettable. Highly recommended! —...