The Terrace @ D'Aria — Restaurant in Bellville

....... We discovered that a new restaurant has opened here so we came to explore. Wow! Wow! Wow we were bowled over by what we encountered on our arrival here after a long absence due to the old restaurant closing down and the Covid-19 pandemic. On what use to be the top-level of the garden area a sparkling new impressive aluminium and glass structure has immerge as the Phoenix in true splendour, shine-ii and bright and very large with plenty of seating inside but the best part is the plenty of seating outside in the front and on the side of the restaurant under large white umbrellas where you can enjoy the beau-tii of the well maintained lashes gardens a true experience out in nature. When we arrived here we were pleasant-lii surprised to note that they reserved a table inside and outside giving us the option to choose and been the month of Spring with amazing weather we definitely chose to sit outside on the side of the awesome gardens. The menu-card offers are many ranging from five starters, seven pizzas, cheese and cold-meat boards, several mains which vary from steaks to sea-food dishes and even a whopper of a cheese & bacon burger on a charcoal-bun, different sides and salads and of cause the dessert menu and we have heard that the chocolate baked cheese-cake is to die for. And all this is at affordable market related prices. Our waitress was Brenda who was very efficient, pleasant and attended to us superb-lii. We ordered a simple bottle of D’Aria “Blush” which sat nice-lii on the palate leaving a lingering taste of berries and exotic-fruit on the taste-buds. At a price of only R 110.00 per bottle. For our main-dishes we ordered a #1. Bacon, feta & avo pizza @ R 120.00 (the base was magical-lii thin and all the fillings fresh and taste-ii) #2. Calamari Tubes grilled, creme fraiche, smoked paprika butter, fried Asian peanut dressing & lemon. This was an epic dish calamari-tubes & baby squid heads was succulent and divine-lii delicious. A dish that can be enjoy any day and anytime. #3. Terrace Burger 180g Forequarter beef, cheese & bacon what a twist when it arrived it was a charcoal-bun it looked impressive but the taste was far more rewarding and the beef-pat-tii was one & a half inches thick, the sauce was intriguing-lii delicious and taste-ii. We will have to visit a few more times to be able to indulge in all the niceties that this venue has to offer. As we ran out of time due to another commitment we ordered our dessert on the go which was chocolate cheese-cake served with ice cream. We were very impressed with the all-round performance and functionality and will definitely recommend this restaurant. PS! This place D’Aria has a separate Wine-Tasting facility at reasonable prices, even two other restaurants on the same premises called “PATINA” and “BOTANY” as for parking it is not a problem here. Even the rest-room facilities are clean and neat. So for us it will be a future adventuristic escapade……………This restaurant is Covid-19 compliant. "No Mask" No Entree and the staff wear their masks...

Disheartening Experience at The Terrace Restaurant - Unprofessional Management.

I recently dined at The Terrace restaurant at D’Aria with my family on Saturday, 19 August 2023, between 2pm-4pm. While our waiter, Sebastian, provided attentive and kind service, the overall experience was marred by a shocking display of unprofessionalism from the so-called 'manager,' Meiring.

The trouble began when there was a mix-up regarding the bill, specifically concerning a bottle of wine and its associated pricing or promotion. Instead of handling the matter discreetly and professionally, Meiring decided to air the restaurant's dirty laundry in front of us and other customers. Witnessing an employee reprimanding session was uncomfortable and wholly inappropriate. Meiring's approach showcased a lack of managerial tact and a severe disregard for customer comfort.

To add insult to injury, Meiring's choice of words was simply astonishing. His condescending comments, such as "you first finished the bottle and then afterwards want to complain about it" and "well then who's gonna pay for it?", were not only patronizing but also wholly unbecoming of a manager in the hospitality industry. Our repeated attempts to explain the situation were met with interruptions and a dismissive attitude, as if he had already prejudged us as wrongdoers. What was even more disappointing was the absence of any apology from Meiring or acknowledgment of the misunderstanding. The lack of empathy and accountability displayed by the manager was in stark contrast to the waiter's genuine remorse for the situation. It was apparent that Meiring was more interested in defending his ego than maintaining customer satisfaction.

Furthermore, the assertion that this confusion was a common occurrence raises questions about the restaurant's proactive approach to preventing such incidents. If this were a well-known issue, why hadn't the management taken steps to address it before? It's concerning that the onus was placed on us to bear the brunt of the blame rather than the establishment taking responsibility for its shortcomings.

It deeply saddens me to declare that I will not be returning to The Terrace restaurant at D’Aria after this disappointing incident. While the food and service were commendable, the conduct of the manager, Meiring, overshadowed any positive aspects of the meal. I earnestly hope that this review prompts the restaurant's management to reflect on their practices and address this issue transparently, and that steps are taken to prevent such unfortunate incidents from recurring in the future. A formal apology for our experience and an explanation of how this situation will be addressed would be greatly...

The Terrace is one of those places where the sum of the parts don't equal the whole. You can't fault anything per se. Food was fantastic. I had fish and chips, daughter had the salmon and wife had a basic pizza. All very tasty and well presented and prepared. Service a tad slow but nothing to really moan about. Table outside was great (although, leaving those stone slab tables exposed to 35 degree C summer sun without an umbrella made it impossible to sit at our initial table-we literally burned our hands on the hot surface. We asked for a cooler table) and lots of people coming and going. However, it just lacked the X factor that would make me give it a 5 overall. Can't put my finger on it..... I will say their Sushi is ridiculously overpriced and their other food varies. The fish and chips was fair, pizza was fair but the Salmon I thought was overpriced (but it was very good according to my daughter). The other main meals looked a bit pricey too and their wine was pricey, given they are on a wine farm too!

So, this review may seem a bit confusing.... to be sure : I would definitely recommend this place. Be sure to get an outside table that is not in the direct sun. Inside tables are a bit acousticly challenging we found. Order a burger (had this previously) or pizza or the fish and chips and if you are on a budget. (Oh, the side salad instead of chips was very good and well sized) Also, extremely limited VEGETARIAN options

To the owners : your corkage is a bit excessive, given the price of your wine. And then cakeage?? Seriously? Never heard of that in my life....just saying

And this is all MY opinion. I'm sure many will disagree with my review but that is why we call it that...