Mozambik Cavendish — Restaurant in Claremont

Food (can't feel my tongue?)/5 Understanding of what a "mild" dish is 1/5 Exorcism included 5/5 Service 5/5 Unforgettable date night 4/5 Time of the review: 4:41am Review location: bathroom

Whatever happened here, I'm certain it involved a mix-up of peri-peri sauce with cooking oil — because this food is on par with Mexican street food in all the more and less glorious ways (kind of like sitting on a cactus).

We both love spicy food, but this one easily expanded our horizon of what's possible out there...

CHAPTER 1: NAIVETY AND OPTIMISM

I mean, I brought it onto myself, ordering the veg curry spicy, naively assuming it would come out like at the two other mozambik locations, an enjoyable and fun spicy - but my poor girlfriend felt less adventurous tonight, so asked for "mild".

Should be an important distinction, but didn't really matter, as we later got assured that even mild at this location comes out to very spicy (yay!). At least she got spared of the exorcism - but more on that later.

CHAPTER 2: THE HEAT OF AFRICA

All three of our main dishes featured an amount of spice that we would categorize mostly as painful, overshadowing most other flavors in the dish, ensuring this would be an unforgettable experience.

Especially mine was one of the spiciest dishes I've ever had, more comparable to those black ramen packages with the red "extra hot" warning labels you eat to feel like a fire-breather for a night, or a curry you may find in a back alley of Bangkok.

CHAPTER 3: PLAYING WITH FIRE

We shared some delusional laughs throughout this memorable evening, and after seeing our pained faces and hearing our sorrows, the waitress even brought my girlfriend a side of molten butter to soften the blow.

Our taste buds burned so far, that I started anxiously asking if the other sides or even our water had spice in them. And even the carrot of a salad we ordered earlier felt spicy, without any dressing - pure magic!

After gratefully gobbling up all the great coconut rice we could find, we gave up - hoping to drown the leftovers in coconut cream tomorrow to discover the other flavors...

CHAPTER 4: THE EXORCISM

What I didn't realize was that my meal came with a free exorcism! I'm now on my 5th round on visiting the throne of fire tonight, and I'm sure some spirits have left my body already.

I love how this dish is enjoyable twice*, just adding up onto the whole experience with fun I haven't had in a while. While I would've preferred to catch some more sleep, my stomach just happily dreams up alchemy experiments, turning peri peri into acidic rumbling (instead of gold sadly).

Just like in Mexico where I naively experimented with spice tolerance and ended up rather sitting on a cactus.

*(much more if you're counting each visit to the porcelain exorcist individually)

CHAPTER 5: WARNINGS FOR FUTURE VICTIMS

If you order this dish mild, be prepared to eat extra spicy and burn your mouth badly. Do not look at it too closely, it might burn your eyes too...

However, if God forbid you ask for spicy - first of all: please don't! - but if you do, you should eat a few cups of yogurt before going to bed. I'm sure it doesn't help with consistency, but I hope it helps with the spice. The peri peri is scared in the dark and would rather light a fire in the intestines before being forced to venture into the unknown alone.

Not sure though what to do with the leftovers now, if we can drown them in coconut cream, call a biohazard crew or if we manage to recreate this unique evening.

CONCLUSION:

All in all, a solid 3/5 experience, had some fun, wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but some unforgettable memories and fun stories were made. Service was great, atmosphere is nice and I'm sure the other flavors in the food were pretty good too, albeit covered by a fire blanket that keeps on giving.

I just hope the exorcism is over and all the demons have left after round 5 *correction at 11am: despite my prayers, the mass continued for a total of 8 services, what a...

I recently visited Mozambik Cavendish and had a really enjoyable experience. From the moment we walked in, the service stood out. At the entrance, we were warmly welcomed by a hostess who immediately asked if we were fine and quickly found us a comfortable table without any delay. That small touch set the tone for the rest of the evening.

For the meal, we ordered a mix of chicken and fish, including a hake dish. Both were well-prepared and flavorful, with portions that felt generous for the price. The chicken was tender, juicy, and seasoned beautifully, while the hake was cooked just right—crispy on the outside yet soft and flaky inside. Together with the sides, the meal felt hearty and satisfying. The bill came to around R400 and something, which I thought was quite fair considering the quality and portion sizes.

What impressed me most was the consistency of the service. The staff checked in on us regularly—not too much to be intrusive, but enough to make sure we were comfortable and happy with everything. That balance is rare to find and made the visit feel personal and cared for.

Overall, Mozambik Cavendish delivered both in food and in service, and I’d...

1/5 Stars - Traumatic Experience at Mozambik Cavendish

I'm writing this review as a warning to others after a shocking and disturbing experience at Mozambik Cavendish on September 1st. While the food quality was decent, the traumatic events that unfolded in the kitchen completely ruined my evening.

As I was enjoying my meal, a loud and intense fight broke out in the kitchen. The banging, shouting, and swearing were audible and visible from where I was seated. The atmosphere quickly turned uncomfortable and hostile. I was extremely scared and felt as though i needed to run out of the restaurant afraid of what was going to happen.

I was shocked that the staff didn't intervene promptly or reassure us that everything was okay. We did get an apology for the disturbance, however that was too little. The lack of concern for customer experience was alarming.

Given the distressing nature of the incident, I believe a reimbursement for my meal is warranted. I hope the management takes steps to address the issues in their kitchen and ensures a safe and pleasant environment...