Harringtons Cocktail Lounge — Restaurant in District Six

I celebrated my birthday at Harringtons last month, hoping to enjoy their wine pairing experience with friends — but the evening turned out to be a disappointing letdown.

I booked and paid the required deposit for 16 guests. Two days before, I confirmed we’d be 17, and two surprise guests joined us on the night. Despite this, the kitchen claimed they only had a record for 12 — a major oversight for a pre-booked event.

We placed our order around 19:30 — 15 of us ordered steak — only to be told much later that they had run out. Five guests had to change their orders, and the mains didn’t arrive until after 21:30. The steak portions were noticeably small, almost as if they had been split to stretch what was left. While we appreciated the complimentary shots during the wait, it didn’t compensate for the delays or confusion.

One guest who left early paid R400 directly to a waiter, but this wasn’t reflected on the final bill — adding more frustration and leading to an overpayment.

While the refund was eventually processed, management promised a full follow-up. Over a month later, I’ve heard nothing. I delayed writing this review to give them a chance, but it seems to be a pattern: apologies, no real action.

To be fair, the food was good when it finally arrived, and I want to commend Hannah (our waitress) and Oliver — both were professional, warm, and clearly trying their best under pressure.

Unfortunately, the poor planning, lack of communication, and absence of follow-through from management made what should have been a special evening stressful and disappointing. I hope Harringtons takes this kind of feedback seriously — customer experience...

I celebrated my 24th Birthday with 10 of my friends at Harringtons.

After paying R1000 deposit for the table. I am utterly disappointed in the service and security. Our waiter was very unfriendly, unhelpful, forgetful and had no knowledge of the drinks menu. To top that off our bill was overcharged by 1 bottle (bottle service) and the deposit was not deducted. (I have read loads of other reviews of being overcharged, this is not a good look)

We ordered red wine (cab sav) which was ICE COLD in fact refrigerated at a low temperature! And we ordered Rose which was HOT! This is another sign that staff has poor knowledge of the wine that is stored and served.

Sadly my birthday gift (money in cash) was stolen from our table out of the card, where we left your jackets, cake and balloons whilst standing on the balcony. (I understand that this can happen anywhere and anytime)

Their security needs urgent attention! My boyfriends phone got stolen from his pocket. We spoke to the manager, Kat, who said she would help us look at the footage.

I suggest implementing body searches and request that you prove you can unlock the phone with biometrics or a pin (Village Idiot does this)

What a disappointment having my birthday...

I couldn’t be more disgusted with this place. The service is some of the worst I’ve experienced in Cape Town and that’s saying something. First the hostess leads us to a table where other people are already sitting (in an empty venue as an FYI) and forces them to share with us. Reading the room, we ended up sitting at the bar. As it was happy hour, we ordered two Coronas (which were indicated as part of the special on a board in front of us) only to be told that Coronas aren’t part of the special despite being advertised as such. Instead of simply apologising or giving us the special price (to make up for false advertising), the bartender wipes Corona off the board and says it was never there. In awe, we obviously question his pathetic attitude and he shows the board to the rest of the staff saying ‘Can you see Corona on this board? No, okay‘ - an implication that we are liars. Interestingly, the other bartenders agreed that Corona was initially on the board but at this point we’d lost interest in dealing with what can only be described as entitled rudeness. Thank goodness for Surfa Rosa downstairs. Cold, draught beer served to us without an...