Saltwater Grill Durbanville — Restaurant in Durbanville

We visited Saltwater Grill on the 2nd of January 2025 for lunch, and while the food was enjoyable, the overall experience left room for improvement. It was evident that the staff were tired, likely after a long and busy Christmas season.

I called two hours ahead to make a booking, anticipating a busy lunch service. Upon arrival, 10 minutes early, we were greeted by the hostess, who was busy refilling condiments. She advised us to pick any table we liked, which was fine, but it would have been nice if she had walked us to a few table options or confirmed if any tables were reserved or still being prepared. These small touches can enhance the overall experience.

We brought our own bottle of wine (R65 corkage), and while the waitress provided glasses and ice, there was no ice bath to keep the wine chilled. Additionally, the wine wasn’t opened or poured for us, which we’ve come to expect at other similar restaurants. It’s not a major issue, but small gestures like these add a level of service that enhances the experience.

For starters, we ordered sushi, which was fresh and arrived quickly. However, the soy sauce was served in plastic bowls, which felt out of place for a restaurant of this standard. Upgrading these small details would align better with the establishment’s pricing and position.

For our main course, we ordered the Deluxe Platter for Two, which included mussels, crispy tentacles, hake, prawns, calamari, chips, and savory rice. The mussels were tasty, served in a nice white wine sauce. The crispy tentacles had a great texture but were bland and needed the sauce from the mussels for flavor. The hake was fresh, flaky, and a generous portion, though not particularly flavorful. The prawns were enjoyable, and the calamari was tender and well-seasoned.

The platter came with chips in a separate bowl and savory rice served underneath the prawns and hake. Although we opted for the no-rice option, the rice was still included, and we left it untouched. The portion size was more than sufficient for two people, especially since we had sushi as a starter.

Unfortunately, after the platter was delivered, our waitress didn’t check on us again. We poured our own wine and water throughout the meal, which detracted from the overall service. While minor, attentive service makes a noticeable difference, especially at a restaurant positioned as more than casual dining.

The bill came to approximately R1000, which included: • 1 x draft beer • 1 x large sparkling water • R65 corkage for our wine

The pricing is on the higher end for a seafood restaurant, but the experience fell short of justifying it. This was my second visit to Saltwater Grill in two years, and I recall the first experience being significantly better. Perhaps it was the long holiday season, the time of day, or a need for refreshed staff training.

Overall, Saltwater Grill has the potential to deliver a memorable experience, but attention to finer details and service is needed to live up to its pricing...

Let me start with the positive. The food is absolutely stunning. Unfortunately that is where it stops. We were seated at a sticky table. Had to ask somebody to clean. It got wiped down without spraying sanitizer or even water. Needless to say the table stayed sticky. My wife had to put down napkins to stop sticking to the table. Waitron arrived, not even greeting properly or introducing herself. I ordered a bottle of white wine and the wrong bottle arrived. We got ice on the table, but no ice bucket. We had to ask another waitron to bring us one. No cloth over the side of ice bucket to wipe the bottle before pouring. Our glasses were never topped up. When we asked what time the kitchen closes, our waitron told us 21h00 only to be informed by another waitron that it closes at 21h30. We asked our waitron a couple of questions about the food and asked for recommendations. Her product knowledge was very limited. When our food arrived, there were no condiments on the table. Not even salt & pepper. I noticed that the manager on duty was on her phone at the point of sale, and obviously not checking on customers. When I finished eating, I got up to go the bathroom. I asked the lady if she was the manager, which she affirmed. I said the her 'Shame on you' and I continued to the bathroom. When I got back she was speaking to my wife. Completely ignoring me. I asked her to address me, as I am the one who complained. Instead of de-escalating the situation (like any good front of house manager should), she was defensive and made such a scene that a waitron had to step in to try and calm her down. I actually took a video of her while she was carrying on like that. She gave me the owner's number, whom I called when we left the restaurant. I was impressed that he answered the call after 22h00. I told him what transpired. He was apologetic and said that he will look into it. He called me back a while later (very impressed that he did so). Then he told me, to add insult to injury, that he was informed by his manager that racial comments were made which is a blatant lie. The manager is trying to hide her incompetence by trying to play the, frankly tiresome, race card and it is shocking to say the least. I told the owner, Dylan, that I am so sure that there were no racial undertones, that I am prepared to take a polygraph test to prove that race was nowhere involved. At least not from my side. To end this, I am sorry to say that, due to the bad experience I had where the front of house staff is concerned, especially the manager, I will definately not recommend Saltwater Grill Durbanville. This is an absolute shame because (as mentioned earlier) the food...

Unfortunately i am disappointed about our first visit in saltwater grill today. My family told me about the delicious sushi, so we went to try.

The location is very nice and in the center of Durbanville. We got a table at the terrace without reservation and the ambience is good.

The waiter didn’t know about the drinks they have, but in the end we got what we asked for, cola and wine. We ordered fried calamari but they were not well fried, not crunchy and soaked in cold oil. We did not even get a fork, till another waiter asked us if we need them, finally we ate them with our fingers. The sauce was very good though. The sushi is a bit more expensive than others in the area so i was waiting for delicious rolls. The quality of the fish was indeed really good but in total the sushi was nothing special. Almost every type gets topped with a lot of mayonnaise. I know that from cheaper sushi but with good quality fish the mayo destroys the taste of the rest. Eating the sushi with wooden single use sticks is also something i know from cheaper or takeaway sushi. In this price class, we almost paid R1000/2Pax, i really enjoy stable, reusable chopsticks. After the sushi we got ignored for at least 30 minutes. Fair, the restaurant got more bussy at that time but the waiter was not even watching us even when he came to the table next to ours. After asking for the waiter i ordered one quick affogatto. I just know that from europe as one ball of icecream combined with a single shot espresso. Beside the fact that the waiter put some of the espresso on my trousers whilst putting it in the cup, the ice and the espresso were really ugly. The espresso was a normal café americano and the ice was full of pieces of frozen water, which means that it couldn’t melt properly and it was really not nice to eat. In the end we even had to pay 10 percent tip to the waiter, even if i was not really happy with it.

We are from europe and maybe im wrong with my expectations in that price class, but i think there are some easy points to improve the whole experience without a loss for the restaurant.

We gonna try again and taste some other good food of the menu as well. Maybe everybody was tired after an amazing...