Merak — Restaurant in Eastern Cape

My partner and I came for dinner on the 20th of December. Our waitress was “Cassidy” , who made us wait a whole hour for starters while she attended the other guests that arrived after us and serving them MAINS before us even getting our starters.She kept being nonchalant when we asked about our order and showed zero professionalism as she seemed like she was rushing to attend other guests. Responding to us with her back faced in our direction in passing, not even standing to hear our concerns. An hour later she comes with one starter being the prawns mind you that should take about 15mins max to prep👎🏾 and we resorted to asking other waiters what’s causing the wait as they went to the kitchen and they all said it’s the lamb ribs my partner ordered. Only for Cassidy to arrive with the prawns a hour later (please be mindful that 30mins after waiting we asked her what’s happening and she kept coming saying that the chef is asking for 5 more minutes , until an hour lapsed) and say that we didn’t place the ribs as an order? But she heard us placing the lamb ribs she just thought we cancelled the order? How! When she confirmed the order before leaving my table which had the lamb ribs?

Advice for future , improve on staff training and professionalism. We stay in Jhb and came to experience PE, service was below par! This is utterly unacceptable if you want to grow in business. Additionally if starters ordered by guests will take long , let the guests know that “our prawns take an hour to be prepared, are you willing to wait that long or should we suggest something else that’s a bit quicker?”

Cassidy definitely needs more training on how to speak to guests and address such matters. You can’t always be ignoring guests because you are afraid of confronting them because the order is...

For someone that travels a lot… especially in the Mediterranean… Merak:

An exceptional dining experience from beginning to end. The menu masterfully blends Mediterranean and Middle Eastern influences, with a delightful surprise of sushi that holds its own among the stars of the evening.

The Za’atar Flatbread is a must-order. Warm, fragrant and brilliantly executed. For starters, I enjoyed the snails and hummus. The bread arrived oven-fresh, pairing beautifully with the silky hummus, while the snails were topped with a rich tomato relish and melted cheese that added incredible depth of flavor. Every dish flowed seamlessly into the next.

The Bone Marrow Flatbread too. Amazing.

The wine list is carefully curated with thoughtful pairings to elevate both seafood and meat selections. The cocktail program impressed me even more. I began with a perfectly balanced Old Fashioned, followed by a classic Piña Colada, and finished with the Merak Signature cocktail, a decadent dessert-style drink that ended the evening on a high note.

The sushi rolls, especially the Dragon Roll, were phenomenal and a testament to the restaurant’s versatility. For dessert, the panna cotta was flawless: silky texture, well-rounded vanilla flavor, and just the right amount of sweetness.

Cassidy, deserves recognition for her professionalism, warmth, and extensive knowledge of the menu. Her recommendations truly enhanced the experience.

The atmosphere is chic, modern, and effortlessly elegant. Merak delivers on every front, and I will absolutely...

Forget your birthday. Wait long. Missing waiter, missing supervision and missing management.

Called from Cape Town to make a booking for my birthday in December. The person who took my call never called back as promised. I asked my mom in Port Elizabeth to secure the booking for a party of 9. Starters came late and the main course arrived just short of 3 hours since we sat down! Two tables (party of 2 and party of 4) that arrived after us got their food first. One dish was cold, the water my daughter ordered never arrived and the flatbread my mom ordered never arrived. Our waiter hardly appeared, did not communicate anything about the delays and like a previous review, from another patron, was MIA when we left.

I emailed the restaurant expressing dissatisfaction in the hope that services will improve and to avoid an online post pending some acknowledgement but 3 weeks on, no response.

At least they allowed me to bring my own small cake for the candle and my own bottle of Veuve Clicquot (paid the corkage fee).

Decent food and ambience ruined by terrible service and...