BLONDIE — Restaurant in Gardens

I’m all for a good vibe and hipster hangout, but my experience at Blondie was marred by poor hospitality from the door staff. I arrived on Friday at 7:30 pm and greeted the doorman, letting him know that two of my friends were already inside and had saved me a spot. There were two staff members at the door—one of them looked directly at me but then turned away as if he hadn’t heard me. I politely asked if he worked there, but he didn’t respond, instead glancing over to his colleague, who was busy on his phone.

During this time, the second doorman let in three patrons who arrived after me, while both continued to ignore me. After some time, I finally got their attention again and asked if there was a policy in place, as I had friends waiting for me inside. He told me I’d need to call my friend to come get me, which I did. Meanwhile, I noticed that they allowed other guests who greeted them by name and shared handshakes to enter without hesitation.

Eventually, my friend came to fetch me, but the doormen ignored her as well, only letting us in after a considerable delay.

I understand the need for door policies, but it felt as though the doormen were only letting in regulars, leaving others—including potential paying customers—feeling unwelcome. Once inside, Blondie’s food and vibe were cool, but my initial welcome left a sour taste in my mouth, and we didn't stay long. If you want to maintain a loyal and diverse customer base in competitive Cape Town, improving the door staff’s customer service would...

Fantastic casual dining restaurant which is not too taxing on one's wallet. I had walked past it a number of times hence decided to finally try it on a hot Sunday afternoon couple of weeks back.

Check-in was smooth as a young lass ushered us to our seats. It has a mix of bench style communal seating with a few chair-table options along with bar stools. Décor resembles a run down American bar with a hippie vibe.

Menu is a one pager no-frills affair and a good break from a book like menu. One expects quality stuff especially from a brief menu and we sure weren't disappointed.

We ordered their signature beers for drinks which were fantastic. For food we relied on suggestions of our waitress and ordered Chicken Prego, Fiery fries, peta bread and humus. Each of these three dishes were fresh and delectable. The fries are unique to Blondie and I've never had this preparation before. And Peta was the freshest, tastiest and most flavorful that I've ever had.

Total bill with tip was 360 Zars (2 500ml beers, 2 dishes, 1 signature fries) which was very reasonable compared to all experiences I've had of kloof street and CBD restaurants.

Service was quick overall although helped by the fact that we arrived around 12 noon but I'm sure it's spot on irrespective. The place was choc-a-block full by the time we left.

Well done to the owners and their crew. Hope you maintain the standards that I experienced on the day.

I'll be back with a bigger...

The table service, food and drinks are were amazing, but I’d like to specifically commend their customer service:

I had been having a wonderful time with my friends until a group of around 15 men started swarming our table, practically harassing us to leave so they could take it over. They very loudly spoke amongst themselves and within earshot about how we were leaving while pointing to us, before our bill had even arrived. One of the party members went as far as to tell us to “pack it up”, so we would leave sooner. Naturally, this made us extremely uncomfortable.

When we got up to leave, the men then started clapping and whistling at us, in a bid to further antagonise us. I immediately told them that they were being extremely rude and made us uncomfortable, to which they responded with complete disrespect and no remorse.

After this, we warned both the manager and bouncer that these men made us uncomfortable. The manager then spoke to them about their conduct and kindly asked them to please respect the other patrons during their time at Blondie. They were then warned that if they continued, they’d be asked to leave.

I’d like to extend a sincere thank you to the team at Blondie, for protecting young women and every other customer who walks through their doors