Narona — Restaurant in Gardens

Placed an order for a lasagna, a creme soda and a banana milkshake. All that arrived was a coke and the milkshake. The driver told me that he had asked twice whether the restaurant was sure that there was no food, and the restaurant had insisted that there was no food. When I phoned Narona they told me a different story, they said that they had asked the driver to wait 2 minutes for the food and he had just left. They apologised to me and said that they would send the food and "personally ensure that it arrived". I don't know who is lying here. Probably the driver. But even if it was the driver who lied, Narona still gets only 2 stars from me for these three reasons:

1. They did not contact me to let me know that the driver had left without my food. If they had done this, then I could have told the driver that he's lying and sent him back.
2. They did not contact me to let me know that they didn't have the creme soda in stock. I cannot drink coke I have a caffeine allergy and would have asked them to send something else. I had to give the coke away and go to the shops for my drink.
3. After assuring me that they would "personally" ensure that the food was delivered to me, it took another 57 minutes for the food to finally arrive. It was by then completely cold. I live exactly 6 minutes from the restaurant. I have no idea what they were doing for the first 51 minutes, but this time they definitely cannot blame the driver. If they had told me that they were going to take (another) hour to deliver, I would have just gone and picked it up. I should also note that I did pay for priority delivery on this order, because I was in a hurry, and it ended up taking almost 2 hours in total to arrive. Terrible communication overall and a horrible experience. The only reason I don't give 1 star is that they did at least apologize. But they failed to make it right after...

An unpretentious spot in the heart of Gardens that is (or now, was!) something of a best-kept secret. The food menu is simple but well-thought out and caters to almost every palate (even if, like me, you are vegetarian and suffer to find decent vegie fare in the city bowl!) The pizzas are a highlight; quality toppings, excellent value for money. The staff are fun and friendly and you get the feeling that the owners take a personal interest in ensuring everyone in the place is happy and being looked after. No matter where in the world you are it is held that you can tell a place's true value by the number of local regulars that inhabit the joint and Narona has a large contingent of die-hard, local regulars swelled from the ranks of Cape Town's hip, creative set; musicians, DJs, producers, writers, ad people, movie people, beautiful people, mad people, men wearing beards, and the odd tourist. Apparently they offer good wi-fi (never tried, but laptop screens glow from nearly every table most days) and the seating is such as to offer comfy couches, booth-type privacy, bar-type seating, outdoor (smoking) tables or standard restaurant dining set-up for groups of four or more. Decor is simple but comfortable and clean, the lighting is perfectly suited to the ambiance after dark and the play list on the hi-fi is kept eclectic. All in all, a great place to come back to, time...

Took my very young children (4&5) for a 5pm dinner. Someone who I assume works there because she went behind the bar was so loud and swearing like a pirate and excessively vaping inside . I requested a takeaway to remove my children from the "restaurant." Without saying anything to the waiter he asked if we were uncomfortable about the language and topics of conversation to which I replied yes. He went and spoke to the group at the bar and then we had to endure laughing and whispering. When our order arrived we quickly left. We weren't 2 steps out the door when pirate lady screamed FUUUU#K and they all wailed with laughter. Revolting establishment! Sad because my kids really like their pizza and the service was good. Luckily cape town has many other great...