Nelson's Eye Restaurant — Restaurant in Gardens

On Saturday, we ventured into the CBD and, feeling hungry, found ourselves driving down Hof Street. We decided to pull over to see if we could book a table. Although the website was not very responsive on mobile, we opted to call instead. The front-of-house staff was very welcoming, even accommodating our request for a table on such short notice.

We were quickly shown to our table and made ourselves comfortable as we browsed the menu. Within a few minutes, we were offered water but chose to order our drinks instead. Our server, Prince, took our drink orders with a smile. Upon returning with our drinks, we placed our orders for both starters and mains, as the restaurant was filling up and we were quite hungry.

For starters, we chose the Fried Patagonian Calamari, Spicy African Chicken Livers (hot), and the Nelson's Eye Garlic Roll. The main course selections were numerous, and after some deliberation, we opted for the Sirloin on the bone with a baked potato and butter, as well as the Ribeye with chips and thin onion rings, both accompanied by Béarnaise Sauce.

The starters set the tone for our meal, beautifully plated and bursting with flavor. The calamari was particularly good, and the chicken livers had just the right amount of spice to warm us up without being overwhelming. I was pleasantly surprised when we were asked how long we would like to wait between courses—a thoughtful practice I wish more places would adopt!

As our break time approached, Prince reappeared to check if we were ready, and within minutes, our mains were served. The meat was cooked to perfection at a rare temperature, with the knife slicing through effortlessly. Introducing the Béarnaise Sauce is always a nerve-wracking moment, as not all Béarnaise is created equal, but I am happy to report that this one was top-notch. The balance between the vinegar and tarragon was perfect. If you love Béarnaise Sauce, you can't go wrong ordering it at Nelson's Eye.

Would I recommend Nelson's Eye? Most definitely! It had been ten years since our last visit, and it was wonderful to see that things have only improved over the years. Just be sure to book ahead; we were lucky, but with the quality of food, I can see this place getting fully booked closer to dinner time.

Thank you, Nelson's Eye and Prince, for a fantastic dinner and evening out! We will be back much sooner than ten...

An Awesome evening !! Took my wife to Nelson's Eye to celebrate her Birthday along with my my 2 adult children aged 20 and 24. Everyone absolutely loved the experience and top quality 👌 food and such a lekka vibe in the restaurant. It was the 1st time my kids had been to a proper authentic and nostalgic Steak House and they were absolutely blown away, especially my son with his Prime Rib on the Bone medium rare. He could not believe the size, number one, the tenderness of the meat, number 2 and the absolute pure char grilled steak flavour experienced in Nelson's Eye compared to a franchise steak house !! My daughter had the Rump rare with a m/room sauce on the side. My wife and I went for the 600g T-bone medium rare with a pepper sauce on the side..Awesome 👌 Chips and onion rings were additional extras while creamed spinach and butternut were complimentary. We all enjoyed starters. Pick of the crop would have been the grilled calamari which my wife thoroughly enjoyed....excellent and my deep fried camemburt with Melba toast and fresh cranberry sauce/jam like texture. My wife and 2 children had Creme Bruleé for dessert and absolutely loved it !! We ended off the evening with a coffee for my wife and a single Glenfiddich 12 year old each. There's something so special and nostalgic dining in a proper authentic steak house with its rich mahogany filled furniture that is decades old as opposed to eating out at a franchise steak house. Simply can't compare the experience. A country mile difference !!

Including all our drinks and sides and fantastic service 👏 our bill came to R2087.00. I added a R200.00 tip. It was a fantastic night out and a wonderful food experience for the...

While The Nelson's Eye has always been a standout icon of Cape Town, the last time I dined at this establishment was 3yrs ago for a birthday treat.

Back then, terming the menu "reasonable" would have you committed, however the superlative staff service and general atmosphere was about 50% of what you were paying for, and received. The meals back then were well above average.

The Steaks, as the owner once told me 30yrs ago when I was on a date there, are a secondary actor. His answer to anybody at the time asking "but are the steaks good?" was : "If you haven't been greeted in a friendly manner, had a perfect matching of wines offered to your meal choice and felt beyond being at home, then we haven't done our job".

So it was saddening to experience not only sub-Spur standard cuts of steak, watery sauces and incorrectly prepared orders being delivered with slap dash attitudes and waiter skills one would not even get at said Spur.

The Waiter had to constantly be hunted for, delivered drink and meal orders ACROSS the table leaning over other guests, did not have an approachable demeanour and generally was not worthy of what we were expecting from an establishment with these price tags.

Glancing at other tables we saw the exact same delivery and systems in place, apart from one chap who I recognised as being there forever, a blondish guy and what I think was an eastern bloc lady who were impressive simply by their posture, the chap specifically aiding in delivering our Desert order and the difference in manner was night and day.

Overall, a massive hell no even if they halved the ridiculous price...