Van Hunks — Restaurant in Gardens

A great spot to meet up with mates for a few drinks and to watch some F1, football, or whatever is on. Prices aren't terrible and the food is alright too.

This review is for my most recent experience there. Service was terrible on a Saturday afternoon when the restaurant was pretty much dead (we counted 7 tables). Even so, the 5 waiters in the section basically ignored us the entire time that we were there. We didn't even know who our waiter was supposed to be.

One of our drinks orders was horribly wrong. Ordered a rum and coke and we were given Stroh Rum. That is incredibly unusual and not on at all. We sat for about 30 minutes trying to flag down or call a waiter to order food. While we were eating, we asked for a drinks menu which was brought to us but nobody ever came back to ask if we actually wanted any drinks.

We actually joked that we could probably just get up and leave since the wait staff seemed to be unable to notice us. That said, the quickest service we got was when we asked for the bill. When we did get up to leave after paying, one of the wait staff stopped us to ask if we had paid for our meal, which was just adding to the frustration from the terrible service.

We did not complain to the manager either, as they seemed to not be particularly interested in being there.

Our standards are not super high, and we are very easy to please. However, this was just a fundamental failing of so many basic aspects of a halfway decent service. It really is a pity, since this is a place that I used to love coming to and meeting friends at leaving a sour taste and making it far more likely that we go...

I have been visiting for the greater part of 15 years or so (memory is sketchy) and can not believe I still have not said anything about this venue.

Only way to describe it is high quality tickets in grub with amazing service. Staff always feels like you are a long friend visiting that you happen to pay for. Honestly, cannot recommend Van Hunks enough for beers while the sun sets paired with delicious, typically local flavours.

Prego is delicious with a slight bite, lots of garlic and onion. Priced extremely fairly.

Bobotie - like your nan made it. Personally I would preference thin coconut slices and banana slices instead of the coconut rolled banana though that said - flavour is on point, saltana raisins instead of your generic black raisins served with rice and home made fruit chutney on the side. Rice is a bit dry and I do miss the vibe of a “yellow rice” though it is still excellent.

Pork Ribs - soft, tender and flavour through the meat that does not just end at the basting.

Onion rings - crispy, fresh, light and delicious.

Only place in CPT where you can have a post meal Jager where the Jager & shot glass are both from the freezer.

A venue that deserves a night out with beers, good friends...

We recently visited Van Hunks on Kloof Street and had an extremely disappointing experience primarily due to the terrible service provided by Tina. From the moment we arrived, Tina displayed a rude attitude. She informed us that we might be relocated if a larger table became available, and her visible frustration when another waiter seated us at a reserved table for a later time was uncalled for. Despite expressing our intention to only have drinks and assuredly stating that we would vacate as soon as the reserved guests arrived, Tina's behavior made the overall experience far from enjoyable. In addition to the overall poor service, Tina further disappointed us by questioning our decision to return bottled water which we had not opened because it had visible black flecks floating in it. Her unpleasant demeanor throughout the entire interaction only added to the discomfort of the visit. This unfortunate experience with both the service and the handling of a basic customer concern significantly impacted our perception of Van Hunks on...