PROUD MARY — Restaurant in Gauteng

I wasn’t sure if I would share this experience, but as a woman who always dines solo, I felt called to. Last Wednesday night I visited the establishment and I was having a great time on my own at the bar with excellent service, dessert and drinks, until I was approached by a man who was incredibly inebriated from the staff party that had taken place. Apparently he works upstairs and is seen on a daily basis- which is why I assume they protected him instead of me. I was literally sexually harassed at the bar. The bartender was too nervous to say anything because he was a black man, and the man that was harassing me was white, understandably so, all things considered. The manager who I had complimented on his beautiful staff members prior to this experience, just witnessed without saying or doing anything. It wasn’t until the hostess came up to me and asked me if I’m alright (girl power), that I requested security, remove the man. He was groping me. He grabbed my breast. He grabbed my butt, and he referred to me as a cunt because I pushed him away when forcibly attempted to kiss me. He was finally removed from the premises, but made his way back about 30 minutes later through a different entrance. He walked right up to me, grabbed my butt again and started harassing me once more. I started putting up a fuss, and threatened to hurt him (as I am a trained fighter), the hostess noticed once more and summoned the and security guard to remove him from the premises yet again. The only thing the manager said to me, was that this man works upstairs in the building and they see him every day and he never acts this way, they have never seen him behave in such a manner. If it wasn’t for the hostess, nothing would have been done. That was all no, apologies no acknowledgment of the fact that I was literally just harassed at the bar. I paid my tab and left. The experience was traumatic and I cannot stop thinking about it. There were multiple men around me, and nobody did a thing to protect me, not that I needed them to, because I could have seriously hurt him, but considered his inebriation. Perhaps witnessing a colored woman being harassed is not a priority , who knows? I will however be returning, only because the food, service, and vibe is impeccable. One man cannot keep me from an experience that otherwise brings me joy. I’ve added an image if my receipt incase there is any denial, and yes, that’s in USD as I...

One of the worst dining experiences. If you are happy to overpay for mediocre food and be ignored for most of the time then this is the place for you!

Drinks

We started off the night with drinks; we ordered the non alchohol mocktails which were priced at R115 and R95 which is high for non alchohol beverages but decided to give them a try. They were good for non alchoholic drinks however found it difficult to justify the high price tag. We are not unfamiliar with fine dining and high prices however it still needs to be good for what you're paying for. This is across the board.

Food

We then ordered mains: the harissa chicken and fillet. The menu said a whole baby chicken but I received 3 pieces - a wing, a breast and a thigh. It was lukewarm. My friend ordered the same dish and his was lukewarm as well. We asked both to be warmed up. The "manager" came over and I asked why it wasn't a whole chicken as stated on the menu and he said it's a "baby chicken". The fillet, which was stated as 300g on the menu, was 3 pieces of fillet that didn't look like they added up to 200g. When I asked same manager about the size, he said he would "discuss with his colleagues"... We felt bamboozled. That was the last we saw of him. Our waiter also disappeared after that, almost as if we became the restaurant pariah, and we only saw him once again after we asked for the bill from another waiter.

Observations

I noticed that the waiting staff weren't very observant; they looked straight ahead, amost ignoring your looks and body language and we had to waive them down to get their attention which I absolutely abhor doing as it's so cringe. A definite sign of the calibre of the restaurant. Another very strange observation that I haven't seen before was the waiting staff grouped together following each other around as if they're a clique of friends. Never seen this before. Not a professional environment.

Whoever owns/runs this circus should be very concerned. You can see a lot of money has been invested into the setup and decor. I would be extremely concerned if I...

I have frequented Proud Mary, partly due to me working in the same building.

Before I speak to food, what great decor and ambience this place has an any time of the day.

The staff are friendly and helpful. They go the extra mile! When it's super busy, you may wait a little longer than usual, but that's if I'm being finicky.

Their salads (chicken thigh one and the wagyu beef) are honestly to die for! (And I'm not a salad girl in the least) The only one I dislike is the Falafels and Taboulleh salad and that's only because of the shredded cauliflower.

My absolute fave is the prawn/fishcakes with the mango salad.

Small Plates: Sticky pork belly is out of this world good and hits the spot.

I'm disappointed that they removed their crispy calamari from the small plates menu! That was a true hit. Instead there is the grilled calamari that has very similar garnishes to potatoe bravas (comfort food).

The salmon sashimi was a let down, the yuzu and the sauce that accompanied it, did nothing to elevate the amazing pieces of sashimi. It felt like it was trying to combine two different ideas into one (like an Asian cerviche, with no standout flavours)

Mains: The ribeye is great and sure to satisfy.

The mussels in the coconut curry sauce with skinny fries is my favorite! It's fresh, plentiful and heart warming. Super satisfying.

Dessert: A BIG KUDOS to the pastry chefs, I have a terrible sweet tooth and every time I run down for coffee, they have the most delicious sweets. The pasties de nata ;) Best gourmet donuts and steaming hot (not the typically served lukewarm) coffee 👌🏽

I'll be back to try everything on the menu, because it's different to all the other eateries out there. Refreshing and something for everyone.

Their fish is top notch quality. I'm looking forward to eating more of their...