Dutton's Cove Restaurant — Restaurant in George

Eating at Dutton's Cove can be a crapshoot whether or not you get good food and service… sometimes you are lucky and the chef of the day is great other, most, times the food is not great.

Sadly this last week was not great. And I think we are done now wasting our money at Dutton's Cove. In future we will just go there for drinks and enjoy the view.

We invited friends, on holiday here from Cape Town, to Duttons for a late lunch and ordered a mussel chowder, the catch of the day (which was Kabeljou) and two Calpso burgers chicken fillet topped with camembert, avocado and fig.

The mussel chowder was okay – the mussel meat was no bigger than an old one rand coin and about a quarter of the mussel shells had no mussel meat (and they were not swilling about in the sauce) – just empty shells.

The catch of the day was Kabeljou served with fresh veggies and either rice or a potato. No veggies arrived as they had not been prepared and cooked yet (we ordered at 13h30-ish) – so the meal arrived with only rice and the fish. The fish was clearly not Kabeljou – the fillet was thin no more than 5mm in depth and came on the plate cut in 4 small +/-6cm length segments. We have had Kabeljou many times in a restaurant and have bought and prepared for ourselves at home - we know what Kabeljou looks and tastes like. This was not it.

The chicken fillets in the two Calpso burgers were dry and chewy.

In all the food was dismal.

Normally we would have called the manager over (especially with the so-called Kabeljou) but as we were with friends we did not want to ruin our luncheon and time out together by complaining. So we apologised to our friends for the poor food and just notched it down to another terrible meal...

I had some sushi, travelling partner had grilled hake and vegetables.

The hake was fairly well prepared, if a little overcooked. Veggies were fantastic. The sushi was disappointing. Fish is meant to be frozen for 7 days at -20 degrees Celcius, then dry aged for around 5 days to cure the fish and develop the fats of Edomae sushi. The fish here was watery, and that means it was very fresh. While this isn't a bad thing, it's a less than ideal state for the fish to be in.

The Nigiri was enormous, far too big to eat in a single bite. California rolls were almost just rice, and the sashimi slices were quite paltry. As mentioned, the fish wasn't aged so the sashimi left me wanting.

The beer selection was decent, albeit a bit predictable. Wine list was good.

They have a separate menu for power cuts, which essentially eliminates deep fat fried stuff and hot drinks such as coffees - Totally understandable and actually rather thoughtful.

The decor is a blend between classic and kitch, a mix that we didn't think quite worked out. Seating was well spaced. As with most restaurants, the chairs are low to the ground and the tables are high - Somewhat of a personal bugbear that I can't quite get a grip on.

The waiting staff are attentive and have a great demeanour.

As a whole, it's a decent enough place. Menu is quite loaded, which means that the kitchen staff are probably overwhelmed with the variety of dishes that they need to put out.

At the end of it all, the receipt came with suggestions on tipping - Up to 20% which I thought was a bit cocky.

I can't rate it any higher than 3 out of 5 - It's okay but it's really no better than a typical popular...

Not the best experience I expected. This is a regular hangout spot for the family and (was) a favorite annual destination. This time around, the service and quality was quite pathetic.

We arrive, order cocktails and we’re left waiting nearly 45 minutes.

The food? After waiting for over an hour, eventually the most bland calamari tubes I’ve ever had is served – not even over exaggerating. Not grilled. It seemed steamed. Served with cold rice and chips, and cheap mayonnaise.

Salad as alternative? Nope, on the side at an additional charge. Didn’t get the salad though and had to send food back.

Our waiter blames the bar and kitchen and then apparantly resigns on the spot. The new waiter blames the guy who just resigned and then can’t even improve. We ask for a glass of water after not being asked if our drinks are alright. Water does not arrive. Eventually they start fetching plates and we start demanding a glass of water. The bill? Yet another 10 to 20 minutes.

And then the cherry on the cake on this beautiful, sunny FRIDAY, the waiter responds: “Thank you for visiting us. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.” lol.

Sadly we will not be visiting anytime soon. Being one of our favorite spots, this is quite the disappointment. Prices are quite exuberant given the quality of food and service and on top of that, loud music. Not at all what...