The Foodbarn Café & Tapas — Restaurant in Noordhoek

As a food critic and writer, I have to say that my recent dining experience left much to be desired. The flavors were a letdown, and while the presentation was enticing, the taste did not live up to expectations.

Let's start with the oysters. Unfortunately, they had an extremely fishy taste, which was quite disappointing especially when compared to the fresh and flavorful oysters I've had in Hermanus and Sea Point.

Moving on to the lamb dish, the lack of flavor and tenderness was a significant letdown. It simply did not meet the standards I would expect from a quality lamb dish. On the other hand, the ravioli was a pleasant surprise and stood out as a dish that I thoroughly enjoyed.

As for the desserts, it was a rollercoaster of flavors. The creme brûlée had a sour flavor and a thin consistency, which was quite disappointing. On the other hand, the chocolate dessert was delightful and provided a satisfying end to the meal. The other desserts were, at best, average and, at worst, terrible.

Despite these shortcomings, the starters, including the aubergine, were quite impressive. The aubergine, although not served at the ideal temperature, showcased excellent flavors. Additionally, the salmon main dish was outstanding and a true highlight of the meal.

In conclusion, there were definitely some hits and misses during this dining experience. I hope that my feedback can be valuable for the restaurant's improvement, and I look forward to the possibility of an enhanced culinary experience in the future.m

I have left 4 stars as the salmon was delicious and atmosphere but...

We were very excited to visit the Foodbarn after a (reluctant) recommendation from a local. The reluctancy was due to the 'pricey' nature of the venue. Nevertheless, I wanted to celebrate the new year, so popped in to enquire regarding availability.. First impressions were not good, as I stood unattended for over 5 minutes at a restaurant, which was not busy at all. This despite meeting waiters eyes for service and being quite literally passed by. Eventually seated, service was mediocre and we were left to our own devices to figure out the best options on the menu. Opted for the 3 Course with wine pairing. For the wine pairing part of the meal, a glass with liquid was simply received without any introduction or why it's paired with this particular choice of dish. Courses were received, Beautifully prepared, but both main courses was underwhelming and an utter waste of money. Such a let down not to have found a new favorite, but even if a restaurant fails in one aspect, it sometimes make up on a different front. All and all the ambiance, poor service, roller-coaster food experience (one good, the other seriously lacking and no attention given to the wine pairing) failed to provide (us) with that endearing feeling of want to return. So sadly for me, the bad outweighs the good and I will not recommend...

Was here 2 pax on 30 Aug for lunch as recommended by my guide.

I had the 3 course meal while my wife had one main course.

I had the Karoo lamb for main dish and she had the fish. After the starter was served and I eating just for a couple minutes, the main dish started appearing on my table and the server, knowing that I was still eating the starter did not bother to even ask, instead just placed the main dish beside my starter with a nonchalant expression. I had to rush through the starter, followed by beginning to eat a somewhat cold main dish because of it sitting on the table for some time.

While it was cold, I could taste what the chef was trying to make by going into the mid section where it was still medium rare(the outer layer was well done). I did not finish the dish because of the toughness on certain parts, but I liked it. My wife’s fish was very unique and nicely done, I’ve never tasted anything like it, somewhat like a fusion of apple strudel crust with fish steak.

The dessert was a little too sweet with caramel pieces getting stuck in the teeth, but as someone who is tolerant of sugar I was able to enjoy it.

Overall it is a good experience, i loved the ambience even though the seats weren’t the most comfortable. Serving timing could’ve been...