The Rock Restaurant , New Harbour Hermanus — Restaurant in Overstrand Local Municipality

We went to the restaurant on a whim. We arrived at the restaurant 20 mins before dinner service started and were told to go to the bar next door to wait, which was odd since there was a large table of people clearly not staff already drinking and celebrating inside but ultimately not a massive issue. After we waited and returned, we all ordered sushi and oysters. The food was good. However, as more guests arrived and the kitchen started preparing more food, it became clear that there was an issue with their extractor fans. The entire restaurant slowly became very hot and smelled much worse than the fishy harbor outside. The wait staff were useless as we asked them to please open any windows. We had to do it ourselves, but most of the guests in the restaurant were agitated and rude. We quickly got up to pay and leave as it got hotter and smellier and only after stepping outside into the cold rain and harbor smell did I realize just how bad it was inside. I saw the manager once during the entire night when we were leaving and I have no idea how he thinks this was okay. My family and I smelled terrible since the fishy, oily haze from the kitchen permeated our clothes. I smelled like a tempura prawn and felt gross. Another table commented on how bad the service and environment was and said he is really disappointed to see how this place has gone downhill and that he regretted bringing his parents here. I agreed and said that this place is not how I remembered it. Overall a terrible experience, even if we got some good Chanel Nr Fish...

I was treated to a birthday dinner on the night that the Springboks played in the final against New Zealand! The place was vibey, but as you can imagine by 8:30 it emptied out like a ghost town! (hence my 4 * for atmosphere). They had reserved us a spectacular table with a view over the bay and were treated to a full moon rising up over the mountains! What a setting! The waiter was on form, friendly, efficient and knowledgeable - always a good start to a night out. We ordered oysters as a starter, which were delicious with a glass of Chenin blanc. Now onto the mains.... It's not often that you see a Fillet cafe de Paris on a menu, so with a little hesitation I ordered it done rare. The temperature was done correct, but as a particular dish like the one ordered I think the chef could have used a better class fillet - it was a little on the chewy side and not "melt in the mouth" like a fillet should be. The "compound" butter of this dish should be the cherry on top - a complex fermented combination of specific ingredients - this was unfortunately not so and the addition of curry into a melted and re- constituted butter made it dissapointing. But we live and learn..... For dessert we had an orange chocolate mousse, which was fair, but a little too dense. Unfortunately we were rushing a bit to get back for the rugby and did not take enough photos! Although the meal was under-whelming , I would still go back and recommend it. All else was on point and the views exceptional. I will be back to try something...

We’ve visited The Rock several times over the years, and the food has generally been good. While the service has occasionally been slow during peak season, our experience today was truly appalling. After being seated, we waited 25 minutes before anyone even acknowledged us or offered menus. Eventually, we had to get up and ask someone to take our order. We finally placed our order, only to be told 20 minutes later that they were out of prawns. So again, we asked for menus and chose new dishes. The waiter specifically went to the kitchen to confirm that there was one portion of dim sum left and assured us that he had reserved it for our table. An hour later, our sushi finally arrived (which is a long wait for sushi), but the dim sum was nowhere to be seen. After waiting another 20 minutes, we got up to ask about it. The waiter returned and casually said, “Sorry, it dried out. Do you want us to make another portion?” This was strange, considering he had said earlier there was only one portion left. Throughout the entire meal, not once did our waiter check on our drinks or ask how the food was when it eventually arrived. We mentioned our concerns to another staff member who brought the bill, but he simply said we should speak to a manager. However, no manager was available. Overall, it was a horrible experience. I shudder to think what it would be like during actual peak season if this is the level of service off-peak. Disappointing and...