Chef Jacques — Restaurant in Roodepoort

Chef Jacques Restaurant Review – North Riding

On our recent visit to Chef Jacques Restaurant in North Riding, my friends and I were excited to experience its highly praised fine dining. Overall, the visit was enjoyable, though there were some mixed feelings about certain dishes.

Ambiance & Service

The ambiance was exceptional, with a beautifully designed interior and soothing background music creating a relaxed yet elegant atmosphere. The table settings were impeccable, enhancing the overall experience. The service was top-notch—attentive, professional, and friendly throughout our visit. Rating: 5/5

The Food

For our meal, we ordered the chorizo starter, homemade bread with butter, and the seafood paella as our main course.

Chorizo Starter & Bread The chorizo starter was a highlight of the evening, with bold flavors and excellent presentation. The homemade bread with butter was another standout—fresh, light, and absolutely delicious. These dishes set a high standard for the meal. Rating: 5/5

Seafood Paella Unfortunately, the seafood paella did not meet our expectations. Although beautifully presented with vibrant colors and generous portions of seafood, the rice was overly soggy and lacked the distinct texture typically associated with a good paella. Additionally, the dish had an overly fishy taste, which overpowered the other flavors. Rating: 2/5

Reflection

While the seafood paella was disappointing, the chorizo, bread, and overall dining experience more than made up for it. After reading other reviews, I believe there are better dishes to try at Chef Jacques, and I look forward to returning to explore more of the menu.

Overall Experience

Chef Jacques Restaurant excels in ambiance, service, and attention to detail, making it a fantastic choice for dining out. While the seafood paella wasn’t to my taste, the other dishes left a lasting impression.

Service: 5/5

Ambiance: 5/5

Food: 3.5/5 (averaged based on individual dish ratings)

I’m confident my next visit will be...

Let me start on the postives and i hope you find this constructive. Super friendly staff and owners who made us Feel very very welcome on arrival. The sauces and condiments were really nice with home made sauces and everything needed which alot of establishments fail to provide. Lets get to the negatives . The name of the game is food chaps. And im sorry to say but the meals recived were not acceptable. I ordered the cherry smoked brisket baguette. With chips and salad as indicated on the menu It arrived as a wrap not a baguette with only chips. The brisket was near impossible to chew and the bottle of cherry smoke extract could be seen from our table. It was not used. I am very well experienced at smoking meat and slow cooking and that brisket was neither smoked nor smoked flavored nor was it cooked in a smoker it was extremely stringy and tough which indicates a pressure coocker or crock pot and served in a wheat wrap. My wife ordered the belguim waffle with a poached egg avo and bacon. The egg was still very very snotty. Most was not eaten and the Sriracha mayo was not added to the meal. Also all the parking us blocked with chairs and we had to park on the other side of the centre bot sure why this was but it wasnt a big issue. I would have given 3 stars how ever my wifes meal came out quite a while after mine meaning i finished my food long before her even though i ate very slowly.

The big picture is good. Setting is lovely. Staff are great. The food is close to being what is expected for the prices. Ill be happy to change my review after another...

A definite place to visit for a unique taste experience. Food is top class!! Love it, will definitely be back soon. Pricing not bad at all too.

Went back today for my birthday with my daughters and parents. Messaged to book a table in non-smoking area. Got seated right next to the speaker of the life music in the smoking area 😞 kindly asked the waiter if we could be moved, but no tables available then asked the owner if the speaker could be pointed in a different direction so that we could at least have some kind of conversation with my folks that I didn’t see for quite a while. Then the musician somehow got so upset and must’ve complained to other patrons who then were so rude to us and complained to us asking why did we tell musician to stop singing. Tried to explain we only requested the speaker to be pointed in a different direction. Thankfully another table opened and staff managed to move us and it was all sorted. Wonderful staff, delicious food, musician made great music but inflexible to accommodate a simple request. Very rude and unreasonable table of patrons made our experience not very nice due to complete miscommunication and unwillingness to listen. Thanks Jacques and staff for great food again and sorting out our request to have a nice family time. Food is great, when going again on Saturday will specifically ask for a table away from live music. Felt sorry for Jacques because they already had a very big other table and was trying their best to accommodate us, pity about a misunderstanding with musician and...