Carlyle’s — Restaurant in Vredehoek

I honestly love Carlyles.

There are not enough words in the English language that I could use to describe this place.

So, what is Carlyles you ask?

It’s like the smell of freshly cut grass on a crisp early morning, it’s the first beer you open on a Friday afternoon, it’s making the winning putt, it’s seeing the person you love after a long time apart, it’s driving in the car for the first time alone after receiving your drivers license, it’s dropping into the perfect wave, it’s having the first mimosa when on holiday, it’s watching the Bokke win the World Cup, it’s re-living a childhood memory of playing kiss-catch, it’s hearing your favourite band live, it’s the first sip of water after a big night out, it’s the smell of roses, it’s seeing your best friend get married to the person of their dreams, it’s being lost in a great book, it’s the sensation you feel after finishing a good run, it’s sitting on the couch by the fire with a glass of red wine on a chilly winter’s night and it’s a long hug after a busy day… all packed into one.

The food is amazing and the drinks are cold, but it’s really the staff who make it what it is. They are truly beautiful, friendly, warm and are one of the main reasons that Carlyles is such a...

I have been staying in Vredehoek for about a year now and have frequently enjoyed going up to Carlyles for a beer or a meal, seeing as though its a short walk away from the house.

To say that our experience last night was poor is a quite an understatement!

Not only did we wait for over an hour for our food, but when the food arrived it was not up to scratch with what we have come to expect from this establishment. Funny enough, once I spoke to our waitress and she asked the kitchen where our food was, it arrived in 5 minutes.

While you expect a restaurant/bar to be busy when they run specials, this was nothing compared to the amount of people that pile in to watch rugby matches, however, service was 10 times better during these matches and you can barely walk the place is so full.

While it is easy and convenient to walk up to have a drink, I don't think any of us will ever go back for a meal again due to this absolutely horrid experience.

(On a side note, most of our takeaway meal was thrown away due to the burger patty being raw. The person who could not join us ended up throwing up her meal after she had a few bites of her burger and decided to...

Locals (patrons) at this bar use the K-word very unplesantly ,frequently and openly as if they were immune to repercussion, staff rationalise that this as just the way it is; and has been, “ you have to let it go”…

How does a country such as South Africa ever condone behaviour as this. …there is no place for such ignorance, never has there been and never will, not in 2024, not never …

It is perplexing that as someone criticising the use of the word: “ Kaffir, also spelled Cafri, is an exonym and an ethnic slur – the use of it in reference to black people being particularly common in South Africa. In Arabic, the word kāfir was originally applied to non-Muslims before becoming predominantly focused on pagan zanj who were increasingly used as slaves.” would be made to feel uncomfortable or unwelcome, or told that this is a norm?!!

I have never been at an establishment where patrons so confidently and frequently use the K-word, and at the same time are willing to openly argue & defend their archaic point of view, and it is...