La Romantica — Restaurant in Western Cape

Very unpleasant experience. Dish I ordered(Sesame crusted seared salmon) didn't come out looking like they advertise on their Instagram. Mash looked and tasted like normal butter mash(not the green wasabi mash they advertise on their menu and on Instagram). So I tasted it and it tasted like it looked, like it was incorrect. I don't like complaining or confrontation, but the dish was pricey, so I timidly and nicely explained(in more detail obviously) some items are incorrect(the mash specifically) and that the Instagram photos(was showing the photos to her) didn't match up with the dish, and that could she please take the dish back so they could fix it and make it look like it does in the photos and like stated on the menu.

Lots of unnecessary back and forth with her as she didn't 'seem' to understand what I was finding issue with. Why she couldn't just take the dish immediately to the back I don't understand. Me having to repeat myself over and over and her dissareeing with me made me feel so uncomfortable and like I was going crazy.

After taking the dish back, later she comes back with attitude to tell me that apparently I was in the wrong and that everything was correct, that the chef also said I was wrong, and that now my dish will be remade but that now the (wasabi)mash will be a lot, lot hotter(spicier) - she states the last part like now I have no choice, these are my consequences, this is what I get - what type of service is this?

When the dish came back the mash had a green tint finally and you could taste the wasabi. It was okay, pleasant enough but not hot (spicy) At All - which is fine, I didn't care for the dish being spicy or not, just that the ingredient advertised was going to be added. But, what was very very spicy and what made everything it was touching inedible was a very spicy sauce that came with the vegetables.

Now, I didn't taste the vegetable sauce of the original dish the gave me, so I can't be certain for sure if they just made the sauce very very spicy on purpose, but it is weird that the mash wasn't hot at all like she over and over claimed it would be but then the vegetable sauce was so spicy it made everything it was touching gross and inedible. I just ate the parts of the mash that wasnt touching the sauce, ate salmon that still didnt look like what they advertise and that tasted very, very bland and had 3 bones in and left it at that. Didn't say anything further but thank you and just kept on being pleasant but the waitress clearly wasn't happy with me which just makes everything so, so uncomfortable.

Wouldn't recommend, food not what they advertise and not worth the prices; service (in my experience) not good; atmosphere - okayish, but we reserved a table and when I went to sit the one...

Back in the day when LA Romantic a was still in town, my family went there on a weekly basis. My husband and I used to meet there on a Friday after work for a glass of wine outside on the deck just to chill and talk. It was our go to restaurant when ever we had the opportunity and then it closed. It was with great sadness we were looking for another place with the same atmosphere and ambiance, but they all fell short. Imagine our excitement when they opened years later at Meerendal wine farm! We have been quite a few times since they reopened, took friends, from UK and our now married children and always had a wonderful time. Then we went there again last night. Unfortunately this time we were let down terribly. It just so happened that it was our anniversary on their date night special and we decided to have their special, because we had it once before and it was exceptional. We were surprised to see how empty the restaurant was and that on a date night! Well we found out soon enough why. The service was none existed, our waitress was very unprofessional, she was rough around the edges and uprupt in her presentation. She took our drink orders and then stayed away for like 15 minutes before coming back to take the food order. Our table was booked for 7pm only by 8 we received our starters, by some other waitress. Our wine was never filled, she never checked on us again, we thought that maybe, she wasn't feeling well and went home, which would explain her conduct and the fact that we waited so long for our food. In the area we sat, there were 16 tables, of which only 3 were occupied, vso it's not that they were busy. Anyway eventually we got our main course, bi ordered fish, which was cold and the chips over done and dry our creme Brule arrived shortly afterwards with no hard sugary coating and ice ice cold almost frozen. What a disappointment! We were really disappointed leaving the restaurant and it made our anniversary not a special celebration. I sincerely hope that the owners and managers of La Romantica level up their game, train their staff properly and properly check the dishes before they send it out. You guys have set a standard and you are not adhering to...

Great expectations only lead to great disappointment.

Encouraged by fond memories of eating at other La Romantica branches in the past, and an incredible love for pasta, we booked a table for dinner and arrived filled with expectation.

While the surrounding views were spectacular and our Arancini starter pretty good, an unexpected issue with my main dish, and the way this was handled, left much to desire.

Minutes after receiving a plate of (greatly anticipated) Italian Salcicia Gnocchi, the manager came rushing out to tell us that the chef has just informed him that they had run out of Italian sausage and used boerewors in the dish instead.

Boerewors… instead of Italian sausage. With gnocchi and napolitana sauce. Why on earth would any chef worth their salt believe that to be a suitable substitute. And why did they not just inform us of this issue BEFORE making the substitution.

The manager offered to replace the dish with something else on the menu, which would mean I’ll only receive my food after everyone else had finished eating. After saying there’s no need and accepting the food, he offered us a complimentary round of Don Pedros after we’ve finished our dinner.

Not really a worthwhile substitute for receiving a plate of food that’s flavour was entirely altered (and ruined) by the use of boerewors. But I really didn’t feel like making a scene during an otherwise enjoyable evening.

As the one who suggested La Romantica, I’m sad to say no-one at the table raved about their food as I’d hoped, and the manager was nowhere to be seen after the initial encounter. Continuing as planned, we proceeded to order coffee and a dessert to share and received our bill with the full amount owing. Not a word about the promises made earlier.

So we left, utterly disappointed and certainly not...