Ida's Kitchen: August 2013

For my woman’s day treat, my romantic and ever so thoughtful man, treated me to an unexpected fancy lunch in Parkhurst, Johannesburg.

Okay, I lie!

While he is rather the charming man, I doubt that this outing had anything to do with celebrating the fairer sex, but more of a “I’m-turning-30-soon-and-panicking” moment of madness for him. You see, we frequent the same restaurants over and over again mainly because his theory is that “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. So you can imagine my elation when he suggested that we venture out from the normal Sandton and Fourways restaurants.

I reckon if we analysed the interaction between Scorpios and Libras, we may find that there is a strong sense of indecisiveness that they experience especially when faced with an otherwise easy decision to make. Individually we boast of being in control and taking charge, however together- we fumble into situations where no one takes the reins, mildly put- this often results in chaos and some irritation. So after randomly picking Melissa-The Food Shop and mulling over the menu for a good ten minutes, we realised that the vibe, the menu and the alcohol options were not in line with our goals- rather an Einstein moment for us both in all honesty.After the helpful guidance of an overzealous waiter (who I must say, did nothing to convince us to stay but instead gave us rather precise directions to a Steak house up the road-never mind biting the hand that feeds him), we found ourselves at the door to heaven! LOL- dramatic much! However we found just what we needed on this hang-over ridden day. A cosy steakhouse nestled in the heart of Parkhurst Square- “The Squires Loft”.

Definitely a premium and high end restaurant, it is clear that you pay for what you get. We were greeted by great service, unexpected contemporary architecture and décor characterised by glass, wrought iron, wood and accents of red in the furniture, artifacts, menus and even cosy red blankets for any takers. The double storey establishment, that is this loft, is airy both inside and outside owing to the clever use of the perception of space, the glass the gives off the feeling of more volume than there really is and so does the use of wooden beams that allow light in through the roof. Being a steakhouse- there is no sparing of bull artifacts and patterns all through the décor. What can I say I was blown away before I tasted the food.

THE FOOD!

My gourmet burger was great- I reckon I have eaten similar if not better. The steak however was scrumptious, juicy and succulent. I know because I practically ate all of Phill’s! That’s how great it was.

The mains impressed me so much that albeit my swollen guts, I was brave or stupid enough to try the dessert menu. Well worth the risk! Meringue, fresh crème and strawberries- sounds plain, tasted absolutely divine.