Umhlanga’s Little Havana is a mecca for meat lovers who like to dine in style, says Tracy Gielink.

The mood
Cross the bustling square flanked with shops and eateries and allow a staircase to sweep you upstairs to Little Havana. The reception area is dotted with inviting leather armchairs and staff who don’t miss a beat, and you will notice the Greenfields logo on the waiters’ aprons. (Astute foodies know this translates into top quality organic beef.)

Umhlanga is mostly littered with comfortable suburban eateries and drinking spots, so the opening of Little Havana – little sister to Havana Grill that opened at Suncoast Casino nine years ago – has certainly given the upmarket suburb some culinary clout. The village can be surveyed from balcony tables bedecked in white napery while wooden paddle fans turn lazily above.

The colonial feel of the outdoor area is balanced with a more formal interior. Bank seating in caramel coloured leather divides the sizeable restaurant into two more intimate halves. The contemporary cellar takes the form of a glassed-in room with bottles untraditionally standing to attention, and a glassed-in meat locker showcasing ageing hunks of steak is located discreetly in the corner.

The food
Little Havana is a grill house that is unashamedly dedicated to the carnivorous. Treat your palate with a generous marrow bone starter: scoop out the unctuous marrow and relish it on crostini for old-fashioned comfort food or, for a delicious freshness, team it with the salsa verde and rocket salad with caperberries that come as accompaniments. Other justifiably popular starter options include the open samoosa (plump prawns in a tomato-based curry sauce tucked between layers of crispy pastry), home-cured gravadlax with potato blini, and Cuban chicken livers.

Free-range, hormone-free meat is processed and aged at the in-house butchery and waiters pay homage to the coveted steaks by ceremonially presenting each table with a large platter of the various cuts. The emphasis is on each diner carefully selecting their individual cut and the nuances – from how long each has been aged to the marbling and visible difference between grain and grass fed steaks – are explained. Each cut is cooked to perfection from bleu to medium, but preferences for well done are not tolerated here.

Organic and grass-fed steaks from Greenfields in the KZN Midlands are also available (though a little more expensive) and the grain-fed versus grass-fed platter (two 200 gram rump steaks served with a peppercorn and red wine sauce) is good value, plus it offers discerning diners the opportunity to decide which they prefer.

Meaty fare is supplemented with the likes of seasonal venison, slow-roasted pork belly with roasted apple, bacon, thyme and mustard, and immensely gratifying sticky, glazed, deboned pork ribs with chilli and coriander. There are a number of alternatives that are also prepared with aplomb, such as calamari served with aioli and roasted linefish with a herb crust and teamed with a chunky Sicilian ratatouille and salsa verde.

Reluctant carnivores and vegetarians can opt for a wild mushroom risotto or millionaire’s macaroni done with four cheeses and porcini mushrooms, which elevate the normally humble dish to gourmet status. If you’re defenseless when it comes to dessert, succumb to the suitably rich chocolate fondant or one of the best classic crème brûlées in town.

Wine
This list will placate the picky and gently guide the uninitiated. The compilation is not a perfunctory one: it’s well-balanced in terms of varietal and offers popular wines plus a selection of lesser-spotted and boutique wines.

Service
Relish service as it should be. Hands-on owners, Martin Lombard (instantly recognisable as a seasoned Durban restaurateur and the face of Havana Grill) and José Goncalves, are omnipresent and guide a slick team. Waiters are erudite and intuitive, and observation of dining etiquette should not be mistaken for formality. If you’re floundering, simply ask for advice; opinions are given with easy confidence.

And…
An intimate dining room (comfortably seating up to 14 people) is perfect for private get-togethers and occasions. The verdict Not to be confused with a steak house, this upmarket restaurant offers brilliant steaks (while not excluding non-converts) complemented by remarkable attention to detail.

By Tracy Gielink