The Coral Tree

Tuesday, May 27th, 2014

Reviewed by J Herr

I phoned this restaurant to enquire about menu options available on a Saturday night as I was brining guests who have specific tastes & preferences. I was told there was an a la carte menu and a buffet theme 'Indian Delights' for R195 per person, with 20% discount for Zimbali residents. On arrival out waiter said that a la carte was not available so we had no option but to have the buffet which was breathtakingly below mediocre. The selection of 3 limp salads and mushy samosa starters were easy to ignore. The main course offerings of barely lukewarm curried (1 lamb, 1 fish, 2 chicken) were congealed and barely recognisable. The rice was cold and the warming plate below it was not even switched on. The roti and naan were not heated and set on a plate on the buffet counter. When we called for the bill at the end of this dismal meal, we were charged R275 per person & told that the Zimbali resident discount had been discontinued. To avoid embarrassing our guests we addressed this with the F&B manager the next day who gave us a shrug and told us that everything had changed 6 months ago and the person I had booked through was uninformed, and if we had come on Friday night the buffet was even more expensive. There are many restaurants around Ballito that offer far better quality food and service for MUCH lower prices so look around before you book