Tapas at Culture Club. Photo supplied.

Although the tapas trend has been interpreted with various degrees of success by South African restaurants, the food at Culture Club – Bar de Tapas is prepared with care and attention. This is a perfect spot to visit with friends to enjoy a drink and share several small, delicious tastes, says Eat Out critic Hennie Fisher.

Food

Most of the food is served in portions that can be shared – the rump steak is sliced for easy sharing and served with chimichurri; the sheftalia (a type of Cypriot pork sausage) comes with pita pockets, tzatziki and a chopped tomato-onion mix; and Spanish meatballs are enrobed in salsa brava, a deep, rich and slightly sweet tomato sauce.

Tapas bowls at Culture Club. Photo supplied.

The hummus is worth your attention: made in-house, it’s silky smooth, with the earthiness of the chickpeas balanced by the lovely tastes of tahini and lemon. It comes with a small bowl of olives on the side.

Other smaller tapas include herb- and citrus-dressed mixed olives; marinated Danish feta with pita; chorizo-pesto lollipops; bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers; pan-fried halloumi with pickled mint cucumber; sticky chicken drumettes; panko-parmesan chicken strips with cheese sauce; Thai-spiced grilled squid with Asian dipping sauce (which a neighbouring tabled declares delicious); herb-crusted fish goujons with homemade tartare sauce; Portuguese-style chicken thigh skewers; and a meat-and-cheese board for two with pickles and preserves.

Do not end the night without having some churros with dark chocolate ganache. They’re fried on order so they might take a little while, but they’re worth the wait.

Drinks

Hang in there; they’ll receive their liquor licence soon. For the moment, enjoy Culture Club‘s non-alcoholic drinks such as a nicely prepared watermelon-and-cranberry virgin mojito, pina colada, mango-and-mint granita and granadilla-sherbet granita. We taste a coffee Freezo (made by Illy), which translates into a perfect small dessert that’s probably low in calories too. In addition, they offer a number of gourmet iced teas such as very cherry and pomegranate rooibos, as well as some frappes, excellent espresso and other coffee-based drinks.

Service

The restaurant opened recently, so it’s understandable that staff are still somewhat tentative and hesitant. Our young server forgets to mention the specials for the evening, for example, but on the whole, service from the entire crew is friendly. Once the inside and outside areas fill up, waiters will need to know what they’re doing. The owner/manager is, however, very hands-on, keen to answer questions and generally helpful in smoothing the flow of service.

The courtyard at Culture Club – Bar de Tapas. Photo supplied.

Ambience

Culture Club – Bar de Tapas is a recent addition to a row of brand-new restaurants in this area, fondly known as the Parktown of Pretoria. Falling into that bracket between restaurant and bar, this is a great place to come for a drink and stay on for some good food. The main restaurant space houses the kitchen, ablution facilities, bar and a few high tables. The majority of the restaurant’s seating is outside on an open deck, under trees decked out in fairly lights. This, together with the buzz emanating from surrounding restaurants, creates exactly the right kind of ambience for a lovely evening outside in Gauteng’s balmy weather. (But I hope they have a trick up their sleeves for when it rains or the cold sets in.) The bar shelves are filled with a quirky collection of items such as Darth Vader, a Minion, cookery books and glassware.

And…

It’s a pleasure to see that the designers have given some thought to all aspects: from the beautiful small blue water glasses to the textured panels against the bar counter, from the mix of French café-style and designer moulded-plastic chairs to an array of ceramic bowls and containers for serving the food. This is a perfect spot to visit with friends to enjoy a drink and share several small, delicious tastes.

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Eat Out critics dine anonymously and pay for their meals in full. Read our editorial policy here.