Eat Out critic Hennie Fisher samples the large menu of eclectic modern dishes at Meraki in White River, which opened in December last year.

Fast facts

Best for: Comfortable and casual meals with friends
Average price main course: R140
Food type: Contemporary café food
Star rating: Food 3, ambience 3, service 3

A beautiful confit duck dish at Meraki. Photo by Hennie Fisher.

Food

Bread arrives with homemade pesto and an amuse bouche of a small espresso cup of vegetable soup. The Tongue, Meat and Bones starter is delicious, with slivers of pan-fried ox tongue, a home-smoked beef tartare, large roasted marrow bones, sweet mustard and melba toast. Other starters include Cape Malay mussels, snails and gnocchi, or some salmon fishcakes served with a tomato and mozzarella salad.

The Tongue, Meat and Bones starter. Photo by Hennie Fisher.

A popular dish on the Meraki menu is a prawn, mussel and chilli pasta and the Beastly Beef Burger is a firm favourite with younger clientele. Confit duck served crisp with butternut purée, a generous potato croquette and sautéed vegetables is beautifully made and presented. Traditional Vilanculos chicken, cooked sous vide, makes reference to the restaurant’s proximity to Mozambique, and comes served with a peanut sauce, spicy cabbage salad, and hand-cut chips. For a sweet finish to your meal, white chocolate and nougat brûlèe, hazelnut and espresso baked cheesecake, and ginger-and-cinnamon milk tart are some of the appealing options available.

Drinks

In keeping with modern trends, Meraki serves a selection of craft beers, a few bubblies and hand-selected wines, and a number of jaw-dropping milkshakes. The gourmet shakes are all made with homemade ice-cream and include such delicious flavours as sea-salt caramel and nut brittle; lavender, nougat and vanilla; espresso malt chocolate and cookies; and basil and berry.

Comfortable country-style seating sets the tone inside. Photo by Hennie Fisher.

Service

Since there are only a handful of employees, anyone from the kitchen could deliver your food when the waiters get busy. The owner is very hands-on and makes a point of chatting at every table. Meraki is not a Greek restaurant, even though the word is used by modern Greeks to describe what happens when you put a piece of yourself (your soul, creativity or love) in your work. There’s a lovely A3-size menu called the Meraki Post, which lists all the food and beverage offerings. Enjoyable laid-back music and a mix of clientele contribute to a very congenial atmosphere.

A sunny spot. Photo by Hennie Fisher.

Ambience

The restaurant feels like an intimate café, with a few bentwood chairs, white linen, and a tiny little bar in the corner, with touches of corrugated iron to refer back to the days of gold exploration in the surrounding areas like Pilgrim’s Rest. In colder weather, head straight for the small table in the corner, and gaze through the narrow window onto the busy traffic circle. In summer you might prefer to sit on the stoep, overlooking the hustle and bustle of the road that links SA and Mozambique. Some of chef-patron Alden Boerefijn’s great photographic memorabilia is proudly displayed against one wall, together with a collection of inspirational cookery books.

And…

Meraki shares this little stretch of road with many other well-loved establishments on the road from Gauteng to the Kruger Park, just outside the residential area of the town where the road splits to Hazyview and the Numbi Gate into the Kruger Park. Various other shops are located in the Bagdad Centre and the Casterbridge Lifestyle Centre, including Zannas Flavour Café, which has for many years been a trusted supplier of ready-made meals for those heading to their holiday destinations.

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