Bryanston’s food-and-drinks offering is set to grow on 1 June, when Rockets, a four-storey restaurant complex and member’s club, opens its doors. In addition to the restaurant area, there will be a rooftop garden, a champagne bar, a cognac bar, a bar and lounge for functions, and two dining rooms.

Tapas to look forward to at Rockets Brystanston. Photo supplied.

Rockets first opened in Rivonia in 2007 and later expanded to open a branch in Parkhurst. In the new Bryanston venue, the private dining room and the cognac bar are intended for small events, while everyone is welcome to make use of Lolita’s Bar and Lounge, the rooftop garden and the main dining room.

The fare at Rockets. Photo supplied.

The menu for the main dining room will offer a wide range of options including tapas, burgers, steaks, pizzas and pastas. Think charcuterie boards, with prosciutto, salami, chorizo, marinated mozzarella, chilli olives and water biscuits, and something called bacon-and-beer jam; a trinchado served with a prego roll; a chimichurri taco (served in a hard or soft shell); and Marakesh lamb kebabs. Puddings include chocolate mousse with whipped cream, marshmallows and a vanilla macaron for good measure, and the Chocolate Bomb (salted-caramel ice cream encased in a chocolate ball and served with hot caramel sauce).

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Lolita’s Bar and Lounge will have its own distinctive menu and personality. Food options range from boards to share (like bruschetta with guacamole, hummus and romesco dips) and vegetarian fare (like edamame beans tossed with a soy vinaigrette), to inspired meat dishes, such as chicken kebabs on a Waldorf slaw and pork belly bites with a lime-and-ginger dipping sauce and spicy miso salsa. Also look forward to prawns wrapped in kataifi on a coriander salad or the prawn-and-truffle salad. Dessert comes in the form of tapas, with traditional churros or more unconventional choices, such as empanadas filled with blueberries and goat’s cheese.

The tapas selection at Rockets. Photo supplied.

As for drinks options, guests can expect top-drawer Champagnes including Mumm, Veuve Clicquot, Laurent-Perrier, Dom Pérignon and Moët & Chandon. South African MCC options range from bottles of Genevieve and Silverthorn from Robertson to by-the-glass picks like Villiera from Stellenbosch and L’Ormarins from Franschhoek.

 

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There will also be some promising-sounding cocktails, including one with candyfloss and another a Turkish delight-inspired one.

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As of 1 June, Rockets will be open Mondays to Sundays for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There are plans to open two more branches in the next two years, in Pretoria and Durban. Stay tuned for updates.