Hoghouse Brewing Company

Sunday, February 7th, 2016

Reviewed by Linda Curling

The location and setting might be so unpretentious as to make you wonder if you're in the right place, but Hoghouse Barbeque is well worth a visit. The food is exceptionally well-priced for the quality, the service was efficient, and the staff were friendly and relaxed. We were a party of 5 who arrived at 6pm to catch up over drinks followed by supper, and we left at 9pm, completely satisfied. The menu appears simple but offers a good variety of dishes, but don't go hoping for seafood: meat is supposedly the speciality, but the vegetable side dishes got full marks too. My choice of a portion of pigtails in a honey mustard baste as a starter for the table to accompany our drinks didn't go down too well with the group – only one friend was brave enough to try it with me! They were delicious - crispy rind on a nicely reduced fatty layer, with tasty meaty bits around the bone; eaten with one's fingers, they were delicious! For mains, most of the meat dishes are priced per 100g portion, and portions can be doubled up but not halved. Most of us opted for the pulled pork, which was lightly smoked and melt-in-the-mouth juicy and tender; the brisket was also praised highly. We aim to try the ribs, pork belly and lamb on future visits. The imaginative selection of sides puts other Cape Town restaurants in a similar price category to shame. By chance we each chose a different side dish and were happy with our choices, but after seeing the duck-fat roasted potato wedges with truffle aioli dipping sauce, we promptly ordered a portion of those for the table. Cauliflower with goat's cheese, almonds, capers and shitake got 10/10; the rocket, watercress, avo and green bean salad topped with parmesan and sesame was a generous plateful of fresh green healthiness; celeriac remoulade with apple in a tangy mustard and garlic sauce was a new taste for most of us; but the charred butternut with maple syrup and pecan nuts raised everyone's eyebrows: it looked unappetisingly black, but looks were definitely deceptive. Despite ogling the selection of tartlets on my way in to the restaurant, we didn't have space for dessert and will have to try them out next time too. The restaurant is on two levels. We were seated upstairs which felt cooler than the ground floor level (most welcome on such a hot night) but became quite noisy when all the tables were full, so it might be worth asking about the pros and cons of upstairs vs downstairs when you make a booking.