Those who know me will know that I’m easily pleased, but hard to impress. Riboville impressed me. It’s located in an old building at the top of Adderly St (just before you hit Wale St) which used to be a bank. They have refurbished the place but tried to keep as much of the original elements as possible, eg. the the floors and the marble inlays on the walls. the mixture of modern and old is done very well and is very effective. The place is enormous, it’s not often you get to eat in such a spacious (not just wall to wall but above too) venue these days.

If you come through the back entrance (off St. Georges Mall), you will walk through the deli/coffee shop and smell the lovely smell of fresh goodies being baked. There is a selection of cheese and baked goods available. When entering the restaurant, take note of the murals on your left, they were painted by Sharon the talented (who does the RWD banner). On your right is the Asian kitchen, past that you have the main area of the restaurant, surrounded by the fishmonger for your seafood and sushi requirements, a champagne bar and service bar.

The owner of the Codfather is one of the owners of Riboville, so you can expect the same selection of quality, fresh fish and shellfish which you can choose from the fishmonger’s display. The menu us diverse, offering something to suit most tastes. Whether it be Thai Curry, Steak, Vegetarian or anything in between. They also have a unique concept for people like me who want to try everything we see, they serve small portions of 3 mains in a platter. There are 4 different platters to choose from. The food is good, but it’s not the main attraction. The prices are reasonable, certainly lower than you would expect to pay in a place like this. Our starters were R28 and R30, and we each had a platter for mains which were about R100 each, but an individual main is between R70 and R100.

Make sure you go downstairs to check out the wine selection. In the basement, which was the old bank vault they have created a wine cellar and wine tasting area. You can go down there and select a wine or even spend some time down there drinking a post dinner port with a selection of cheeses or chocolates. There is an enormous selection of wine and the prices are very reasonable. The wine that was recommended to us was most enjoyable and priced at an accessible R85. The wine list is really long and sorted by estate, so it can be challenging to find a wine in a reasonable time. We took what was suggested.

While the restaurant is open, the project is far from complete. The floor above is to become a gallery and lounge with a private dining area. Then there are also plans for the 2 floors above that. It’s taken them two and a half years to get this far, the rest, I am sure, will also be worth the wait.

I suggest you book yourself a table. Check out the website to see more www.ribovillerestaurant.co.za/


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