Rick’s Cafe in Park Road seems to have become a vibey option for a week night. It’s not easy to find a place that has a good vibe on a wintery week night, so it’s nice to know that Rick’s can provide that. I’ve eaten there twice and been twice for drinks over the past couple of months.

I have always liked the venue. It used to be a restaurant called Simply Salmon, then a night club called Clockwork, then I think it was used for offices and now it has become a restaurant again. It’s a 100 year old Victorian (is that supposed to be capitalised?) building, so it has plenty of character. It has a veranda out front and down the side for alfresco dining, the main dining area shares the ground floor with the small bar area. Then upstairs is a lounge with a big screen TV and a large balcony with plenty of tables which is going to be super in summer.

The menu is quite broad. There is a section of ‘Global Tapas’ offering small dishes ranging from about R20 to about R40. I particularly enjoyed the Baked Portobello Mushroom covered with creamy spinach (R32) and the Roasted Pork Riblets (R29). The rest are nice too except I wasn’t over impressed with the Stuffed Calamari (R35). One of the owners is one of the guys who started Buena Vista Social Cafe, so it wasn’t surprising to see tapas on the menu. The rest of the menu offers salads, light meals (burgers (R44), steaks (R52), fish & chips (R46), etc.), vegetarian items and items from the grill and obviously dessert.

I can’t remember much about the wine list, except you can order a few things by the carafe instead of bottle or glass, which is useful if you want more than a glass but not a whole bottle. More restaurants should offer this.

The service was neither impressive nor unimpressive. As I mentioned before, there is a nice vibe so if you’re looking for a place with a bit of a buzz, check out Rick’s Cafe Americain.

Rick’s Cafe Americain
2 Park Road Gardens
Tel: 021 424 1100
http://www.rickscafe.co.za/