Chakalaka (Chiswick)

Visited Chakalaka (Chiswick) on a Wednesday night. It was quiet, but still felt comfortable. The deco is good and gives off an African vibe, the waiter was friendly and knowledgeable, patiently explaining South African dishes and recommending wines. Chakalaka is not cheap, but it’s worth it – the meat we had (kudu, ostrich, beef) was delicious, flavoursome and well-cooked. I was a lovely to try a different and exotic range of flavours while enjoying the relaxed atmosphere and attentive service of a local restaurant – we have uncovered a gem! If you can manage, try the Malva dessert.
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9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, August 18, 2010

I visited Chakalaka on a night out with two of my girlfriends, one of them had found out about Chakalaka and since we'd never eaten at a South African restaurant before and we're always eager to try new things we were genuinely excited. This is how our night went.

GETTING THERE - To begin with this restaurant was a nightmare to find and nearby parking virtually nonexistent.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS/ DECOR/ ATMOSPHERE - When we eventually found the restaurant and arrived (without a booking at about 8pm) we were greeted by a friendly waiter who seated us in the downstairs area, (the upstairs being closed). On first impressions the restaurant seemed much smaller than we'd anticipated and with a not so South African vibe as we'd imagined. The decor was of a standard neutral design with standard seating; just the walls were dotted with the odd few zebra photos hanging up. This was disappointing as we were expecting and looking forward to being immersed in the exotic. A plus point that I always personally look for - this restaurant has real linen napkins.

The restaurant seemed quite busy with diners and we took that as a good sign. I did my usual thing of listening/looking out for any native South Africans via accents/traditional dress etc. - I see it as plus if you see actually natives of the region are eating in a restaurant serving their national cuisine but alas there seemed to be none.

After our meal was over and the bill paid, we went upstairs to make use of the facilities before moving on and we noticed that despite being closed the decor was a distinct improvement on the downstairs and there where ornate African carvings in the stairwell. However, the waitress seemed hostile to us being up there even though we had a legitimate purpose for being there, maybe it was because we decided to skip desserts and go elsewhere?

THE SERVICE - A waitress (who was neither friendly and polite nor unfriendly and rude) promptly arrived to take our drinks order and we asked for some thinking time, since we were too busy perusing the food menu to have noticed the one drinks menu in the centre of the table.

When she returned we placed our order in one go; we made the decision (as we often do) to each order 3 completely different starters and 3 completely different mains so that we each of us could sample food from each other's plates. We asked if this would be okay and the waitress said yes that she'd bring us 3 additional plates with our mains so sharing would be easier. (There were already side plates for the starters on the table)

For drinks we ordered cocktails (for which we had to specifically request the menu). For starters we had Boerewors with Chakalaka Sauce, Biltong and Fish Goujons with Tartare Sauce. Then for mains we had a safe dish (16 oz Rump Steak), a fish dish (Spicy Tiger Prawns) and the daring option of (Springbok Filo Bake).

A short while later the waitress returned and that told us that they were out of rum so we couldn't order anymore cocktails unless we wanted them virgin BUT she spoke so fast I couldn't make out if she was telling us that our cocktails were going to be virgin or not... (I couldn't taste any alcohol in mine) and also that they only had one 8oz rumpsteak remaining which we accepted. She apologised and said she'd take some money off the bill (this didn't happen but we didn't complain either).

The waiter who seated us served us our starters and then cleared our table after - (the waitress who took our orders brought us a basket with 3 bread rolls and 2 butter patties) whilst we were tucking into the starters. The waiter also served us our mains but then another completely different waitress (who was very meek) cleared our table and brought us the dessert menu, this same waitress brought us the bill with some complimentary minty shots that tasted like mouthwash. The bill payment was taken by the waitress who took our orders.

Now I don't know about most people but I personally prefer to be served by the same person throughout a single sitting, I don't mind being seated by one and served by another BUT I do mind having my servers constantly switching. It irks me because you often have to make the same request twice or thrice to different servers because you're never sure that your request is being dealt with. For example the waitress who took our order said she'd bring us extra plates with our mains because we were going to share... Well we had to request these plates from the waiter whilst we sat waiting and stared at the food. Then having your conversation interrupted when two different individuals ask the otherwise polite courtesy “Is everything okay? Are you and enjoying the food?” both within a few minutes of each other.

THE FOOD – THE STARTERS - Boerewors with Chakalaka Sauce – The presentation was good the dish looked appealing. The taste matched Boerewors is a delicious sausage full of intense flavours and succulent prime meat. The Chakalaka Sauce was a simply divine aromatic salsa – it was spicy with a good kick, hints of lime. The portion size for a single person (not sharing the starter as we did) would have been just perfect. 10/10

Biltong (Beef jerky) – Presentation was poor and the dish was served cold with a pathetic garnish of parsley. Portion size didn’t matter we left about a third untouched. 1/10

Fish Goujons with Tartare Sauce – There was nothing that could disguise the fact that this was just four deep fried fish fingers placed in a pretty square around a mini dipping pot of bland tasteless tartare sauce. A lemon wedge would have been nice. This dish was so pathetic that we were left debating whether they were Birdseye fish fingers or M&S. We could have made it at home. 2/10

THE FOOD – THE MAINS - 8 oz Rump Steak with potato wedges and green peppercorn sauce – Steak was cooked perfectly to order. Wedges were light and crispy on the outside and soft and melt in the mouth inside. The jug for the green peppercorn sauce appeared to be generous one when brought to the table but contained the stingiest of smidgens I had to request more. The sauce was too thin and nowhere near as flavoursome as it ought to have been. The dish came with a garnish of bone dry mixed salad leaves; I hate when restaurants do this! Salad leaves (even when used for garnish) should be served with a dressing of sorts or not at all. 7/10

Spicy Tiger Prawns – 8 good sized tiger prawns but not even slightly spicy served with a little tower-turret of plain bland rice with lemon wedge. Portion size and presentation was good dish but this could have been tastier and more flavoursome. 4/10

Springbok Filo Bake - Presentation was very good. Portion size was perfect. However, the meat inside the lovely crispy filo pastry was shredded and overdone so that it was indistinguishable between antelope, beef or lamb, so the delicate flavours of “the best known of South Africa's antelope” were lost on us. Camembert and cranberry were nice but camembert did taste more like brie and it could have done with a little tiny smidge more cranberry. Surprisingly this dish was served with the bonus of some green beans albeit slightly overdone (which the menu did not mention) and some yellow savoury rice turret which I suspect belonged with the Tiger Prawns instead. 5/10

The only genuinely unique South African dish we felt we’d experienced was the starter of Boerewors with Chakalaka Sauce and that would be the only reason that I would ever go back to Chakalakas because the rest of the food we could have got at any other mainstream restaurant or made at home ourselves. The cocktails were just so-so and at £30 a head I didn’t feel we got value for money.
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Pam - View all reviews by this user
5 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Saturday, April 03, 2010

After looking at other reviews we have visited Chakalaka twice now. First experience was great! Second was even better. My first time I didn't want to be too adventurous but on my second visit I went big and had all kinds of exotic dishes. We were a party of 16 and had as much fun as could be had!!!
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FC
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Saturday, August 29, 2009

After reading the reviews on London Eating I decided to take my boyfriend to Chakalaka for his 30th Birthday. He loved it. The food was amazing, it had a great intimate atmosphere, the staff are attentive and friendly. It was expensive but well worth the money. I will be returning again and again : - )
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Anna
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Friday, May 15, 2009

The previous reviews make this restaurant sound amazing - however I'm afraid I must put forward a different opinion on Chakalaka. I went there on Saturday night with my husband. There was a large group of predominantly South African diners who were celebrating a birthday - which is fine - however the level of noise they generated meant that my husband and I couldn't actually hear each other across the table. So much for a romantic night out! The food could have made up for this but what a let down. The onion ring on my husband's dish looked like it had been in the deep fat fryer all day. His kudu steak was served rare as he asked however should have been put straight in a stew. My filo parcel was burnt and dry, and the green beans and mange tout we both had on the side were boiled practically to mush. We both ate what we could and then left immediately as the noise had literally risen to a deafening level. The waiter asked us if everything was alright and when we said why we were leaving in such a hurry there was no offer of a discount or anything like that. The meal worked out extremely expensive - £65 for a starter and a main each and only soft drinks. I will definitely not be going back there again, it totally ruined my evening.
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2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Monday, April 27, 2009