Marbella Grand Cafe
Where: Shop C1 The Pearls, 2 McCausland Crescent, uMhlanga
Open: Monday to Thursday 11am to 11pm, Friday 11am to midnight, Saturday 10am to midnight, Sunday 10am to 11pm.
Call: 031 020 0028
Food writer Ingrid Shevlin found a new restaurant in uMhlanga. Called the Marbella Grand Cafe, it’s been open for a couple of months and is in the Pearls where Times Square used to be. We thought we’d put it through its paces.
Named after the town at the heart of Spain’s famed Costa del Sol, known for its kilometres of sandy beaches, all-year-round sun and rollicking nightlife, there’s little in either the décor or on the menu that suggests the south of Spain. It would seem the only thing in common is a beachfront promenade.
Perhaps the Marbella Grand Cafe is a reference to that giddy nightlife, but when we arrived for a quiet Monday lunch it was simply a cavernous space, with two other couples huddled in the corner. It’s a simple yet smart restaurant with a wide verandah running around it. Lovely for summer, but on a bright but chilly winter’s day it felt a little like a wind tunnel, even inside.
We found a spot in another corner.
Then there were the chairs. They looked lovely, but form didn’t follow function. Too low, and sloping back too much, they might be fine if you’re sipping away at one of the fanciful coloured cocktails Marbella advertises on TikTok, but not for dining. And then there are the wooden sides coming up from the base giving them a sports seat feel. Fine if you’re young and trendy and slender, but anyone spreading in the beam is going to find two pieces of wood digging into their rump. I joined Ingrid on the banquette and then had a fern poking my ear.
We perused the menu. The closest we got to Spain was some Mexican-inspired tacos and tortillas under light bites. In fact there was little to differentiate the restaurant from all the other catch-all menus so prevalent in uMhlanga. I suppose in Marbella today fish and chips and steak, egg and chips are probably more prominent than paella and arroz del signoret (gentleman’s rice).
There’s a selection of steaks, with sauces, lamb chops and shanks, pork belly and a few meat platters. There’s fish and chips and grilled prawns. Starters take in the usual calamari, chicken livers and fish cakes et al. And naturally, like every other steakhouse or grill room in Durban, there’s a sushi menu too.
Ingrid and I still don’t understand this. But we decided to go for sushi because the mains all looked substantial and we wanted something light to start. The sushi was nice and fresh and certainly looked and tasted like it had been freshly prepared. We enjoyed a prawn avalanche, a Californian salmon roll topped with crumbed prawn pieces and Japanese mayo (R95) and spicy salmon and beancurd (R90). All good here.
For mains, Ingrid went the fish route again, ordering the whole line fish ‒ red roman (R245) topped with a lemon and herb butter sauce and served with mash. She enjoyed it although it was a messy affair.
I wanted something lighter so I went for the chicken peri-peri (R235). This was three thighs that had actually been properly marinated in peri-peri sauce and they had lovely flavour. The chicken was juicy and tender too. So often in Durban the chicken and peri-peri sauce meet each other right at the end of the process. You end up with some overly hot vinegary sauce glooped over a bland and boring piece of chicken. They came with good chips, another bonus.
Apologies but I somehow erased my picture of the menu, which offered a small but not terribly challenging dessert selection, and nothing remotely Spanish. We decided to give them a miss. Right at the entrance to the restaurant is a caravan selling weird and wonderful donuts, along with “Jesus Saves” emblazoned on it. Maybe this might hit your sweet spot. They might even offer churros.
Food: 3 ½
Service: 3
Ambience: 2 ½
The Bill: R739 for two excl tip
Independent on Saturday