No thrill from the grill

FireLake Grill House

Where: Radisson Blu Hotel, Umhlanga

Open: Daily breakfast, lunch and dinner

Call: 031 575 8500 

Food writer Ingrid Shevlin and I decided to try the FireLake Grill House at Durban’s newest top hotel, the Radisson Blu in Umhlanga.

FireLake is a smart, modern restaurant designed to maximize the spectacular sea views, with floor-to-ceiling glass walls that make you feel like you’re almost on top of the ocean. It’s sophisticated without being overly formal, done in soft shades of aubergine and tan. The art was shades of AI. It felt plush. The staff were welcoming and showed us to our table.

It also has a pool deck off to one side, which was a lot busier than the actual restaurant. Lots of people with kids, and hotel residents were enjoying lunch at the pool. I should imagine in peak period this would be the place to be.

For starters, there are many of the usual options: calamari, chicken livers, chicken wings — stuff you’d expect from a restaurant covering all the bases.

Ingrid and I decided to try the spinach pakora (R129), which we thought would be interesting since you don’t often see these on Durban menus. These were more like spinach croquettes and were monstrously heavy — so much so that we couldn’t actually finish the third one. We both kept offering it to each other. The only saving grace is that decidedly hot little bowl of chilli which lifted them out of being bland.

We also shared the lobster salad (R265). This was an attractive salad with lobster mixed in mayonnaise stuffed back into the lobster shell, on a bed of interesting greens with tomatoes and corn, and a light vinaigrette dressing. It was very enjoyable. In fact the best dish of the day.

Mains included everything you would expect from an upmarket grill room, although prices are seriously scary. Steaks average R400 with lamb chops at R455, and that’s before you add a sauce at R65. Braised oxtail is R399, flame-grilled baby chicken R315, and lamb shank R425. Even a double cheese and bacon burger is R285, and a Prego roll hits a staggering R225. 

Possibly the best value on the menu is the shisanyama platter for two at R945, which includes a sirloin steak, cheesy jalapeño sausage, chicken drums, lamb chops, steamed bread and chakalaka. 

The fish selection is no easier on the wallet. A simple hake with mussel and prawn sauce is R255, while the grilled salmon is an eye-watering R580. We spotted one of the few good-value items: a seafood platter for one at R499, which we decided to share.

It came with grilled sole, 12 prawns, 10 mussels, calamari, rustic fries, savoury rice, lemon butter sauce, and tartar sauce. Sadly, the kitchen brought the platter while we were still busy eating our starters, so by the time we got to it, it had cooled considerably.

The sole was delicious and beautifully grilled, but lukewarm. There were only six prawns on the platter, although they were off a decent size. The mussels were tossed in a good creamy basil pesto sauce, and the calamari was nicely grilled in a spicy, savoury butter.

But the sauces served with the seafood platter were decidedly odd. There was the red one, which I asked our waiter when it arrived whether it was peri-peri and I was told it was. It turned out to be something like a thick tomato sauce, maybe even their Napoli sauce. It went well with the good crisp hand cut chips. Then there was the off-white sauce. I was hoping it was tartare, but it didn’t look right. It had been heated and was sweet. So definitely not a cool tangy tartare. 

Neither of us could work out what it was meant to be. Eventually we asked our waiter who said it was mushroom sauce. Two questions: One, why a mushroom sauce would be sweet, and secondly, why one would even consider serving a mushroom sauce with seafood. The rice was a little overcooked, but was nicely spiced. 

I would’ve enjoyed it a lot more had the meal been properly hot. A shell basket and finger bowls too would have been a nice touch.

There was one item on the menu that really floored me. And that was the Margherita pizza at a staggering R195. When you really think about it this is basically bread and cheese. With only five pizzas on offer, one wonders why one would really bother to run a pizza oven.

For desserts, there was a chocolate brownie, a Magnum freak shake — which sounded like it had the entire kitchen sink in it — and predictable staples like crème brûlée, malva pudding, and waffles, again stacked with all sorts of weird and wonderful ingredients.

Ingrid and I decided to share the yoghurt mousse. This is a vanilla yoghurt mousse with ginger crumble and strawberry sorbet for R135. The yoghurt mousse was pleasant but nothing to write home about. It almost had the texture of a semi fredo. The coulis was red rather than flavourful but the strawberry sorbet was delicious. I could’ve just had another scoop of that. What detracted from the whole thing was a great big mound of spray on cream in the middle, which added nothing.

Food: 2 ½

Service: 3

Ambience: 3

The Bill: R1153 for two