Banana Jam Café

We visited this Caribbean-themed Kenilworth institution on a stormy summer’s night. Unfortunately, one of our foursome was struck down during the day with a terrible case of IdontknowwhatthehellhitmebutIammandown-ilitis and was unable to join us. He did, however, manage to book us an outside table on the only night Cape Town has seen rain in an age – nice one, bud.

Thankfully, the restaurant was not hellishly busy when we arrived which meant that we were able to be moved to a table under the covered area outside. The waitress who helped us move around was extremely friendly and more than willing to assist us. First things first – beer! Out of the many restaurants in Cape Town, Banana Jam has one of the largest selection of craft beers available. With over 30 available on tap and another 80 available in the bottle, the choice is endless. Just as well they offer a taster tray where patrons are able to order 6 beers of their choice as samplers, which is a fabulous way for people to expand their craft beer drinking horizons.

One or two of the most succulent pints of amber nectar later, talk turned to starters. Chilli poppers are generally one of our top choices (and Banana Jam sure does make delicious ones). We decided, however, to share a pizza as a starter to buck our trend. We went with a Cuban which came with peppadews, chorizo and feta. The combination really worked and the 2 and a third slices we each had worked a treat to get the taste buds going.

For our burgers, I went with their Barbados Burger which comes with a slice of pineapple, cheese, and barbeque bacon. The other two both went for Bob’s Blue Cheese Burger which came, surprisingly, with a blue cheese sauce as well as avo. Whilst none of us has a clue who Bob was or is, the one thing we do know about him is that he is pretty generous with his avo’s. An entire half of a not-too-small avo covered the entire patty, which initially confused me into thinking that the bread bun looked a tad green for my liking. We ordered the burgers with a side of chips which both arrived in a large portion along with delicious, crispy onion rings. Whilst the burgers were very tasty and well cooked, the chips were the thin-style fries which, in my opinion, should only ever be served if being ordered through a drive-thru.

It was during the meal that I began feeling a dripping down the back of my neck. Initially happy to turn around and not find somebody drooling whilst looking at my burger over my shoulder,

I soon saw that there was a leak in the covering joining the side wall next to where I sat. As irritating as this became, I never allowed it to put a dampener on the night and I simply swopped sides and cosied up to my mate on the other side of the table. The service through the night was very good, albeit that we were served through the night by 4 different waitresses.

All-in-all, it was a good evening with the decently priced beer selection, a delicious burger, and a freak storm bringing some much-needed rain for Cape Town, being the highlights.

Ratings

Beginnings – decent variety which caters for most starter cravings, although we cheated and went for a main as a starter 4

Burgers – not the hugest choice but the flavours were very good. Although a large portion of chips was given, these turned out to be thin-cut fries which should only ever be served in a fast food burger joint. Awesome onion rings 3.5

Beers – blown away by the choice on offer and decently priced. Nice touch to offer a taster tray 5

Bringers – great welcoming and we were well-assisted with the initial table choice. Good service throughout 5

Background – being a Thursday night hit by a freak rain storm, not the busiest night. Fair amount of atmosphere inside and in the covered outside section, all things considered 3

Ratings Key

• 1 Bad
• 2 Better than bad
• 3 Bleh (neither here nor there)
• 4 Bloody good
• 5 Brilliant