Woodstock Grill & Tap – Woodstock

Our latest foray into the wonderful domain of Cape Towns’ burger and craft beer offerings took us to the rejuvenated suburb of Woodstock. Situated in Albert Rd, Woodstock Brewery is home to Woodstock Grill & Tap. Having firmly established themselves as a serious player in the local craft beer industry, we were hopeful that the restaurant side of this partnership would live up to the Brewery’s reputation. Boy, we weren’t disappointed!

On arrival, we were immediately impressed by the look and feel of the place. From the great signage on the outside and all the way through the contemporary, well-designed interior of the restaurant – it just screams class. That’s not to say that riff-raff like us bru’s won’t feel at home, but that it most definitely will appeal to even the most discerning diners.

We were greeted by their friendly staff, who showed us to our table. Our drinks order was soon taken by our waiter, Trust. I went with a Woodstock Lager, while two of the other bru’s went for a Happy Pills (an unfiltered Pilsner) and a Rhythm Stick (an English Pale Ale). The fourth bru went for a non….a non…a non-alc…a non-alcohol…a non-alcoholic German bottled beer – there, I said it! As he is in the midst of a detox period we will forgive him…for now.

The beers all went down suitably quickly with us all very impressed at their quality. Trust was soon back around to take our second round orders which were for another Lager for me, and a Californicator (American IPA, with a hefty 6.5% alcohol content) each for the other two bru’s. The fourth bru still had some of his non-alcoholic beer left so rather opted to place his drink over a Californicator in order to catch a rising waft of its alcohol.

We then ordered some starters, which was a combination of a portion of Bitterballen (served with Dijon mustard and mayo), a portion of deep fried calamari heads (served with tartar sauce), and a portion of vegetable Spring Rolls (served with a sweet chilli dipping sauce) which was shared amongst us. We all thoroughly enjoyed the starters which were as good as one could have expected. During our starters one of the bru’s snuck in another beer with him choosing a Pot Belge (a Belgian Amber Ale). He was seemingly picking up the slack from the fourth bru.

When it came to deciding on the mains, we had to forego the incredible steak special they had on the night (it was, after all, Steak Thursday that we arrived on) and remain “professional” and stick to ordering what we were there for – burgers! One of the bru’s and I did our usual trick of ordering different burgers to share, a great way to get the best of both worlds. We opted for a Jalapeno Cheese Burger and a burger from their specials board, the Jolly Farmer Burger (topped with bacon, mushroom sauce, and biltong). The other two bru’s went for another Jolly Farmer Burger and a Blue Cheese and Biltong Burger, respectively. They all arrived with two beer-battered onion rings garnished on top of each bun. Thinking back, as I am writing this, I am actually salivating – the burgers were seriously tasty! I am in the midst of somewhat of a midlife crisis when it comes to wanting spicy heat to everything that I eat. The jalapeno cheese sauce on my one burger definitely did the trick as far as some heat was concerned. Whilst not being overly hot, it definitely did the trick of tickling the taste buds on its way down my gullet.

All of us bru’s were greatly impressed by the flavour and execution of the burgers. They were fantastic! We finished our meals off with one final round of beers, with the one bru going for another non-alcoholic choice, the other two going for an Acid Queen (Granadilla-soured beer) and a Hazy Daze (a Belgian Witbier) respectively, while I, again, opted for a Lager. The beers were all exceptional and we thoroughly enjoyed them, except for the bru who had the Acid Queen. The granadilla-soured flavour had the effect of making his bum pull faces, which is not quite what he was after.

All-in-all it was a great experience and we will, most definitely be back – although next time we won’t be dumbasses and go for a burger review on their Steak Thursday night! Amateurs…..

We were very pleased to note that they have Monday Burger Madness on each week! Table for four, please…..

Ratings

Beginnings – Great variety to suit all tastes. Great execution. 4
Burgers – Yet another awesome burger-eating experience! 5
Beers – A great selection, as one should expect, at very reasonable prices. Delicious and diverse offerings. 5
Bringers – Trust was as friendly as they come, although his attentiveness (or slight lack of) let him down on the night. 3.5
Background – Not the busiest night, but in terms of the look and feel and design of the space, we can only imagine how awesome the vibe must be on a busier night.   3

Ratings Key

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