Many a Durban night goer would be familiar with the Dutch in the Umhlanga Village, popular for it's classic 70's style decor, live bands and great bar but the owners of this fine establishment felt that it wasn't what they had envisioned for the place. After a brief shutdown in February, the Dutch reopened it's doors to the public and I was invited to sample what the new look, well rather "re imagined" Dutch is all about.
I get asked all the time for popular night spots for people to visit and dine at, and also places that offer live entertainment, whilst there are plenty of places in Durban that offer great food, there was a gap in the market for a place that offered both. The Dutch always prided themselves in hosting some of the best local talents on their stage but their food menu was limited to tapas like variety but that has all changed now. The team has been working tirelessly behind the scenes to bring you a menu that takes your taste buds on a gastronomical adventure.
The Dutch now operates as premium dinning and entertainment venue, with them operating from Tuesday to Saturday with live entertainment scheduled for Friday and Saturday. Unlike before, booking is a must if you want to visit the Dutch as the venue can accommodate 100 seated guest and a few more around the bar. Since the venue is now a restaurant, crowd control is paramount to ensure that diners have the best dinning experience. Whilst still enjoying themselves to the entertainment on offer.
The night of my visit, Durban's very own Gangs of Ballet were performing live. With their performance scheduled for 10pm it gave diners ample time to enjoy dinner before the show started, speaking of dinner, it's definitely not to be skipped, the menu is a mixture of local favourites with a twist only the Dutch could pull off. One does not have to do a full dinner as tapas and cocktails can be had either at your table or at the bar.
For starters I opted for the Prawn Samoosa, which consist of a generous amount of prawns and yellow potato filling served in 3 golden brown crispy fried samoosa's served on a bed of cucumber raita and paprika oil. It's the perfect balance of hot and cool, with flavours to awaken your sense for the next course.
For mains they have seven options to chose from, whether you looking for something light like a burger or sliders to a fillet steak served on cheese polenta and red wine jus. They even one of the few restaurants I know of that serve Norwegian Salmon that is specially imported and prepared in miso and honey glaze, accompanied with umami courgette stir fry, sweet confit cherry tomatoes and wasabi spinach mayo.
Whilst the first and second course might be quite a mouthful, be sure to save some space for dessert! With the Dutch being from the same brainchild as Remo's and Old Town Italy who are both renowned for their pastries and desserts, most particularly the ever popular cronut, you know the dessert menu is going to be good. While I opted for the lemon brulee, which was more of a deconstructed lemon meringue, a friend at the table went for the coconut macaroons. Both of which were exceptional and left us wanting more.
With our hunger satisfied, it was time for us to settle in and enjoy the sounds of the guys from Gangs of Ballet who took us away with their wonderful melodies in a great unplugged set whilst enjoying our drinks for the rest of the night. It was truly a great evening out and an experience that was missing in the Durban night. Whether you go for dinner or just for a quiet drink, the Dutch will certainly cater for even the most distinguished taste.
For booking inquiries and more information,
Telephone: 060 588 5674
Website: http://thedutch.co.za/
Facebook: Dutchism
Instagram: the.dutch
Address: Cnr of Chartwell Dr & Lighthouse Rd, Umhlanga
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