Ok, I never actually mentioned restaurant reviews in anything I’ve written (yeah… one post.) and I probably shouldn’t be eating out since there’s a bond to pay off. But I just had to share.

A while (less than two weeks) ago the husband (hereafter referred to as “C”) and I decided to try out a little restaurant we drive by occasionally called La Trinita, in Kyalami. I was skeptical at first, because it is tucked away at the very bottom of the centre (Kyalami Downs) away from the other food place, like Steers and Nando’s and Titolino’s (possessive apostrophe correct there?). It seemed… dark. I was worried it wasn’t even open. We went anyway.

Something for which I am grateful.

We stepped in and I was surprised at the people there (not many, but I was expecting none). As soon as we sat down, the chef came to sit with us and chat to us about the specials of the evening, how she prepares them etc etc. The atmosphere was very warm.

She also explained that it’s a mother/daughter (Tessa and La-La, hostess and chef) team and I just loved that. It felt like you were welcomed to a family gathering. Where you could choose what you ate… And eventually had to pay.

Before the meal, we were served these deliciously warm vetkoek-type things. The reason I call them vetkoek-type is because they small and not dripping with oil like the traditional fat cakes tend to be.

The meal…

oh

my

goodness.

Never before had I tasted pasta like this. I’ve had a fair amount of pasta in my life, it being a pretty easy and versatile dish, but this? Utterly delicious. And the bite I had from what C ate was awesome as well.

It was deliciously rich and, well, just perfect.

So, the food… sublime.

The service… chop chop.

The atmoshpere? Well, as I’ve said before, the service was speedy, so we didn’t really have to hang around for two hours, chatting and drinking wine but… we did.

All in all, a wonderful Thursday evening.

The Return

We went back because C’s brother was visiting and we were all hungry.  Off we go into the wild Kyalami night.

The place was PACKED.

Obviously, we could not have received the same personal service we did last time, because it was so full. But you know what? They still managed to make us feel special. They remembered us! We were greeted as we walked through the door with a hug and a kiss. Plus the atmosphere was very jovial. We didn’t stay as long this time, because we couldn’t really hear each other speak and it was pretty late already.

But the food? Delicious once again. The service? Impeccable. The atmosphere? Although lacking a bit of that personal touch, it felt cosy and fun. Like being part of a really big Italian family.