Grimaldi’s Cucina & Sushi Bar
Where: Durban Country Club, 1 Isaiah Ntshangase Rd, Stamford Hill
Open: Mon-Sat noon to 10pm, Sunday noon to 5pm
Call: 031 015 5895
No, you don’t have to be a member, and yes it’s open to the public and has plenty of secure parking. Grimaldi’s, the Italian inspired eatery that opened in the Pearls in uMhlanga last year, now has a second home in Durban’s Country Club, bringing a welcome addition to dining south of the river.
Grimaldi’s has taken over the main dining room. It’s an upmarket affair with large dark wood tables and chairs, but it’s not intimidatingly formal, more comfortably smart, and the staff are super friendly. It feels like finally there is a restaurant that fits the space.
The menu takes in honest Italian fare, with a side of sushi. With the exception of the sushi part, it feels like a more contemporary version of Durban’s famed Villa d’Este.
On a really chilly day, we hardly looked at the sushi menu. California, maki, rainbow and bamboo rolls are all there, along with a selection of sushi sandwiches, salads, poke bowls and salmon roses. Volcano and avalanche rolls add interest. I’ll save it for a summer’s day and a glass of wine out on the terrace.
Starters might include chicken livers in chilli, Napoli sauce and wine, or mussels in wine, garlic, basil and chilli. There’s snails, in garlic or Roquefort, and a number of different treatments of calamari. Baby marrow carpaccio drizzled with chilli oil, sprinkled with Parmesan and gratinated in the pizza oven certainly sparked interest. I will try that next time.
My friend fell in love with a special of seared sesame-crusted tuna served with a sweet soy and ginger glaze. It was a simple but delicious treatment, the fish cooked to perfection and that glaze and a few micro leaves gave it a lift. My crab soup, too,(R95) was memorable. Prepared with seafood stock, a dash of Napoli sauce, white wine and cream, it had a wonderful depth of flavour and yet was beautifully balanced.
Besides a good selection of pizzas and pastas, the main grill menu has been kept quite tight, but with enough to interest everybody. There’s fillet and rump, lamb shanks and chops and a lovely treatment of rolled pork belly with garlic, whole grain mustard and roasted apples. I had enjoyed it on an outing to uMhlanga. Chicken takes in the classic peri-peri or there’s an option of breasts stuffed with prawns, spinach and Parma ham.
Linefish or kingklip can be grilled in lemon batter, or cajun, or served in a seafood or thermidor sauce, and there’s a full selection of seafood, including crayfish and langoustines, and a number of platter combinations.
Being lunch, we opted for pastas. My eye fell instantly on the carbonara (R109). Made well, this simple dish of bacon, onion, cream and Parmesan, bound with raw egg and topped with a good sprinkling of black pepper, is one of the great inspirations of Italy. Made badly, it’s as dull as dishwater. This certainly wasn’t dishwater and I was impressed.
My friend tried the frutti di mare, (R169) with prawns, calamari and mussels in Napoli sauce, white wine and garlic, and enjoyed it. Again a nicely balanced sauce without the tomato overpowering everything. She felt maybe a few more prawns could be included.
Other pasta options include Mamma’s meatballs, or chicken and mushroom, or a roasted vegetable option. Butternut panzerotti and gnocchi gorgonzola complete the picture.
Desserts are simple, but delectable. My friend relished her tiramisu (R68) which I had enjoyed on a recent visit to the uMhlanga branch. There’s crème brûlée and cheesecake of the day and a death by brownie, where the brownies are deep fried and served with chilli salt and ice-cream. I have to try it some time, but after all that rich food, there was no way I’d even make a dent in it.
Instead my eye settled on the panna cotta (R49). The joy about this simple bland milk pudding ‒ almost a nursery staple ‒ is it’s light and not overly sweet, and no-one is offended if you leave a sliver of it on the plate. The flavour of the day was amaretto, which was subtle but inspired. It didn’t even need the berry coulis that accompanied it. And there was no sliver left on the plate.
Food: 4
Service: 4
Ambience: 3 ½
The Independent on Saturday