hemingway's restaurant & wine cellar

worst leg of lamb ever, steamed andservedon a bed of tasteless mash potatoes. will not recommend this to anyone. was really expecting the food to live up to the venue, disappointed.

we booked a mother’s day brunch at hemingway’s, and were looking forward to their lovely meal. unfortunately, without warning they moved all their bookings to another restaurant thatservedan average buffet. the service was terrible cause hemingway’s did not prepare us prior to our booking. thoroughly dissatisfied and disappointed

18/07/2019 (1*)
friends invited us for an anniversary dinner at hemingways. i’ve been to the restaurant before (i had a good experience) and on a recommendation, they decided to visit the establishment for their anniversary. we were shown to our table and we started to have a look at the menu while placing our order for drinks. since they ran out of a few things on the menu, we decided not to order starters. after the drinks arrived, we ordered mains:
- pork bellyservedwith honey & mustard sweet potato and butternut purée (7.5/10)
- men without women pizza (7/10)
- to have and not to have pizza (7/10)
after we enjoyed the mains, we placed our order for dessert.
after an hour, we tried to get hold of our waiter to find out what is happening. he tried explaining that there was an issue in the kitchen and the desserts will be out soon (not sure why there was no feedback in between). when the desserts arrived:
- the fondants were as dry as can be, ice cream melted
- the panacotta i ordered was more like a mousse, ice cream also melted.
- the creme brûlée was ok
the evening went down south very quickly and resulted in patrons who will not return to this restaurant.


30/06/2018 (4*)
on invitation, we went to hemingway’s for a session and lunch was served. firstly, the service is top notch. we ordered the lamb shank and pork belly. the food arrived in a reasonable time with the wine ordered. i was impressed with the taste of the shank - well cooked and not tough at all. the mash which accompanied the shank was good too! the red wine topped it off nicely. looking forward to my next visit.

pretoria as the capital has so little options to experience fine dining that fits one’s pocket. hemingway’s restaurant at leriba lodge is surely one of those little unexplored gems. stepping through the doors at hemingway’s you are immediately inundated with the sophistication and elegance of their table settings. i have a thing for crisp white tables and serviettes. add to that service with a smile or even smiles. waiters that caters to your every whim, friendly, available and their attention to the table was a good balance between overprotective hovering and the vanishing act. being a special evening, we celebrated a birthday and man was this an amazing evening.

we were treated by amazing red wines from doolhof wine estate and their range is ever impressing. the food was undoubtedly one of my best food experiences i enjoyed in a long time. starters consisted of a beautiful carpaccioservedfresh with a quails egg. beautiful. main course offered us a lovely crisp pork-belly prepared to perfection. the plating and presentation is top notch and they surely know how to prepare their food. dessert was equally impressive and the ever-classic creme brûlée did not disappoint! a sugary crunch with delightful light and creamy custard sent me to foodie heaven! hemingway’s is a sure stop for amazing food and is a great catalyst for good conversation.

the centurion area is busy with it’s own rejuvenation process when it comes to good food, restaurants and unique cuisine. hemingways is sure getting it right. they are also a good venue for weddings, family events and they regularly host tastings and festivals. well done guys, you won my tastebuds and i will most definitely see you again soon. your new fan. so people, all i have to say is…. go! now!

a stylish upmarket look in terms of decor. there are beautiful chandeliers and lovely hanging fairy lights. from a working perspective, i like that there is wifi. another practical feature is that they have their own bathroom, so you don't have to use the center facilities. they serve a decent omelette. and tea isservedin beautiful floral cups and saucers, then ideal setting for a high tea.

last week we where hosted for a wine pairing, with vergenoed wines.

the service was excellent, along with delicious food.

the starter: salmon with micro herbs, drizzled with a light buttery sauce.

the lobster tortellini was cooked to perfection! it was flavorful and well plated

the cheese and bread platters were well paired with a red wine.

the main course: dorado fish,servedwith fried potatoes, a warm salad.

the dessert a real winner, a deconstructed black forrest chocolate squares,servedwith the perfect crumble.
the wafers where beautifully plated.

a lovely dinning experience!

well we arrived for the piano recital on sunday after booking on line to find there was no table available for us. we sat and waited for a table and when we were seated the show started and we were unable to order any drinks at all. at the interval i tried to order a drink and after mush josstling managed to get a glass of water for us each. after calling over the lady who seemed to be in charge we were assigned a waiter who then got list looking for menus for us. after much struggling we were eventuallyservedand was i able to order wine which they did not have to be replaced by a bottle twice as expensive without informing me of the difference. we'll the four was awesome a d i would recommend this. as for the show i lived that too except that my table was near the entrance and the staff kept speaking inside the doorway which i found distracting to say the least.

this restaurant offers a truly french cuisine experience in the heart of centurion. a true gem. upon arrival at the establishment, my wife and i were greeted by a very friendly liya, who was also our waitron for the evening. the warm and cozy atmosphere was an ideal setting for our dining experience.

we were seated in a romantic corner where we were taken away by this gastronomy journey. it started with a complimentary amuse-bouche (tender ostrich on a potato dauphinoise). this was followed by our delicious starters, fresh oysters (flown in fresh daily from the western cape) and their smoor snoek ravioli. oh my, what a start. after the starters, we were spoilt with another complimentary dish, this time a homemade peach sorbet.

our mains were the braised lamb shank and seared salmon. the lamb was tender andservedon a smooth potato mash, with fresh vegetables and a brandy and mint jus. my wife prefers a slightly cooked through salmon, so her fish was ultra-juicy,servedon peppadew risotto and julienne vegetables. this was paired with a wonderful guardian peak shiraz, which complimented the lamb especially well. we ended the evening with the dark chocolate fondant,servedwith cabernet and blueberry ice cream. this was a extremely decadent dessert, soft and moist cake with the homemade ice cream. simply delicious. when we finished the evening, i had to compliment the chef, who was sent to our table. what a delightful young man. even mentioned he is second in command and didn’t take the praise which was meant for the chef.

this restaurant deserves the positive rating it received thus far. everything was amazing and the dining experience was exquisite. i will have to say i have found by new favourite fine dining restaurant. i will most definitely recommend this restaurant. (just a pity i cannot score it 10 out of 5)

we wereservedby a lovely waiter! great food delivered to us and was presented beautifully! prices were reasonable and we will definitely be back!

date night? this would be the perfect setting. calm and romantic with the linger of the piano that just engulfs the atmosphere.

the service is quite exceptional. michael was the guy whoservedus and took care of everything.

we had the lamb shankservedwith mash and ratatouille vegetables, the meat was soft and fell off the bone, was really really nice. as well as the ostrich steak topped with the blue cheese sauce, was a bit overpowering but tasty indeed..

will definitely be coming here again for another date 😜