hemingway's restaurant & wine cellar

similar to previous reviews. the food lacked seasoning. very underwhelming. service on the slow side. somewineand port not available even when listed on the menu. chocolate fondant also not available. why would you then put it on the menu? would definitely not be back.

"we ate well and cheaply and drank well and cheaply and slept warm and well together and loved each other!" ernst hemingway ~ a movable feast.

we went to hemingway's for our anniversary dinner and were truly impressed. this restaurant is beautiful and classy with a superb menu, extensivewinelist and fab cellar.

it has an upmarket, cozy, warm and romantic feel plus the piano just adds that little something extra to the ambiance and feel of the place. love the decor. colonial meets modern...

the food was delicious... not cheap though but worth it. it's fine dining and the portions were enough for me but not for my husband. palate cleansers in-between meals were also lovely.

so overall, our dinner experience was devine, the staff were super professional and friendly and the service just splendid. we will visit again.

joie de vivre!

light lunch yesterday at hemingways after attending their yearly harvest festival winetasting/exhibition event. superb eatery. we had some pizzas (definitely my new favourite place for pizza) and obviously somewineas well. they have an excellentwineselection and the ambiance in the restaurant is just perfect. really good service from the staff as well. will go back again and again.

centurion's top restaurant gone to the dogs, i have never been more disappointed in a restaurant before.

this used to be one of the best places to go to, went through for lunch today with a family member and received an awful taste in my mouth from the poor quality in service and disappointing food.

whoever the food critic is that gave the raving reviews about this restaurant should defiantly revisit the restaurant again to see what a slam it has become.

from the dirty glasses to an insect on the complimentary condiments which could have still been foreseen however when it came to the main courses this had to be given a one star.

as seen in pictures i ordered a ribeye steak medium to well done and received a rare steak.

to make matters worse my cousin's meal (roquefort rump) did not have the redwinejus in it.

really, guys, you'll have lost the standards i could have maybe given you'll some understanding if the restaurant was busy but taking into account that we were the only two people there, i really don't think there can be any accuse made.

i took some foreigners for a nice dinner in centurion and based on the good ratings i chose hemingway’s. what a disappointment and embarrassment for our country. they were out of almost all fish on the menu. thewinecellar, which they supposedly have won prizes for, was empty and nowineavailable from thewinelist. the food took two hours and was ok at best and our waiter disappeared never to be seen again.

we went as a big group this evening. we had booked well in advance. what a horrible disappointment this place was. the following went wrong:
1. they had run out of large bottles of still and sparkling water, 3 whiskeys we asked for and gin. thewinecellar was also really bare.
2. it was really hot so we asked for the aircon to be switched on and were told it has not worked in ages.
3. despite the restaurant being practically empty, we had to get up 3/4 times to get service.
4. after we had ordered it took over an hour to get our food even though we followed up several times.
5. i personally had the pork belly. the menu stated it came with bok choi and an array of other things. all it came with was some kind of smashed potatoes. the pork itself was dry and tasteless - although the crackling was crispy - the one redeeming factor
6. we asked to speak to the manager. eventually someone arrived about 30 mins later and said the gm was not there and please to put our complaints in an e-mail so that they could get more staff

we had dinner for my brother’s bday on 8 aug 2018. we were a big party.
the service was absolutely perfect with the waiter taking care of us very professionally.
goodwinelist.
awesome food menu.
presentation of food exceptionally good with the taste (at least mine) even better.
only complaint was the food took quite long but i am sure it had something to do with the size of our party. some had to wait while others were eating. plating should be all together.
but will always come back over and over and highly recommend the place.

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 belly served with 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 thewineordered. 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 redwinetopped it off nicely. looking forward to my next visit.

a classicly styled and spacious restaurant, white tablecloths, dimmed chandeliers, dark wood accents and classical music playing background. we came for restaurant week and opted to do the a la carte menu.

before starters you are offered some breads with butter, olives, chili and parmesan and an amuse bouche and before mains a palette cleanser. our starters were the calamari and figs bruschetta. the calamari although cooked well layed in a lemony sauce that just missed the mark. the bruschetta simple in flavours and delicious.
mains were the ribs and lamb rack, meats both cooked well. the sides of carrots, odd they were not peeled and greenbeans did not have the tops and tips snapped off. the chips were still hard though the dauphinoise pototo was good. all in all just average meals. the location of the hotel makes pricing above average. for awinecellar it was odd there was nowinepairing options with meals and even though the menu states asks waiter for more wines by the glass options, there was only 3 options per type. we did skip dessert.

23.05.2017 i was invited to a foodie meet up at this lovely restaurant. classy, elegant and stylish and yes it's in the pretoria area.

warmly welcomed on arrival by the staff and seated at our long table for dinner. to start we were given various breads to nibble on along with the usual chilli, butter, parmesan and olives. fantastic start.

then came the amuse buche of ostrich carpaccio with aoili. unusual yet delicious and it set the scene for the rest of the meals to come.

starters i decided to try something completely different that i haven't found on other menus. duck bitterballen. wow probably the best dish of the evening for me. it had the right crunch on the outside with the smooth texture on the inside and it paired absolutely brilliantly with the berry salad. it just oozed flavour.

for mains i ordered the rack of lamb with dauphinoise potatoes with carrots and green beans with a jus. my meat was slightly under cooked so i sent it back, and second time round it was perfectly cooked, i just wish it had more seasoning.

lastly for dessert i opted for the amarula chocolate mousse. i was very disappointed with this even though the chocolate enrobing was superb. it was a let down interms of a chocolate mousse, let alone an amarula one. it was ridiculously small, there was probably just over a teaspoon of mousse inside. i could barely taste the amarula and for the price i don't think it was value for money at all. i felt like i was just given a thin slice of chocolate and you can see the size of it compared to my lego mascot.

regardless it was a lovely evening. that duck bitterballen did it for me and i'd happily go back for more. they also have a lot of events at their premises so check them out if you are awinelover.

we are huge fans of hemingways and was priviliged to be invited to a zomato meet-up event a couple of weeks ago.  it is such a beautiful venue, and with the classic white tableclothes and cozy leather couches and fireplace in the corner it is such a fabulous restaurant for a delicious dinner out.  my foodie friends and i had a great time, must be one of my favourite nights out in a long time!  the food, as usual, was simply scrumptious (my favourite was the duck bitterballen i had as starter), and thewineselection on par. hemingways is definitely one of my favourite restaurants in pretoria - especially for special occassions.  a real treat!  thanks for having us!

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 doolhofwineestate 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 carpaccio served fresh 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!

ambience and service very upmarket. excellentwinelist. the food was well presented but i unfortunately found it somewhat lacking in taste though.

last week we where hosted for awinepairing, 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, served with fried potatoes, a warm salad.

the dessert a real winner, a deconstructed black forrest chocolate squares, served with 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 eventually served and was i able to orderwinewhich 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.