reuben's

was looking forward to a nice meal, while the food was fair, the ambiance was not enjoyable. music was too loud and uncharacteristic of the setting, and drinks (sparkling water) took forever to come.

i loved the food here... seriously the creme brulee was amaze. nom nom. enjoyed the entertainment... an adorable musician/guitarist/singer oke. ambiance was on point... so lovely and calm. the waitress was a little disengaged mmmm... but still enjoyed:)

wonderful experience on a monday afternoon. food was incredible, service was even better. so much attention to detail in every dish. who would’ve thought that sorbet would work with a spicy soup? it does! the risotto was incredible!

we were quite looking forward to dining at reuben's, and decided to spend our last night in franschhoek here. we pre-booked, so were quite disappointed to arrive and be seated in the corner close to the kitchen entrance and bathrooms. two requests to be removed were met with "i'll see what i can do" and no follow-up. we also waited quite a while for someone to take our order. while i can understand that they may have wanted to go with a more casual dining experience, there are certain expectations at this price point. alas, this restaurant did not live up to them. the wait staff are either badly trained or we were in a position that was ignored; we barely saw our waitress and had empty glasses on the table for a while at some point.

we were presented with breads to start. the waitress had to be prompted to tell us what they were. neither was very good or memorable. the waitress didn't remove the plates when done, so we had to juggle the plates when starters arrived.

we went with the chicken livers and reuben's famous chilli salted squid for starters. the liver dish was pretty good, if a bit undersalted. a few more chicken livers would have been great. the same with the brioche, which was miles ahead of the starter breads. we've had the squid at the cape town reuben's before, and really enjoyed it. this one didn't measure up; it was very oily and left an unpleasant finish, as if it had been fried in old oil. the herbs accompanying the squid were nice and fresh-tasting in comparison.

the wait for the main was very long, with no attendance from the waitress in that time nor a reason for the wait. when it i eventually arrived, it thankfully didn't disappoint. the chateaubriand was excellent, certainly in the top 3 i've had in sa; it was perfectly cooked with a nice char on the outside, and very flavourful. it does however come at a price, r245, which is quite a bit more than most high-end restaurants. it was served with 4 (yes, just 4) triple-cooked chips, a small herb salad, and bearnaise sauce which was quite good. the lasagne was nice if undersalted, and could have done with more mushrooms to balance the sweet butternut. but overall a pleasant dish. it was also just warm rather than hot, but hunger kept us from sending it back.

we decided to go for desserts. the mango parfait wasn't nearly as good as the salted caramel dessert; the mango flavours were quite muted. the salted caramel dessert was excellent, with the chocolate elements in the plate shining.

we would return, if reuben's is here as we hear the quality is better when he's around.
we should add that several tables emptied out during the course of the night, but not once did anyone ask if we still wanted to move.

i've been wanting to try reuben's for years and was very excited when we could get a table today. i must say i was disappointed. the food was good and the portions were big, but the flavors just didn't complement as perfectly as i've come to expect from fine dining. in some cases the elements were a unbalanced, such as in my starter which had so much goats cheese but so few other elements to eat it with. the restaurant feels quite cold and the ambiance seemed to lack the buzz i would expect from such a famous restaurant. i did like the little soup and waffles store they set up outside though, that was a nice touch for passers by.

beautifully decorated restaurant that was buzzing with people. our waiter, claud, was stunning and ensured our wine and water glasses were never empty. he recommended reuben’s signature starter of the chili salted squid and i am so glad i ordered it!! it was quite large so for my main i had the poke bowl, which was a deconstructed take. it was okay but i found that there were too many elements all over the plate and some of the flavour combinations were not my taste. the cheese board is stunningly presented but you should be warned that these are some strong cheeses. overall it was a good experience but my main let me down, i would say it was poor food selection on my part.

my first time trying out reuben's. although the food was good...i was a bit disappointed as this didn't meet my expectations of flavour for a luxury dining restaurant. the service was great but i feel there were a few misses on the plate.

while roaming and touring the wine yards around cape town landed in this small bistro of renowned south african chef reuben in franschhoek wine valley. there is a dining hall and open area. one page menu. tried creamy chicken and prawn curry carrot sambal tempura veg on bed of saffron rice. miso glazed corn on the cob. salted caramel tart with white chocolate ice cream. great food vfm excellent. relaxed ambience as you would expect in sa. fantastic afternoon because of food where taste was the king

we stayed over in franschoek for a night and decided to wander down the main street to see and decide which of the different restaurants we'd try for dinner. we found reuben's and decided to try it out. we had a great experience - the atmosphere was warm and inviting and the starters were simple but very sophisticated. the mains were interesting, especially the tempura vegetables that accompanied the chicken and prawn curry. overall, despite the slightly distant nature of the waitors, i'd recommend anyone try reuben's one night for dinner when you're in franschoek.

the restaurant was clean, waiters well dressed clean, fresh smelling and warm (our waiter wilson). the played beautiful smooth soft jazz music which enhanced the ambiance of the place. the starters was tasteful, delicious, warm and well presented. our mains, the pork fat was crackling yet still soft and juicy, the lamb fell off the bone. the portions was perfect and the presentation once again did not disappoint. the quality made it all worthy, best value for money and the next time we in cape town will visit reuben's again. shannon and anastasia from jhb visited 27/12/2020.

wonderful restaurant with incredible staff. fantastic menu. plenty of choices. staff and management are great. food was delicious and beautifully prepared.

great food, great wine! loved the interesting food combos. dessert was phenomenal.
had a wonderful meal here, would definately go back for more

the bread basket and beef cheeks were astounding! we had the best waiter! i will definitely recommend reuben’s for a casual, yet sophisticated meal.

great setting with views of the mountains, the decor was great as was the service. my fillet was cooked perfectly and very flavoursome. the springbok was tender and excellent.

my first time in the town and my first restaurant stop for lunch. i was not disappointed, food was delicious and beautifilly presented. everything on my plate paired perfectly. we tried the duck, linefish and pork belly and plates went back spotless. the service is also friendly and prompt. loved it!