society eatery & craft bar

updated review

i have been back a few times for casual drinks and dinner. my first experience was not mind blowing but i have only been happy since then. my boyfriend and i shared the mussel starter (lactase pills on hand for me) and i had crispy prawns and the zucchini fries (my favourite - although the sauce is quite rich). he had the fillet suzette and we were both extremely happy. great service, friendly waiter and a delicious dinner paired with yummy drinks.

previous review

went this evening for the first time with a group of work friends. service was great and nice atmosphere. i was quite disappointed with my main: pistachio crusted salmon. it was a little overcooked and the noodles weren't very flavoursome. the pistachio flavour didn't really come through. for r120 i would have expected way more finesse. the wide variety of beer was pleasing and had 2 good ones and really enjoyed the onion rings i had on the side. the best thing of the evening was the chocolate fondant which i shared (it was more than enough).

enjoyed a great foodie meet up at this hidden gem this week. the set up is stunning with something different you are always looking for in joburg. nice dinner area as well as bar area
the presentation of food is great and rustic. the starter platter was quite average but the mains were tasty and well complimented.
their home made ice cream is a nice addition!will def be back for the salted caramel!

enjoyed a fantastic evening at society last night for a foodie meetup with zomato. we were treated to all the starters on the menu and can report back that they are all winners! for mains i ordered the pulled pork tortilla which was very yummy and a generous portion. we were also treated to all the desserts on the menu - i would highly recommend their homemade ice cream. it's worth mentioning that their society g&t is also well worth the order :)

tip: if you catch uber to society and show them your receipt your first drink is on the house!

tip: ask for their table power bank to charge your phone.

enjoy!

first visit for a late lunch, excellent service and food! look forward to going back to try more of the menu and different range of drinks. recommend for a casual relaxed outing.

nice afternoon/evening out i enjoyed the zucchini fries. we had a selection of their board items had no idea how large the portions would be. great items for sharing. the rosemary mayo was delicious. good service

food was average and the vibe was great will definitely be back, there's room to improve when it comes to service though,and the music was good

what a great spot, super for post work drinks, chill weekend vibe or a birthday party.  great value, tasty and fresh food.  love this place. thank you.

rather disappointed. the sirloin steak was full of sinew which is difficult to understand because sirloin is renowned for a fat-cap and no sinew. the steak had no browning on the exterior so had more of a boiled beef flavour than a steak and unfortunately had zero seasoning. bland, boiled, tough, overpriced beef is the best way to describe it. the crispy smashed potatoes have a distinct re-heated potato flavour which i suppose is understandable given how they need to be prepared for service in the manner in which they're served, however there are a plethora of other preparations or ways to serve them to avoid this problem. texture is fine, but flavour will remind you of eating the roast potatoes on monday evening after a sunday lunch. at home that's fine. in a restaurant, not so much. as for the the butternut gratin, well... the butternut gratin is not gratinated whatsoever. in fact it's not a gratin. it doesn't even resemble a gratin. i'm not sure how they can call a purée a gratin and get away with it. it is quite literally a dollop of purée, and a rather bland one at that. i did call the restaurant to query this with them directly before posting this review as i assumed they must have made a mistake, and that's fine. we all make them on occasion. however the manager said that's how they interpret a gratin: it's a purée. he did promise to "look at this issue" and i sincerely hope that they change their menu copywrite to more accurately describe what it is that they're selling. i suspect that the issue they face (and why it's called a gratin) is because they can't get away with charging r32 for a smear of butternut purée on the plate and calling it a side dish. it's not a side dish at all in its current form. it's a purée and is likely to upset a lot of people who don't like to eat baby-food. it's also particularly condescending to your patrons to tell us that we just have different interpretations of what a gratin is. both a gratin and a purée are two widely understood and accepted french culinary terms for vastly different dishes or techniques. one has the texture of baby-food and is somewhere between a soup and a sauce. the other is layered and set with a crispy top under a broiler/salamander after baking. there is no interpretation wiggle-room here. this is simply blatant and intentional misrepresentation.

the only positive from this experience was the triple mushroom sauce. one of the few restaurants that doesn't inflict a white sauce with mushrooms on their patrons. society manage to get great flavour and texture into the sauce and it would make a great accompaniment to better mains and sides. i had a previous bad experience at society where everything was slathered in uncooked and unmelted butter which ruined the burgers we'd ordered. i opted not to write about it then assuming it was just a bad day at the office. this is the second time i've ordered and the second bad experience.

you guys have a great location and a great vibe. you really can do better with your food. what you're serving (and what you're charging) are not commensurate with each other.

when i was invited to this restaurant, i thought that it would be all about the craft beer and nothing else. boy was i wrong! society is about the experience - the beer and food is just a little part of it. food and service is outstanding (don't forget the beer!) and the vibe is incredible. what i usually hate about popular restaurants is that the music is so loud that you can't hear anything. this doesn't happen here - you can actually have a decent conversation! i would definitely recommend the ice cream trio - heavenly!

nice place to meet up with your friends for dinner. the menu offers a great range of pub-like dishes with a rustic touch. selection of craft beer is impressive. the vibe was a bit more chilled and less exciting than expected, but i would give it a try in the day... if only the location was in a bit more of an exciting hub, than an open shopping centre. otherwise enjoyable.

we were entertained with the usual trademark gin and tonics and were migrated onto the outstanding inverocche craft gin and tonics. if that was not enough, after a lecture on craft gin, we were introduced to the fabulous variety of whiskeys, both single malt and blends. we are still here and we are still tasting :-)) this is the place to be on a sunday!

and the winner is glenlivet 18 yr. 2nd port charlotte and 3rd glenmorangie 18 yr

thank you to society for hosting the zomatoxsociety meet up. it was a lovely evening.

society is a new restaurant in fourways, with a retro and classic feel. the service was excellent and waiters all had huge smiles on their faces. do try all of their starters, may favourite the zucchini fries, calamari, and mini pulled pork stacks. mains were fantastic with very tender steak. don't order the panacotta for desert. for the g and t fans, order their famous g and t mix, it's amazing!!!!

society eatery and craft bar is the perfect place to wind down after a long day at work. the vibe is young and energetic but not as noisy as some of the other hip hop and happening places around joburg. they have a huge selection of craft beers, g & t’s and a lovely wine list. the menu is very trendy with a nice variety of meat and fish options, however for the veggie folks there isn’t a huge selection. they are a bit on the pricey side, but you are paying for “craft-style” food.

for starters we shared a couple of boards; the highlights were definitely the chicken livers, the “charred” lamb riblets, the zucchini fries, and the salt & pepper calamari. i didn’t really enjoy the pulled pork stacks the fritters were really doughy, the pork was flavoured with dried thyme which tasted like dirt, wouldn’t recommend them.

for mains i ordered the lamb rib roast with red wine jus, crispy roast potatoes and veg. the lamb was cooked to perfection; however the red wine jus was very oily. others at the table had the pistachio crusted salmon with salad, it looked absolutely delicious.

i got to try all the desserts, majority were delicious but the caramelized panna cotta tasted awful. the flavours were extremely unbalanced, it tasted burnt and bitter. but the chocolate fondant was delicious and the homemade ice cream was out of this world.

so i could not understand how a spot could be this popular at all times. from rich trophy wives to young sales men this place is always packed. 

obviously they havet to be doing something right, right? 

right!!!!!! 

the food here is out of this world, from the wagyu burger to the asian calamari they have it on point. the ingredients are fresh and delicious and the portions received are good enough to justify the price tag. 

the hake is one of my favourites at this place and i don't normally rave about fish in jhb, you know being born in cape town and all. but i must say it is delicious. 

look out for their specials from time to time especially if you are strapped for cash but would really like to give them a try. 

will be back soon

great place to go after work for a few drinks as normally has a great vibe.. service can be a little slow but the food more than makes up for that.. but avoid if you in a rush, great selection of beers too