Jimmy The Fish, Stellenbosch

Before we get to Jimmy The Fish, lets look back at how we got there...

Monika and I decided to go to La Pineta in Stellenbosch for June's pizza evening. As we got there (monday evening) we noticed that the entire parking lot as well as restaurant was dark and we got the feeling that they were closed. After driving around in the dodgy woods for a while, we drove back to the entrance just to see the sign saying that they're only open Wednesday through Sundays. Great. Plan B.

So we decided to go to Jimmy The Fish. Not your obvious choice for pizza, but we've been there before and the pizzas looked pretty decent. We got a nice seet next to a fish tank (#nemoanddorie) and as we started to relax a helpful waiter appeared who started telling us about the specials. We started off with Sushi as a started while scanning through the pizza menu with its very eccentric range of pizza names - all pirate themed! I decided to go for the "Above Board"which has Kesler Strips, jalapeno, garlic, avo, sweet mild mustard sauce and caramalized onions on it, while Monika went for the S.O.S: Mussels, prawn tail, calamary, sundried tamato, crab sticks and mushrooms.

As with everything else on the menu, it was of a high standard and very delicious! Decently priced, the variety of toppings on the various pizzas are very wide and a definite must for those who aren't in the mood for the traditional seafood options when visiting a seafood restaurant.
Scoring

Pizza	:	7.5 / 10
Ambiance	:	8 / 10
Service	:	8 / 10

Overall we award them a score of 8 out of 10. Although they aren't the gourmet styled pizza place some would prefer, they do offer good food, a good vibe and good service well within the average persons price range. So overall a good night. :)

You can find more information at the following link: http://mydorpie.com/m/?page=stel_jimmyfish

De Oude Bank Bakkerij, Stellenbosch

Firstly, thank you to Julia Sharkey for recommending De Oude Bank Bakkerij to us. And for specifying that we have to book beforehand - a definite necessity as the group before us got turned away as they did not have a booking (luckily we did)!! The venue is quite small (enough seating for approximately 35 people), as is the selection of pizzas:

1. Cream cheese with figs, brie and smoked bacon (Dewald's choice)
2. Cream cheese with smoked chicken, feta and avo (my choice)
3. Slowroasted tomato with tasso and mozzarella
4. Slowrasted tomato with buffalo mozzarella and basil
5. Sundried tomato with shiitake mushroom pesto, mettwurst and huegenot cheese (shared)

The pizzas are oval shaped and relatively small, but definitely worth the price at R50 each.

They mark your reserved table with a large white sheet of paper with their logo in the one corner, and a personalized message (on ours was "Dewald" surrounded by a bunch of hearts - awwwww!). Their menu also has a large selection of different home-brewed ales making your first choice for a drink the more difficult - a GOOD kind of difficult! Some of the ales are also only brewed within certain times of the year, providing you with a good excuse to go back, as if the pizza wasn't reason enough already. You also receive a serving of olives with every order of ale.

As the venue is small it provides you with a cosy atmosphere with the music making you feel even more relaxed. They play a mixture of french cafe and cuban music, which suits us perfectly. That evening a band called Manouche also performed which led us to ordering another pizza (No. 5) as the vibe was great and we didn't want to leave. They call their style "Gypsy Jazz" which makes for fabulous entertainment! According to the waiter there is a different band performing every Wednesday evening. This is probably a good time to mention that they are only open for dinners on Wednesday's and Saturday's from 7pm.

Before we get to the scoring I would also just like to mention how good the service was - the staff were friendly and quick, and were very informative.

Scoring

Pizza	:	8.5 / 10
Ambiance	:	8.5 / 10
Service	:	9 / 10

We are awarding them a total score of 8.5 out of 10 as we feel that their pizza's are a bit too small (we ordered the extra one to fill that last gap) as is the venue itself - the table behind us was booked for a group of students, and as it was a bit cramped they kept bumping into us and lying over us to greet each other. De Oude Bank Bakkerij can be a romantic venue to take someone out on a date, but we recommend that you go their with a bunch of friends, order some pizzas and ales, enjoy the music and just "kuier"!

PS. They also make a wide selection of freshly baked breads!

For more information, please follow the link: http://www.eatout.co.za/restaurants/7234/stellenbosch-/oude-bank-bakkerij

Barrique, Stellenbosch

Situated just outside Stellenbosch on the Vredenheim Wine Estate you will find Barrique, a cosy yet classy little restaurant. Monika stumbled onto this restaurant at the last minute when the one we wanted to go to originally was already fully booked. And what a find!

We were greeted by a friendly hostess showing us to our cosy corner table, which I pre-booked for a little extra rrromance. We took our own wine with (corkage +-R25.00) and were also served fresh bread while we had a look through the menu. During this time another hostess told us about their brewery, also situated on the estate, and offered us two complimentary samples of their Ales - a light as well as a dark Ale.

Their menu is reasonably priced with a wide selection of hearty home cooked style meals such as oxtail and venison of the day as well as salads for those watching their waist line. Their pizza selection includes your standard Margarita, Hawai'ian and Four Seasons, but they also have more exotic options such as the Herbes de Provence, Barrique and Parisienne. Monika decided to go for the Barrique (DELICIOUS) and I decided to go for the Parisienne, which included Blue Cheese but didn't stop Monika from enjoying it as well.

Scoring

Pizza	:	9 / 10
Ambiance	:	9 / 10
Service	:	9 / 10

Overall we are awarding them 9 out of 10 as they have a lovely atmosphere, friendly and caring service, and delicious pizza's. We can safely say that Barrique is so far our favorite pizzeria we have rated. Monika summarized our overall feeling of that evening by saying "Ek gaan nie poeding vat nie, want niks gaan so lekker soos die pizza kan wees nie.". Enough said!

We definitely recommend that you try them out and make a booking before hand to ensure that you get a nice cosy spot (perfect for dates).

For more information you can follow this link: http://barriquerestaurant.co.za/?page_id=13

Dros, Stellenbosch

Dros is the kind of place you take friends and family to have a good time. There is inside seating as well as outside, and a bar area if you're just there for a few drinks. Their menu has a number of different options and although your menu might not have the pizza options on it, as mine didn't, some of the menu's do, so before deciding to go for something else when your craving pizza, just ask the waiter for another menu.

Their pizza menu has a wide variety of different pizza's including your standard: hawaiian, regina, and bacon & feta, but there are also some interesting ones such as the smoked pork neck delight, cheese griller feast, and jamaican pizzas. Expect to pay an average of R70 a pizza when you go there.

Monika decided to order the deboned rib pizza which has onion, deboned rib, red peppers and pineapple on it and I decided to order the cheese griller pizza which has salami, mushrooms and spring onions on it with a cheese griller filled crust. Our waiter was very helpful, informing us of all the specials. For drinks both of us decided to order the beer special, which involves a normal draught as well as a ladies draught for the price of R15.00. The waiter also informed us of the pizza special which involved ordering any two pizzas (apart from a select few not include in the special and get a pizza for free for the price of R85.00. Don't be fooled by thinking that they exclude the "flagship" pizza's from the special - both of ours were available!

Scoring

Pizza	:	6 / 10
Ambiance	:	7 / 10
Service	:	8 / 10

Dros is a fun restaurant with a family vibe, but don't expect life changing pizza here. We therefore award them a score of 7 out of 10 with the service and ambiance helping to lift their scores. We recommend you go there to grab a few beers with friends while watching the rugby and getting a bite to eat.

For more information, please visit the following link: http://www.food24.com/Restaurants-and-Bars/Restaurants/Dros-Stellenbosch-20081230

The Trumpettree Social Café, Stellenbosch

If you are looking for a relaxing evening which could change into a whole night out, The Trumpettree Social Café then definitely is the place for you. They are located on Dorp Street near Die Akker pub, but is slightly hidden away through an ally way - look out for their signage - but when you emerge from the alley you find yourself underneath a beautiful tree canopy.

Most of the seating is outside, but with a few seating options indoors as well as the bar, it provides several options depending on your group size, mood or even the weather. As this is more of a café then a restaurant or pizzeria the service isn't isn't that great, but you soon forget about that when you've got the menu in-front of you. I choose the Trumpet Pizza as its their signature pizza, has a nice selection of toppings on and is available at a good price of R67.

Scoring

Pizza	:	7 / 10
Ambiance	:	8 / 10
Service	:	6 / 10

Their pizza selection is good and their price range is affordable varying between R45 and R68 a pizza, and although the ambiance was great and provided you with a relaxing feeling after a hard day of work, the service still let them down a bit. Therefore we are giving them a score of 7 out of 10.

You can visit their website for more information: http://www.thetrumpettree.com/

La Romantica, Stellenbosch

La Romantica, situated on the R44 between Stellenbosch and Somerset West is a popular restaurant as their prices are reasonable, the service is good and the food is of good quality. They have more than enough seating with option of downstairs, upstairs, smoking, non-smoking and outside - there is even seating at the bar if you wan't to watch the Stormers or Springboks game on for the day. Just note the parking is often very fool as it is shared between restaurants, but there is parking available across the street at the liquor store.

They have a wide selection of mouth watering pizza's as well as other dishes, with Monika ordering us the Beef Carpaccio as a starter to warm our appetite for the pizza's to come. Monika ordered the seafood pizza as its one of her favorite type pizza's and although La Romantica isn't known for their seafood dishes, she enjoyed the pizza thoroughly.

The waiters were also very kind and helpful as we jumped between tables a couple of times - it was a hot night and we wanted to get the perfect spot where we could feel the aircon without Monika's hair blowing in her face (it was a really hot night, ok....)

Scoring

Pizza	:	7.5 / 10
Ambiance	:	8 / 10
Service	:	8.5 / 10

With La Romantica being a fun and overall enjoyable place to go for pizza we score them a total of 8 out of 10 as you can go there in a group or for a date and you'll still have a great time.

For more information please follow this link: http://www.eatout.co.za/Restaurants/3555/Stellenbosch/Italian/La-Romantica-Stellenbosch

Panarottis, Stellenbosch

What can we say about Panarottis that everyone doesn't already know about them. It's one of those pizzeria's that everyone has been to, but none the less we needed to go and check it out for ourselves (again).

Their adds on the TV basically sum it up: Big On Family, Big On Pizza. The pizza, while a relatively standard selection is good, but the ambiance mainly consists of people talking, children screaming and babies crying. Therefore, don't take a girl there for a date. This is the kind of place where you would go for a family dinner or just to hang out with some friends.There menu has a number of different options, all very affordable for when living on a budget, but as mentioned above the options are pretty standard.

Monika and I start browsing through the menu and after ordering the waiter tells us about the 2 for one special. So while we kept to out original choices, we browsed through the menu deciding on the 2 extra pizzas we would take home...choices choices! Monika had the seafood pizza and considering that Stellenbosch ins't exactly a coastal town, it was pretty good.

Scoring

Pizza	:	7 / 10
Ambiance	:	6 / 10
Service	:	5.5 / 10

Overall Panarottis receives a score of 6 out of 10, as the pizza was good, but all the rest put a downer on the evening.

***As this won't be a usual occurrence, we decided to add it at the end: the night we went was quite rainy, about an hour after arriving we heard some dripping coming from the corner of the restaurant about 3m away from our table, and we looked over to find water dripping on the patrons next to us...luckily they moved as the dripping soon turned into a waterfall leaking through the ceiling (might we just add this was in the newly-built Eikestad Mall...I know, right?)

For more information, please visit their website at the following link: http://www.panarottis.com/