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Monday, January 21, 2008Rick’s Café Americain First Honey Ho’s meeting of the year – promising lots of juicy holiday goss and a welcome chance to get a bit jujjed and kick back girl-style. The evening started with me executing a brilliant parallel manoeuvre into an insanely small parking space outside Rick’s Café on Park Road, off Kloof. I was chuffed that we’d managed to find parking at all (this being Friday night and all) until I got out of my car and noticed the HUGE off-street parking area on the side. In terms of security, Rick’s is great – good area, busy street, off-street parking and car guards. Lovely!The décor inside is elegant but not intimidating – there’s a hint of 20’s chic wrapped up in jazz lounge possibility. Downstairs is the (smoke-free) restaurant area, separated by a screen from a lively (smoking) bar area. Upstairs is another (smoking) lounge area and a beautiful outside deck with its own service bar that is available for functions. Oh, and the toilets are really nice as well. Not very exciting but clean, simple, and with wheelchair access.Right-o, now for the most important part – drinks, and food! I’m a beer drinker most of the way and beer generally slides down well in any setting. But, beer in hand, I had a squizz through the wine list and drinks menu to get a feel for what was on offer. The wine list was impressive, if a bit pricey, and there was a good selection of carafes available; those not in the mood for wine could make a selection from the cocktail, beer and spirit menus – all of which were pretty extensive. Only negatives in the drinks department were not being able to bring our own wine/pay corkage and a limited choice of champagne. (Not that that stopped some of the more intrepid Ho’s.)Once we’d done a basic catch-up and had some liquid in us, we turned to the food menu. Quick note here: larger tables need to put in their orders as soon as possible, especially on busy nights, or alternatively ask in advance for the set menu, which looked really yummy when we had a look through it. I ended up going with a double order of chilli poppers (small obsession) which were absolutely superb!! I have eaten a few chilli poppers in my time and none of them came close. This was the king of all chilli poppers! I even woke up the next morning wishing I’d taken another order to go… The general consensus about the food was that it was delicious. Off-hand I can only remember some of the other dishes we ordered (Fish & Chips, Chicken Brochettes, a Vegetarian something) which isn’t very helpful, I know, but have a look at their website where the menu is very nicely laid out. Other Ho’s, feel free to fill in the gaps! The service was great. Frank managed our various queries and requests calmly and efficiently. Not so easy when you’re dealing with nine crazy women. So Frank, you totally rocked dude!!On one of our smoke breaks at the very lively bar, Ali and I met James, the Financial Manager of a cosmetics company, with an unequalled capacity for tequila. After we’d finished eating, he surprised our table with a checkers packet full of sample cosmetics. The next few minutes were spent in an acid moment of make-up absorption, much to the amusement of our neighbouring tables. It was a great evening and we all agreed as we sat at the end of the evening sipping our Johnny Black that Rick’s Café had turned out to be the perfect spot for our first meeting.Scoring CriteriaToilets: (4)Price: (5) Great spot for a Ho on a shoestring budget: meal, drinks and Johnny all for under R150Food: (5) ScrumdiddlyumptiousAmbience: (5) Alchemical combination of super-coowil venue and FABulous company!Décor: (5)Service: (5) Yes Frank, that’s you!Value Added: (No rating) I saw evidence of snacky things on the tables when I arrived but the early Ho’s had done a good job of dispatching anything that may have been edible.My Ho rating: all you Ho’s out there looking for a good time – grab a bunch of your mates and hit up Rick’s for an EPIC evening!

Guest comments:

 

Let your hair down

For drinks away from the see-and-be-seen crowd, Rick's Café in Gardens is Casablanca cool with its Moroccan interior and bar deck.
Jane Brouton 15 Dec

Name	Paula   Petrovsky
Date of visit	20 March 2008
Quality and presentation of the food	very good
Quality of the service	Exellent
Please tell us about your experience at Rick's	best place for locals!
Will you go back to Rick's	definitely

Best mojito's in town. I've tried them all Ricks' your the best.

Larry: November 19, 2007

Name	Karin Voss
Date of visit	10 July 2008
Quality and presentation of the food	very good
Quality of the service	Good
Please tell us about your experience at Rick's	we love the vibe!
Will you go back to Rick's	already a regular!

Name	anonym
Date of visit	10 July 2008
Quality and presentation of the food	good
Quality of the service	Good
Please tell us about your experience at Rick's	love it
Will you go back to Rick's	yes

Ricks is always fun Ricks is always a good night out. But make sure that you are seated well away from the door to the smoking sectionFri, 11/04/2008 - 2:47pm — anonymous

I’ve been frequenting Rick’s Cafe in Gardens since it first opened up some time last year.

I spent most of that summer sipping frosty cocktails in the outside section, a cosy cushion-covered nook that’s very conducive to hours (and hours) of mellow lounging.
At that stage it was pretty quiet, and you could usually get a table just by pitching up. But word has definitely got out - the last few Fridays I’ve been there, the place has been buzzing!
Named after the establishment at the centre of the movie classic, Casablanca, Rick’s Cafe is beautifully decorated, with a strong Moroccan theme to all of its finishings… As a result, it has a rather decadent feeling about it, which I enjoy immensely!
It even has a piano, though presently it seems to be more decorative than functional, and I doubt anyone will be asked to ‘play it again, Sam’.
The food at Rick’s is superb, and quite varied, much of it keeping within the Moroccan theme (try their tagine some time - it’s delicious!). I almost always have their hot chilli poppers to get the evening off to a flaming start.
They’ve just opened up the ‘loft’, a very funky upstairs lounge all decked out with luxurious sofas and wooden tables that’s perfect for cosy gatherings, or (even more fun) a private party complete with champagne and nibbly bits.
The colours are rich, the music evocative and the staff are some of the friendliest I’ve encountered in the city.
by Pia Taylor August 30

Name	miranda
Date of visit	23 September 2008
Quality and presentation of the food	very good
Quality of the service	Exellent
Please tell us about your experience at Rick's	I was amazed at how fantastic the restaurant looked. Ofcourse our waitor was just fantastic!!!! Trevor well done. And the food is just out of this world, we loved how you did the lentinls tangine. Whatever you are doing at Rick's keep it up!
Will you go back to Rick's	definitely

Name	Klaus Dieter Winterhalder
Date of visit	4 July 2008
Quality and presentation of the food	very good
Quality of the service	OK
Please tell us about your experience at Rick's	brilliant steaks! - service needs to be checked up!
Will you go back to Rick's	will be back

Dear Yolanda, Mellissa and the staff at Rick’s Café

I want to express my heartfelt thanks to you and Rick’s Café for hosting us for my 30th Birthday on Wednesday the 10th of
December 2008 and you for your invaluable contribution in making it to my mind one of the most enjoyable evenings possible.

I cannot imagine making any better choice of venue. From the moment I walked in the door to make the arrangements for the
evening I felt nothing but a genuine interest from your side to give the best possible service. I can only imagine Yolanda, that all
your guests are in fact VIP as you have said.

Mellissa, on the evening of the 10th, your gracious and professional reception and service, and the way every unplanned for
eventuality was accommodated with minimum hassle were instrumental in calming some nerves I felt and making my large
party feel very welcome. It was incredible to have you as host. To the waiters at our tables I express my admiration and thanks
for the friendly, professional and accommodating service. I can only imagine that it must be quite a challenge to serve such a
large party, but you made it seem effortless.

And thank you, the food was, as always, superb. I still find remarkable how it all arrived at our table within a matter of minutes
and remember the moment vividly. Thanks especially to those who labored behind the scenes to have made this possible. I
need not really comment on the atmosphere because it had and always has the same blend of intimacy, warmth, romance and
conviviality which drew me there in the first place. Thanks again for my candle and the cake, for constantly topping up our wine
glasses, for arranging the additional seat required, for storing my presents, in short, for doing everything to make my birthday
celebrations a night to remember. I have had many compliments from my friends regarding the evening, the venue, the food
and service. I thank you.

Geese, I usually frown upon this kind of lyrical sentimentality but I suppose there was no other way to express my thanks
genuinely. In any case I am sure I will be back at Rick’s soon upon my return from holiday in the new year. I hope you all have
a merry Christmas and a nice and busy holiday season!

Cheers!