Old school class at Winchester Mansions

After a smooth check in and quick settle into our sea-facing junior suite room, we headed down to the restaurant, Harvey's, for Friday night dinner. The restaurant and bar has recently undergone a revamp and reflects a new chic trendy style. The menu boasts a fair number of tasty-sounding seafood options, so we decided on a portion of mussels to share as a starter. The creamy white wine garlic sauce and juicy mussels with warm little buns did not disappoint and was a perfect appetite whetter.

For main course, we chose Springbok Loin and Rib Eye Grande, and after what felt like an eternity between the first and second courses (Don't make me #hangry), we eventually received our second course. Worth the wait? Hmm maybe not. I had the loin with braised red cabbage, rooibos & prune compote and red wine. The loin was beautifully tender and flavoured; however the red cabbage and prune compote was so sweet I pushed it to the side. My sneaky bite of the Rib Eye with foie gras, poached egg, truffled mushrooms and hollandaise sauce was very tasty; however the poached egg, which arrived at the table separately, was a little too runny. As dinner lasted much longer than expected, we had to forego dessert as a date with Deco Dance (which is conveniently situated round the corner) had been made.

After a leisurely Saturday morning start we headed down to Harvey's for a hangover-saving breakfast, which hit the spot most satisfactorily. A classic fry-up of sausages, scrambled eggs, baked beans, bacon and grilled tomato rounded off with a pot of the Earl and a chocolate muffin, put the colour back in my cheeks and a spring in my step, as well as providing much-needed sustenance to work off on the Sea Point promenade, which the hotel hugs.

Besides the few timing niggles we enjoyed our stay at the charmingly retro and classy Winchester Mansions.

For more information or to make a reservation, go to www.winchester.co.za