Restaurant review: Surf Riders Food Shack, Durban

You know you’re at a Durban institution when its tagline is “just good chow”, writes Bridget McNulty

I’ll be honest: I had low expectations for our lunch at the Surf Riders Food Shack on the Durban promenade. Not because I’d heard anything bad about it or because I had any reason to suspect that it wouldn’t serve the honest, straightforward food it promised.

Just because I didn’t think a cafe with such an outstanding location – right on the promenade, with uninterrupted views of the palm-fringed Addington beachfront from every table – would have to try very hard with its food.

Luckily, I was wrong. My friends assured me that the burgers and pizza were the only way to go, with a decadent milkshake to round off the meal. The thin-based pizza looked fabulous, but my heart was won over by a burger loaded with mushrooms and a creamy mushroom sauce.

The burgers are made from 100% free-range, hormone-free, grass-fed beef, “traditionally reared in Underberg Valley, Natal from Brahman, Charolais and Simmental stock,” as the menu explains. You can taste the difference.

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Sides are ordered separately and I will, for the first time in my life, recommend you choose the salad. The prettiest salad you are likely to find in Durban, it comes parcelled in a little roll wrapped in cucumber slices with a cross-section of lettuce, tomato, olives and feta inside - a delicious little work of art.

And then there’s the milkshakes. Oh, the milkshakes! We had a salted-caramel shake that I foolishly shared with my friends. Next time I want my own.

Surf Riders also serves breakfasts, which I hear are pretty marvellous. It’s certainly a fabulous place to start the day, with a dip in the ocean and a freshly made breakfast with a good cup of coffee.

My only complaint is that the service was a little slow, but perhaps that’s to be expected when you’re chilling out on the beach. This is not a spot to dash in and out of, but to linger at for a lazy lunch.

And when you’re done, hire a bicycle from the upstairs bike rental and go for a cruise along the Durban beachfront, soaking up the sunshine, seagulls and salt air as you work off that delicious milkshake. Call 071-376-8684.

This article was originally published in Sunday Times Neighbourhood: Durban. Visit yourneighbourhood.co.za, like YourNeighbourhoodZA on Facebook and follow YourHoodZA on Twitter