Fri-nally! It’s Fri-yay. There is no place like Jozi in summer with its sublime highveld sunsets and endless options when it comes to trendy watering holes for sundowners. From the swanky Marble in Rosebank, to the plush Holiday Inn SkyBar in Sandton, and Southern Sun Hyde Park Hotel’s pool deck.
Ease into the weekend with the hotel’s popular Island Bar where Joburg’s trendy crowd gets down to weekly Friday Sundowner sessions featuring top local and international DJs playing the best in deep house music.
The Island Bar recently revamped its menu to add some culinary flair to this Jozi hotspot. The new menu focuses on fresh, original and delicious flavours with more than a dash of Italian finesse. ‘Life is too short for a bad meal,’ says executive chef, Grant van der Riet. ‘We now offer something for every appetite with options for any time of the day or night, from tapas plates for sharing and tasting, to sushi, burgers, light meals and desserts.’
The tapas include a selection of vegetarian, meat and fish dishes featuring a fresh take on traditional favourites. Think crumbed mushrooms and garlic pesto aioli; cheese and corn poppers; mushroom and mozzarella arancini; sriracha chicken wings; grilled sliced sirloin with rosemary jus.
For the meat-lovers chef Grant offers great burger options that include the signature Hyde Park beef burger with a 200g patty topped with honey-glazed bacon and melted emmental cheese and the Hyde Park chicken burger with a 200g grilled breast with bacon and a blue cheese sauce. The Banting option promises to be a winner, offering a Carb-free beef or chicken burger with fresh Asian greens, tomato, gherkin, a 200g patty, mozzarella, pineapple chutney, and avocado.
The salad selection showcases Chef Grant’s culinary prowess, and includes Tian of feta with cherry tomatoes, grilled eggplant, arugula lettuce, carrot, cucumber, and toasted bruschetta; and a unique creation titled Beetroot of textures, with grilled baby beetroot, candy stripe beetroot, pickled golden beetroot, beetroot jelly, dried beetroot, and grape and walnut salad and goat’s cheese; and many more mouth-watering flavours.
Visit Tsogosun.com for details
Feature Image: Unsplash; Food Images: Bjorn Salsone
