Situated inside the Hilton Durban Hotel, the Big Easy Wine Bar & Grill is inspired by Ernie Els’ sporting passion and love for his country offering not only his favourite food, supporting local suppliers is also of huge importance.
As one enters the restaurant, a wall displaying the golfer’s most memorable moments as well as a few trophies are in full view. A sense of pride for this South African sporting icon strikes you as one of the friendly waiters shows you to your table.
As you are seated and look around, you will find an unpretentious venue with sophisticated décor that offers a very relaxed atmosphere. It’s a wonderful setting that is ideal for any occasion, be it a business lunch, a dinner with friends or a celebration with family.
The chefs are committed to supporting local farmers with seasonal menus that change every few months to ensure only the freshest produce is used in each and every dish that comes out of the kitchen. These are Ernie’s favourites after all and consistent quality is always a top priority.
The lunch started with a tasting board of three mini boeries which were paired with three wonderful Big Easy wines. Lamb, beef and pork were the choice of meats, each paired wonderfully with complimentary toppings bring out the flavour even more. The same is true with the wines that were paired with each slider to make this not just a tasty starter, but a good, fun experience.
Always remember that wine pairings are just a recommendation by the sommelier; there is no reason why you can’t play around and see how the taste changes by pairing one of the other wines.
While this boerie and wine tasting board isn’t available anymore at the time of writing, this was a wonderful experience. You should definitely order one should a gourmet boerie selection make its way onto a new menu in the future.
For our mains, we went for a 300g sirloin with a brandy pepper sauce. Cooked perfectly medium rare, full of flavours and juices, the steak was also incredibly tender. A beautifully spicy brandy pepper sauce is always a great addition, and brought a little more complexity to the flavour of the steak. The sirloin was served with chips on the side. Great quality and a fantastic taste!
In addition, we also ordered a lamb shoulder schwarma with a side salad. While the lamb was tasty on its own, the combination of the bread made it a little bit too dry for our liking.
To end the meal, we enjoyed a wonderful apple raison tart to share. It was served with crème anglaise and cinnamon ice cream as well as a sliced strawberry to balance the sweet and the savoury. It proved to be a wonderful end to our meal.
As you might have guessed, the wine list is dominated by Big Easy wines – a range of wines that were first produced in 2000 and have gone on to win many accolades over the years. As we enjoyed a range of wines presented by the sommelier, one wine stood out from the rest. The Big Easy Sauvigonon Blanc 2017. While it’s not one of the most premium wines in the Big Easy range, it certainly fit the occasion just right. It has bright tropical fruit notes with a complexity that gives the wine a wonderful depth.
We loved the entire experience and highly recommend joining the Big Easy Wine Bar & Grill at Hilton Durban for lunch or dinner!
Directions to Big Easy Wine Bar & Grill
12-14 Walnut Rd
Durban
4001
031 336 8166
