The Easter weekend is finally upon us and I know most of us will be spending some much-needed quality time with family and friends. I thought I’d share a family friendly restaurant and some exploring you can do in the quirky suburb of Melville, hopefully you’ll have time to check out this weekend or sometime during the school holidays.
Last week Sunday after a really good service at church, we decided to hit the busy streets of Melville for a fun family day out. We hadn’t been to Melville since our dating days so it was quite a nice switch up from our usual spots. I’d seen a few people rave about Bambanani restaurant and one or two birthday parties pop up on my timeline over the years, so I was really eager to see what all the hype was about. Before I get into the restaurant details, I need to just give you a heads up about the nightmare that is parking in Melville. The roads are not only narrow, but most of them double up as side parking as well, so you’ll find yourself waiting on oncoming traffic to give you way and vice versa because the cars, not so figuratively speaking are parked in the middle of the road. Parking is very limited, an unfortunately there is no designated parking for the restaurant, so you might find yourself a walking distance away from the restaurant entrance. There are plenty of car guards, so you shouldn’t have much to worry about it.
Security
At the entrance gate we were greeted by a very friendly security guard that also doubled up as the overseer of the child sign-in policy. This was quite a pleasant surprise for me and a first as well, walking into a child friendly restaurant with a cordoned off entrance. They have a sign-in book that includes your details and your child’s/children details, you tear off your slip and it’s handed in before you exit the restaurant to make sure you’re going home with the right child/children. The gate is strictly monitored and I must admit as a parent it was quite refreshing to witness a restaurant hands on about security measures.
Ambience
As I walked in I was totally blown away by the ambience, the quirky decor and the endless effort that went into making it a very child friendly restaurant. At every turn there was a corner that a child could find themselves absorbed in an activity appropriate or appealing to them. The restaurant was extremely busy though, to begin with we had an inside table because the outside area was fully occupied. The table situated right by the entrance way and every five minutes it felt like there were customers pouring in with their children. I couldn’t help but notice the busyness, which also translated as a positive for me. It really showed that unique concepts were in demand, as opposed to your more traditional franchise eateries. Within a space of about fifteen minutes an outside table was available for us, they don’t have a waiting area so if it’s packed you’ll probably have to sit around the drinks making area that has eclectic finishes and decor. The outdoor area had a completely different atmosphere, beautiful and unique play area that’s surrounded by seated tables flooded with really relaxed parents. The play area catered for a wide range of ages with a soft play obstacle course and a table stacked with tons of age appropriate toys and puzzles for the smaller kids. The play area is hedged by an eye-catching four story covered jungle gym, that’s divided between two ages groups.
Kwando was pretty blown away by the play area, he kept bouncing from one activity to the other. At some point my husband and I couldn’t trace him, only to find that he had discovered the underground play room area. This compact room was packed full to the brim, with little girls that were “shopping” their lives away. This room embodies make-believe heaven and it was so beautiful watching the kids pushing along their miniature trolleys and filling them up with up with their endless grocery items. They had pretty much anything you could think of from mini shelves stocked with popular toiletries, a shelf filled with condiments, a designated fruit and veg section, house hold appliances such as a miniature ironing board and iron, household cleaning products, miniature washing machine, a kitchen stove and cupboards stocked with pots. Kwando had no interest in shopping though, he kept wanting to play shop keeper and charge me a hundred dollars (too much YouTube) for every item I had to purchase. It was the funniest thing seeing him punch away numbers at a fake till register and handing over a receipt for every item. My favourite section was the cot with babies, my levels of broodiness shot through the roof witnessing these little girls swaddle and feed their new-found babies.
Inside the restaurant every nook had a creative area, with an in-house shop that sold toys, an array of sweets in jars and a few uniquely crafted items. Kwando found himself drawn to the Lego table, a huge open table filled with tons and tons of Lego pieces. This section was definitely for the older kids cause it had a few screens (for movies) and gaming consoles with a variety of games for PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Wii. There was a teenager there who hardly moved from his bean bag from the moment we arrived till we left. If your child or children are avid readers, they’ll fall in love with this section cause they have a mini library stacked with a wide selection of books. Your child can perch themself on a bean bag whilst sipping on a drink and page through as many books as they please.
Bonus
Bambanani has trained child minders on site at pretty much every turn ( both inside and outside). This was probably the best thing about the restaurant, because I actually took time to watch some of the child minders interact with the kids. They are extremely hands on and efficient, they even go as far as looking after your child individually. Your chosen child minder will come find you if your child starts really acting up, but if it’s just a slight irritation they can easily manage it. I was able to witness two mothers that had the opportunity to eat without their babies on their laps, I mean can you even imagine ?! I’d suggest leaving your child with one of the child minders from ages 9 months upwards. They have a section where they kept children’s belongings, so if your child is anything like mine where he often just takes off his shoes and leaves them on the playground, they’ll pick them up and hang them up in a shoe rack. How refreshing is this?! On your bill you also have an option to tip your elected child minder, which I thought was so brilliant and extremely important
The restaurant also has daily activities on offer, they have a schedule which includes activities like “pottery, paper mosaic classes, and face painting, as well as various entertainers, a magician, puppet shows and the mobile zoo. “Each activity has a different fee so to find out more about that you can contact the restaurant. If you’re looking for fun things to do with the kids during the holiday, you’ll definitely find something here, so I would definitely encourage you to find out what they have on offer during the school holidays.
The food
We decided to do the full monty since it was our first time at the restaurant, starters, main and dessert.
For starters: We ordered the Argentinan chimichurri steak skewers (R68) and the rustic cheesy focaccia with cherry tomatoes and olives (R48). The steak skewers were really delicious, the meat was well seasoned and tender. The focaccia however was quite bland and definitely needed a little more seasoning.
For mains: I was torn between the spinach & chick pea curry or home style chicken curry with sambals and rice. I decided to go with the latter and I thoroughly enjoyed my choice, the spices were well-balanced and the chicken very tender. The portions are very filling, I couldn’t even get through all of my food and because I was also tasting Tino’s meal. My husband ordered a burger with a side of chips, the burger is sold as standard (R75) and you have to build it up, the extras include: cheese/ egg/ bacon/ avo and they are charged at R15 and he had both the avo and the cheese. The burger had a really tasty sauce and well sautéed relish.
Dessert: My favourite meal and can you believe we didn’t even go there! We were both so stuffed that we opted out. They have a few options of delicious looking desserts such as Summer berry Pavlova , traditional Malva pudding and a selection of cakes.
Kwando: Had a pizza (R42/R60) with extra chicken and a cream soda, they had quite a selection of food options for kids. The pizza portion was quite large, so they are definitely very generous with their portions.
The restaurant menu covers pretty much every category from breakfast ( offering both sweet, savoury and full farm style options), light meals such as the Quiche of the day, quesadillia, soup of the day and a variety of salads. The mains include options such as steak, pasta dishes, grilled salmon, ribs and a selection of side veggies.
Drinks: They offer pretty much everything, from hot beverages to smoothies, freshly squeezed juices, wine by the glass or bottle and some cocktails
To have a look at the full menu with prices click here
Overall experience
We would definitely go back, it was quite a unique experience. Kwando had such a good time that he hardly came to our table so that means it was a huge thumbs up for him as well. I must say though, the table seating inside allows more freedom for movement. I had children and waiters bumping into my chair pretty much the whole time we were there, which meant hearing countless apologies. The table setting outside is rather cramped, but it ended up working in our favour because we started chatting with the couple sitting next to us.
Pros
- Food is well priced
- Menu has a variety
- Attentive and efficient child minders
- Child friendly
- Child appropriate games and experience
- They offer activities during the week
- Good service
Cons
- Busyness which meant delay in food at times
- Cramped table setting outside, you really do feel a little on top of your neighbour
- Parking space is limited
To contact them click here
27 Boxes
On our way out we decide to pop into 27 boxes, which is an innovative retail gallery built out of shipping containers. I’m not sure if it’s because we were there on a Sunday, but it was awfully quiet. Most of the shops on the bottom level had closed down, so there honestly wasn’t much to see. The outside area though was a vibe, another kid friendly space that had Kwando running from one activity to the other. What I did enjoy about this outside space is that it gave you the option of ordering food and having a family day out, right there on the greens . You could easily create a comfy picnic style setup whilst the kids play in the sandpit, splash their feet in what Kwando was convinced was a waterfall. The area does have a large concrete grandstand for seating, but it’s definitely not advisable on a hot Jozi day. They have a few shaded benches, but I’m pretty sure on a busy day these would fill up quite fast. The only shop we happened to walk into was because of Kwando, he ended up running into it cause he saw toys. He did the unthinkable and he ripped open and the shop unfortunately didn’t have card facilities. This is a heads up for anyone maybe wanting to shop around, I’d say rather withdraw money to be on the safe side. The only available ATM was a Standard Bank, so once again if you bank with a different bank you might want to withdraw some cash beforehand. I’ve had really good things about the Wednesday night markets, so if you’ve never been maybe you should check that out. I
If you’re planning on checking out these two places during the holidays please drop me a comment or if you’ve been I’d love for you to share your experience with me.
Please note: I would have loved to take more pictures, but it was quite difficult without getting someone else’s child in the shot.
Have a blessed Easter weekend!
xx
B
