Still full from breakfast we ambled around Plettenberg Bay going to some of the craft and factory shops that we wanted to visit. On the way back we had intended to stop at a pie shop that is supposedly very good. I have to thank The Food Pornographer for that craving since she visited Harry’s Café de Wheels recently – thanks TFP! Unfortunately when we got there we found them closed. It’s a public holiday in South Africa today (in lieu of yesterday) but we didn’t expect to find an eatery closed. We were forced to look elsewhere for noms. Our first choice was Moby Dick’s, also in Plett. We had eaten there many years ago and were quite happy with their selection and quality, but today they looked quite busy (maybe because the pie shop was closed? <g>), so we decided against that. The next choice was East Heads Café in Knysna, but when we got there the parking area was so full that we couldn’t find anywhere to park the car. Where else could we go? Eventually we went to the Knysna Waterfront where we knew that there would be somewhere to eat. We settled on a place called The Drydock.
The Drydock had a lunch menu and one of the items on the menu was a burger for R44. On the regular menu they had what they call a “Gourmet Burger” for R69. The difference between the two was that the gourmet burger came with bacon, avocado and emmentaler cheese, but to be honest I thought that there would be more of a difference, like perhaps a bigger patty, but in reality all I got was some fatty bacon, a few mingy pieces of avo, and a single small slice of cheese. I’m pretty sure my patty was actually smaller than Caroline’s. It’s not that that is a big deal, but at a price difference of R25 I thought there would be more to it than that. On the plus side the burger was made with quality ingredients and was very tasty. The chips were very tasty and moreish as well, but there were far too many of them, at least for someone who has been pigging out for the last few days. The food was served with a BBQ sauce on the side that was also very nice.
This (above) is Caroline’s R44 burger.
And my R69 burger. Spot the difference.
Tonight we need a break from über-nomming and will be eating at our “house”. I think it’s going to be very basic like toast. This is despite the fact that we have more restaurants we want to try, including Wu’s Chinese & Sushi. I’m hoping that they have Char Siu (again, thanks to TFP).
LOCATION
The Drydock
Waterfront Shop 1
Knysna
Tel: 044-382-7310
Email: info@drydock.co.za
Website: www.drydock.co.za
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
What a shame the pie place was closed, but those burgers look pretty good. The fries look nice and crisp too (yeah, and plentiful! I’d have found it hard to stop eating them). Ooooh yes, I hope Wu’s has char siu too! I’ve never been to a place that did Chinese AND Sushi though (have I read that right?
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The burgers at Cruise Cafe are worth a try. There is also the Bell across at Belvidere which used to do pub type meals which were worth all the effort it takes to get to the other side of town. But they nuked my last one in a micro-wave and we haven’ been back for awhile. For curries (no pie) there is the Thai Kitchen in Memorial Square (near the library). If you like Thai this is authentic stuff, in other words chaotic and real. The pies you find around the corner at Maureen’s place in Fitchat St. She started making Jaymor pies in Sedgefield when the Outeniqua Choo Choo was still running and I think the Plett Pie shop is out of the same baking tin. For a Sunday lunch we take the kids to the Heath on the N2 between Plett and Knysna. They do a lamb roast on Sunday which more often than not is good too. On the other side of town try Cafe Francois at the Scarab Market and for steaks (no choices there) there is Joplins just before Wilderness and on your right.
Enjoy.
TFP, yeah the closed pie place was a bit of a pity, but we can go back, plus “Who is Cooking” has led us to what may be the source of those pies, just like Hannah’s pies supply Harry’s. Yeah, I mentioned before somewhere that South Africa has a glut of sushi places, and part of that is that every restaurant and his dog has a sushi bar attached. The good thing is that they’re usually all pretty good, although maybe not entirely authentic. I do wish that we could have at least one Japanese take away, or moderately priced Japanese restaurant.
Who is Cooking, you’ve got us interested in the Thai place, and in fact saw some pics of the place on your site. And we’ll probably give Maureen’s place a try too. Thanks for all the tips!