Pollsmoor Prison restaurant. A review.
Wed 18 Apr 2012, 14:23 1 comment(s) Email article
Posted under Restaurant Reviews by Clare on June 3rd, 2010
Prices will be different now I'm sure.
The specials board.
No doubt about it, it’s grim driving through the gates of Pollsmore Prison. If ever buildings were designed to intimidate then these are the snarling rottweilers of architecture.
I was there to eat in their restaurant.
Restaurant? What?
Yes, they have a restaurant, open to the public, where meals are prepared and served by the prisoners.
It’s a five minute drive through the maximum security complex to the restaurant. You pass squat, low lying buildings, watch towers and ferocious barbed wire fencing.
I won’t deny it, but I was a bit anxious.I’ve never been to a prison before, you understand.
We were directed to Pollsmore Mess – the restaurant. Brown uniformed guards strolled along the roads in the complex, as did low security prisoners in bright orange jumpsuits. They were on work details – gardening and maintenance.
Once inside the mess it felt like a factory works canteen.
Pollsmoor Mess.
Mr.T. was our main waiter, backed up my Mr.K.
Boy, did they turn out to be the business, super helpful and friendly. And yes, I did ask them what they were in for, and how long they were serving.
Mr.T. was in for receiving stolen goods. He assured me he didn’t know the property was stolen at the time and I believed him. He’s spending 18 months in jail, and on September 27th he’ll walk free.
Mr.K. was in for burglary. An ex heroin addict, he is doing 2 years. He said that his life had changed since being inside, and that he had now seen the light.
The sales blurb on the menu said; Experience the exquisite thrill to be in the historical vicinity of the legendary and notorious Pollsmore Prison. Dine in style on local affordable meals and grills, specially prepared by Pollsmore cooks and chefs. Enjoy the professional catering service for special events.
On to the food.
Hake and salad.
We ordered Hake and Chips (R33) and Chicken Curry (R25) and a Greek Salad (R13).
The chips were brilliant, hand cut and made from fresh potatoes.
But they had been sprinkled with Robertson’s chip and potato spice and I hate this. What’s wrong with naked chips? and then you add your own thing – salt, vinegar, tomato sauce, mayonnaise or whatever.
The hake was encased in a covering which was a cross between batter and breadcrumbs, with a yellow hue. I opened it up and just went for the moist, thick fish, which was good. The Greek salad had no feta cheese, but that’s ok. Everything is open to interpretation and I wasn’t going to start an argument about missing feta in Pollsmoor Prison. My guest said his chicken curry was very flavoursome.
Mr.T. told me they are busiest for lunch during the week, and very quiet at weekends.
Unbelievably people have held their 21st parties at this prison location and I just don’t believe the next bit, there have been
The daily special, chicken curry. R25.
wedding receptions here.The day I was there they were doing a roaring trade in takeaways. Loads of white styrofoam boxes of chicken curry and hamburgers and chips were collected by guards and brought, presumably, to colleagues in other parts of the prison. The bill arrived, R99 for two, with drinks. Cheap as chips as they say. This is where I could throw in all the usual cliches; it was an arresting experience, a restaurant with a captive market and so on, but I won’t. But what I will tell you is that Mr.T and Mr.K are two waitrons that would give most of the waitstaff in Cape Town a good run for their money. It’s not every day that you leave a restaurant hoping that when the staff leave they’ll never come back.
Jail buildings.
Pollsmoor Prison Restaurant,
Steenberg Road,
Tokai 7965.
021 700 1270
Opening hours 07:45 – 14:00.
Breakfast R16-R25. Sandwiches R6-R19. Mains R18-R60. No desserts. No tipping allowed.
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I served 13 months in this place from 1991 to 1992. I was held in solitary confinement for 13 months while I went through a trial of 11 months for conspiracy to steal my own car. This was an awful and a cold place but the other inmates really helped me and kept me going. I am glad to see that the restaurant is doing well.
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