There’s a new restaurant in Design Quarter, Fourways. The Rock, one of two adjoined restaurants – the other being Carnelian at The Rock – opened earlier this year in February. They’ve since gained much popularity. The Rock serves a range of Mediterranean style dishes.

I visited them a few weeks ago. My benedict and I ordered a mix of starters to share including the calamari and jalapeno poppers. The calamari and squid heads were grilled and served with a side of lemon butter. The jalapeno poppers were stuffed with feta and bacon bits, fried in bread crumbing and served with a side of blue cheese dressing. Both of the starters were good. Be warned though, the poppers are seriously hot! For my main meal, I had the baby kingklip. The baby kingklip is basted in a citrus chilli butter, grilled and served on the bone on a bed of mashed potato and chives. Wow! I’ve always enjoyed kingklip and this meal certainly did not disappoint. The fish was well seasoned and beautifully cooked. I loved the kingklip at The Rock. My benedict opted for one of their signature dishes; the Excalibur. This was deboned chicken thighs skewered on a sword and grilled on coal, basted in a rich mustard sauce served with a side of homemade vegetable chips. Another tasty option indeed. For dessert we had the baklava. This was served with white chocolate, rose water ganache. The dish was impressively presented served in an aura of “smoke”. While I wasn’t particularly a fan of the rose water flavour, I did enjoy the dessert.

The service at The Rock was good, especially given the fact that the restaurant was completely full on a very busy Sunday lunch session. The restaurant is well located within the trendy Design Quarter centre – quite fitting given The Rock’s modern and stylish feel. The meal portions are generous (there’s really no need to have a starter AND a main) proving The Rock to be great value for money. I look forward to returning again soon to try out some other meals on the menu.