Restaurant Review: Just Meats

Sometimes you just need a change in scenery and something different on the taste buds. So when a colleague suggested going to a ‘shisa nyama’ place in the middle of Mandeni township I jumped at the chance of something different.

I’m always looking for something out of the ordinary. A ‘shisa nyama’ serves freshly braaied meat and salads, a popular concept among our black brothers. I did have some reservations about it, but nothing ventured nothing gained!

So off we went to Just Meats butchery, a popular outlet that is both a ‘shisa nyama’ and a butchery. We got a little bit lost but we asked a few locals for directions. I’m not going to lie, the place did not look anything like the restaurants I usually frequent and the rainy weather didn’t help.

Once the look of shock at our arrival had left the faces of the staff, they were very helpful. I am sure the sight of four ‘mlungu’ simply caught them off guard.

We weren’t sure what to order so we left it up to them to choose for us. I did have a good look at the selection of meat on offer and it was better than I expected. It had good colour and you could see it was freshly cut.

I just love the smell of the meat cooking on an open fire. They tend to cook at higher temperatures than you would on a braai at home, giving the meat a lovely charcoal/ smokey flavour. To accompany our meal we ordered pap, salad and chutney.

I would return for the pap alone – it was delicious! But be careful with the chutney, it’s pretty much curried sambals, but its properly hot as they lay the chilli on thick.

I really enjoyed the entire experience as it was really an authentic South African meal, served rustic style on shutter board that they probably got from the local hardware store. Everyone was very friendly and I did not feel unsafe once. They really welcomed us in, even taking photographs of us as I am sure we were a sight they don’t often see.

The entire meal came to about R200 and we were served enough meat to feed a party of six people! I will be returning with a few more friends to show them what it’s like if not for the food then for the fact that the owner’s current special is fillet for R84.99/kg, and that’s the deal of the year.