The Grand Café hit the scene a few years ago, after the building it occupies sold for a record sum. The Camps Bay strip welcomed them in place of the abortion that was Opium – giving us an upmarket dining alternative (if you must consider any of the other “upmarket/fine dining” alternatives in Camps Bay). It was well received and reflected the theme and style that made The Grand Hotel in Plettenberg Bay such a success.

The Grand

Good reviews and a smattering of issues to do with service, did the rounds in Cape Town, allowing The Grand to take their recipe for success one step further, with the launch of The Grande Café & Beach, A Nikki Beach / Blue Marlin style concept on the rocks in Granger Bay.

Whilst there certainly is a want for such an establishment, one wonders if this may have been a bit premature? And when I say premature, I am referring to the service complaints that were not fully addressed (fixed) at The Grand in Camps Bay. The result seems to be a brand spreading itself a bit thin over two Cape Town locations, resulting in a spiraling backlash from Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard and beyond.

The emails I have received over the couple months from 2oceansvibe readers about the service at The Grand (both Camps Bay and Granger Bay) and the nightmares when it came to booking and getting a table were gaining momentum, as I found myself waiting over an hour to get a booked table the other night. We arrived at 7 and ate at 10.

Then I got this from a well-heeled Clifton friend who mixes in very glamorous circles:

Just been wondering what you think of the service / booking at the Grand on the beach? I had a very kak experience with them last weekend which left me feeling rather cross. Anyone else had complaints?

I wanted it to go away because the image was so appealing. But that’s all it was. I tried so hard to pretend it wasn’t happening – but the noises were too great. And then I stumbled upon this, the latest complaint (this last weekend) I found at LivingStylishlyWell :

The Grand Restaurant – a blight on the Camps Bay landscape

Read the entire article here.

I’ll give you the closing paragraphs for now:

Thoroughly exasperated at this stage we went downstairs to the lower level to pay and saw Theo again. We asked if the very least he could do was not to either say ’sorry, give us a coffee or horror of horrors ‘comp’ us the meal’.

Theo’s answer? ‘I think you should leave, this has never happened before.’

We left. Never, ever to return again.

Compare this to a great breakfast at the Sandbar, superb service and vibe at Caprice and amazing value and vibe at Bayside Cafe (all on the strip, all competing with one another). In the next issue of Cape Odyssey, I’ll be talking again about two restaurants which have raised the bar in 2010 – Marianas and Heaven.

The Grand? I hear the rustling of feathers as post-World Cup chicken, prepare to come home to roost.

They will deserve it.

Dear friends and readers – avoid. 7Eleven sandwiches will leave you feeling much happier with life.

[more here]

(And here’s yet another article on another blog called Jamie Who.)

It’s too loud now. The noise. We can’t ignore it any longer. I’m afraid the “teething problems” time period has lapsed. This is now, quite simply, a problem.

Have you tried out the new Grand? Have you had service issues at either Grand?

Do let us know – and hopefully the owners will have the good sense to address it. Make no mistake, we want it to work. If, however, you have had only pleasant times, go ahead and let us know.