There is a new kid on the block and they have gin! Workshop 55 is a gin, whiskey and tapas bar and it serves some of the nicest food I’ve had in a while, which might have something to do with the fact that it’s owned by the same people who run the Cube Tasting Kitchen, which I still have to try out! The food at Workshop 55 is not as experimental as Cube, it’s more relaxed and down to earth, but damn do they know their flavours.
The only thing I will say about this restaurant that is a little on the negative side is that I thought it was a bit pricey. You see they operate slightly differently to a normal eatery in that there is a R180 entrance fee per person which allows you to choose three tapas from the 14 taster options and if you would like a couple more dishes you’ll have to pay an extra R40 per item. So it lands up being pretty expensive and the portions seeing as it is a tapas bar are not very big. I mean I don’t mind paying more than an average amount for my meal, but then I want to feel full afterwards and I wasn’t full. Thank goodness everything tasted so nice otherwise I would of been one sad little Greekie. I think if they had to increase their servings slightly you wouldn’t mind the price as much.
I’m going to mention a couple of items that we really enjoyed, in case you want to try them if you land up going – Roasted Pork Belly, Duck Pancake, Beef Trinchado, Chicken Coconut Curry, Sardines and the Squid Heads.
As for their gins, I went with a group of eight people so we ordered a lot of different ones so we could experience them all. So how it works is you can choose from a variety of flavours, like strawberry, grapefruit, blueberry, lemon etc and then it gets served with Swaan Dry Cape Tonic. I did chuckle to myself a bit though when the owner or manager was explaining how their gin is specially infused with different flavours and served with special tonic water etc etc and then when they arrived they were just glasses with gin, ice and our chosen fruit in them which was then stirred vigorously so that the flavours could mix together. I guess at least now I know how to make my own ‘gin infusions’ at home hehe. We ordered a bunch of them and proceeded to share like good little children, but I must say the strawberry one for me was the best.
So in conclusion if you’re looking for a new spot to quench your thirst and fill (or maybe semi-fill) your belly then give Workshop 55 a try. Happy Friday everyone.
Address: 55 7th Avenue, Parktown North, Johannesburg
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