There are restaurants you go to for dinner and then, there are restaurants where somewhere between the first glass of wine and the last dessert, you realise you’ve been there for an entire evening.
Mist at Gillitts Station is the latter.
I’d been watching this place come together for months. Along with what seemed like half of the Upper Highway. There was a lot of curiosity about what was happening to the old Gillitts railway station. Would it actually open. What would they do with it and, most importantly, would they manage to restore the old building without taking away everything that makes it so special.
And because apparently, I enjoy making sensible decisions, we decided to go during opening week. Which in hindsight, may not have been the smartest time to judge a brand-new restaurant. Kitchens are still finding their rhythm, staff are learning, menus are evolving and the lumps and bumps are still being worked out.
But honestly, they did bloody well!
A railway station with a past
Before we get to the food, you need to understand the building, why so many are passionate about it, why there was so much buildup and excitement from the community to see what has been created…
The station dates back to March 1879 where it was a pickup point for water and coal. It played a significant role in the development of the Upper Highway area. Once a quiet farming community, the station became a centre point for local farmers, community and those who needed to transport goods to and from the station. Learning that Winston Churchill was also a past commuter really was an eye-opened on the rich heritage and history of this station. I highly recommend before visiting that you watch the You Tube Video of Adrian Rowe before visiting – Bing Videos.
Then, like so many of our old railway stations, it gradually became part of the landscape rather than part of everyday life. Quiet. Unused. Eventually, pretty much forgotten.
The building is a listed heritage structure so bringing it back to life wasn’t simply a matter of slapping on some paint and opening the doors. The restoration had to respect what was already there and Steven of PDK Building Projects has done a phenomenal job at keeping the integrity of the building intact.
The old brickwork, the verandahs, the railway surroundings. The architecture. Then the beautiful, contemporary interiors and striking artwork, dramatic lighting and gorgeous crockery and a rather magnificent piano.
It shouldn’t work.
Old railway station meets modern African fine dining but,
it really, really does.
Then, there was the birthday
We were there to celebrate the Sister-In-Law’s (The SIL) birthday which immediately made the evening feel a little more special. What we didn’t expect was for the owner, Mr Tembe, to sit down at the piano and give her a rendition of Happy Birthday. And this is where Mist started becoming something more than a restaurant to me.
Because that’s the thing about hospitality. You can spend a fortune on interiors. You can hire brilliant chefs. You can put beautiful food on the beautiful plates but, sometimes it’s the completely unexpected little things that you remember. Like the owner of the restaurant sitting at the piano because one of his guests is celebrating her birthday. That stayed with me.
Then there was the history lesson
One of our waitrons, told us that she was the granddaughter of Adrian Rowe, whose research into the history of the Upper Highway and its railway heritage is extensive. See video… And suddenly, the building felt different. We weren’t just sitting in a beautifully renovated restaurant, we were sitting inside a piece of local history, listening to someone whose own family connection brought another layer to the story.
Rowe’s work has documented the railway’s importance to the development of the Upper Highway, including the history of the surrounding stations. It was one of those moments that probably wouldn’t make it onto a formal restaurant review but, I loved it.
So, what did we eat?
Mist’s concept is clever. Instead of simply presenting “African Food”, the restaurant takes you on a culinary journey through different parts of the continent. The current concept includes journeys inspired by South Africa Cameroon, Senegal, Tanzania and Morocco.
The SIL chose Cameroon. The Man went for Morocco, and I went for Tanzania. This meant that rather conveniently, we had three different culinary journeys arriving at our table and we were not complaining. The food was phenomenal.
The presentation is beautiful without becoming ridiculous. There is obviously plenty of technique going on in that kitchen but, the food still tastes like food. Flavours are bold, layered and recognisable, rather than disappearing beneath a pile of culinary theatre.
The clever thing about Mist is that it doesn’t seem to be trying to make African food “acceptable” to fine dining. It is fine dining. African ingredients, African influences, African stories and African flavours, allowed to sit confidently in the middle of the plate.
Now, let’s talk about the wine
Because we did.
A lot.
There is a very good wine selection at Mist and, being the responsible people that we are, we felt it important to conduct a thorough investigation. Red. White, Chenin, Sauvignon Blanc. And then some more investigation to make absolutely sure. Ataraxia was my favourite.
There is something very satisfying about finding a wine list where you actually want to sit and explore rather than simply picking the first bottle you recognise.
The downside? It’s not cheap. Neither is the food. Let’s not pretend otherwise. Mist is an expensive night out. But, I actually think that’s worth saying because the experience needs to be judged in its entirety. You’re not going to mist because you’re looking for a R200 dinner. You’re going because you want an experience. And if you’re going to spend that kind of money, you want more than a plate of food.
You want the room.
You want the service.
You want the story.
You want to feel like somebody actually cares whether you enjoyed yourself. Which…brings me to the General.
The General
Every restaurant needs one. Ours was the GM who we politely referred to as The General. He kept appearing at our table to check how things were going, whether we were enjoying the food, whether everything was okay.
Then, at the end of the evening, we somehow found ourselves sitting at the bar with The General, Nipho and Liyana Tembe. That was probably my favourite part of the whole evening. It brought me back to one of my favourite restaurants in Durban. La Storia.
La Storia was what you can refer to as “My Local”. Marco Nico knew his customers. It wasn’t simply somewhere you went to eat. You went there because you knew you were going to see familiar faces, have a drink, eat wonderful Italian food, talk rubbish and probably stay considerably longer than you intended. Many a late night…
Mist gave me that same feeling. Not because it’s the same. It isn’t. But because there was something personal about it. Something warm. Something that made me think, “I could see myself coming back and back”. And that’s a very difficult thing for a new restaurant to create.
Is everything perfect?
No.
And, I don’t think it needs to be yet. We were there during opening week after all. There are things that will undoubtedly evolve as the restaurant finds its feet. The menu itself is evolving with an a la carte option now allowing diners to mix and match dishes from different culinary journeys rather than committing to one particular country. You can have a starter from Cameroon, a main from Morocco and dessert from Tanzania. Why shouldn’t you?
My one real gripe? The bathrooms. There is one bathroom inside and the others outside. Now gentleman, you may not understand the significant of this but ladies of Durban will. Us ladies, we can spend an hour doing our hair. We blow-dry it, straighten it and apply product to withstand a tropical storm then, you go outside into Durban humidity to use the bathroom and suddenly your carefully engineered hairstyle has become a weather event.
Whether this is something that can be looked at, I’m not sure. Considering the strict building guidelines. But I thought it worth a mention. Take an umbrella ladies.
The verdict
Mist at Gillitts Station is ambitious. Very ambitious. It’s taking a railway station with more than a century of history and turning it into a destination for contemporary African food. That’s a big ask.
But, from what we experienced during opening week, I think they’re onto something. The food was exceptional. The wine list needs further “investigating”. The setting is gorgeous. The service was warm and friendly. The owners were present. The General was everywhere. And, somebody played Happy Birthday on the piano for The SIL. Most importantly, we left having had an evening rather than simply having had dinner.
And perhaps that’s exactly what Mist is supposed to be.
A journey.
The tracks outside may no longer carry commuters but, the station has found another way to make people stop.
And this time, they’re stopping for dinner.
And wine…
Quite a lot of wine.
Would I go back? Absolutely.
Mist At Gillitts Station
031 880 0644