Restaurants

Divino brings a taste of Europe to Port Elizabeth

Divino, Buffelsfontain Road, Port Elizabeth

Divino may look like your average neighborhood restaurant but this European themed restaurant is anything but!

Divino manager Theo Castelein and Head Chef Evan Veldsman pride themselves on delivering upmarket food within a relaxed, easy going environment. This is not fine-dining, it is hearty whole food made for enjoying any day of the week.

Situated in the Old Mikes Kitchen building on Buffelsfontein Road this family orientated restaurant has a range of flavourful dishes sourced from East to the West of Europe.

Divino’s food delivers on flavor, and they keep improving on their most popular dishes to retain a menu that is filled with favorites. Portions are healthy servings so keep some space for dessert!

Booth or table seating is offered inside which can accommodate up to 200 people or outside on the deck area.

What’s on the menu?

If you are out for a light lunch my advice is to try the Grilled Fillet of Hake with potato wedges, the Spanish Prawns or the Grilled Baby Calamari in creamy butter sauce with savory rice, salad and tartare sauce.

For dinner, I particularly enjoyed the Calamari in Port Wine starter served in tomato marinara and cream. My husband loved the Caprese Tower, which are layers of roasted eggplant, tomato marinara, basil pesto and mozzarella served with a balsamic reduction.

Their main course favorites are all under the Chef’s Special. We enjoyed the Slow Roasted Pork Belly and the Lamb Shank. It was a difficult choice as I noticed a couple of dishes that I particularly enjoy – the Oxtail and the curries – Mild Swahili Chicken, Lamb Rogan Josh and Vegetable Curry.

Last but not least, time for dessert and the winner is the Pan-fried carrot cake with coconut gelato which took me four minutes to devour!

Divino’s wine list includes a wide range of locally sourced wines, beers, whiskies and brandies. They also offer indulgent after-dinner drinks such as Don Pedro’s and specialty coffees.

There is also a kiddies menu available as well as a safe and secure play area for children.

Restaurant service, facilities and opening times

I found the service professional yet relaxed. Theo was very visible, mingling with guests and quietly ensuring that guests were well looked after. Our waitress was very well informed about the menu and friendly and helpful.

Sunday lunch costs R135 but book to not be disappointed. Theo says that they cater for functions and that they provide outside catering too. There is secure parking.

The restaurant is open Monday – Wednesday from 4pm to 10 pm, Thursday – Friday 12pm to 10 pm, Saturday 11 pm to 10 pm and Sundays 11 am – 4pm.

Top reasons for eating at Divino

Family friendly with kids play area
Good, wholesome food
Great service

To make a reservation, call 084 555 8088. You can also visit their website www.divino.co.za for more information.

For great savings on life’s little pleasures visit Bargain Buys! Know somebody who is getting married, Wedding and Function can assist. Have kids, then you need to visit Kids Connection.

Enjoy reading this article? For more articles like this click here

Looking for factual news? Click here for Eastern Cape and Here for Western Cape news.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

About us

Actually, Home Food and Travel offers a lot more than just reviews of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities. We also visit great destinations, receive advice from interior designers and stop to smell the roses and taste the coffee.

Our team of journalists are seasoned travels and love visiting the myriad of exciting places around South Africa. Whether it is off the beaten track or in the heart of the top attractions of the country, we’ll be there,

Home Food and Travel advice on finding the right accommodation

So what is the right accommodation? Well more often than not, it’s your travel budget that dictates the type of accommodation that you choose.

Expensive is not always better. Our team at Home Food and Travel will tell you that they have camped in areas with limited ablutions and had a wonderful holiday. They have also spent a night in a five star hotel only to be disappointed because their expectations exceeded the experience.

The reason for your travels will also affect your choice. A business trip requires different amenities to a beach holiday.

Our articles, reviews and experiences can certainly help you make your decision.

Restaurants with a good mix of service, food and ambiance

To my mind a great restaurant offers three things – excellent service, great food and a wonderful ambiance. Of these, service is the most important.

No matter that the food is delicious and the setting delightful, poor service can ruin the occasion. However, great service combined with mediocre meal and a plane jane restaurant can still be a pleasant night out.

We’ve eaten in restaurants that are really dirty but with incredible food and couldn’t help but give a rave review. We’ve also hardly noticed what we ate because the setting was just amazing.

However, the best restaurants come with the best of service, food and ambiance.

Spas are the ultimate relaxation aid

How do you know when you have had a great spa experience? The answer, of course, is when you doze off on the treatment table.

Well that’s our theory anyway. It also doesn’t take a grand location with enormous facilities for a spa to be really good

A small, personal spa that is owner run can result in the best massage you have ever experienced. However, the grand spas in five star hotels offer unsurpassed facilities in an environment that just makes the stress in your shoulders and neck melt away before you even finish checking in.

Adventure!

You don’t have to be an adrenaline junky to enjoy an exciting experience. In fact, what are commonly termed adventure activities usually have incredibly high safety standards and unblemished safety records.

Ziplining, bungy jumping and shark cage diving are all very safe. It’s just that our mind tells us we are craaazzzzyyyy to be doing this.

On the road to great places of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities

If you’re driving, be safe and make use of all the wonderful farm stalls that populate South Africa’s open roads.

If you overhear somebody asking a lot of questions or see someone taking photos of empty bedrooms chances are it’s one of our Home Food and Travel team members.

We’re out looking or those great places of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities.

See you on the road!