The food at Unwined is one level up from pub food – it’s Tapas, burgers, pizzas and pasta with a marginal difference – the same fare UnWined used to offer when they were in Sunset Beach, but they’ve split the venue into pizzas and beer one side, and a slightly upmarket tappas and whiskey/wine audience at UnWined.
We ordered a selection of tapas and focaccias to accompany the Saronsberg wine tasting.
The evening was certainly informative and entertaining, and the wines on offer were great value. For R55, you get a wine tasting that offers way more value than ordering by the glass, plus if you order more than a case your wine tasting is removed from the bill.
I liked the MCC Brut – usually these are tart and bitter, but this Saronsberg Brut is 100% Chardonnay which makes it easy on the tongue. The Sauv Blanc was good too – fruity but not grassy. The Viognier was enjoyable too. The best of the evening for me was the Seismic – a Bordeaux blend that matches any 5 star wine pound for pound at half the price. It’s a great value wine to keep in your cellar and bring with you as your plus one to any dinner invitation. Then last but by no means least, the iconic Saronsberg Shiraz (2019) with accolades and awards to spare. Of all the Shiraz’s out there this one will always be one of my favorites. The estate has won awards for consistently producing top quality Shiraz’s, and this vintage just accentuates that.
Service at UnWined was good, food was great, the vibe was excellent. Management needs to give their staff authority to do what the advertising says though – we ended up waiting a lot longer than was comfortable at the end of the evening for some items that shouldn’t have been charged to our bill to be removed. We were told that the manager was “on his way” but after long minutes of waiting and almost staging a walkout, the manager gave the waitress permission to do the right thing anyway. In my opinion, it should have been done from the start without the unpleasantness of the inconvenient wait. Simply put, if your wine tasting price list says “order x bottles and the wine tasting charge will be removed”, make sure your staff are equipped / authorized to pass the credit. Also, if 2 people at the table do the wine tasting, don’t charge all 4 of them. Simple things, guys, it’s not rocket science.
Unwined is a great night out. Food is great, tapas are good, sushi is really good, and the vibe is great. If they have a wine estate on site doing a schpiel, it’s an even greater value night out. Just check your bill and make sure they deduct charges they’re supposed to if you order the minimum qualifying love-the-wine quantity from the visiting estate.
