The Oyster Box is a truly beautiful hotel perched on the edge of the Umhlanga promenade and Indian Ocean, with gorgeous views of the ‘Golden Mile’ at night and amazing sunrises in the morning. The interior of the hotel is just as beautiful as the views. The moment you step inside you feel as though you have been transported back to the colonial era and almost expect to hear people speaking in the colonial British accent associated with those times, all mixed with a gentle touch of modern decor.
The Terrace Restaurant is located off the lobby and spills from the inside of the Hotel out onto a lovely terrace which overlooks a large infinity swimming pool and the Indian Ocean. Unfortunately my experience at this restaurant was not positive and although I do believe in giving venues 3 chances to showcase themselves, I would be hard pressed to go back to the ‘Terrace Restaurant’ again. Where do I start?
The Hotel exudes an air of exclusivity, expensive taste and fine dinning, translated into high expectations when booking a table reservation. Unfortunately from the moment I opened the menu I was disappointed, the in-congruency between the menu and the hotel atmosphere was boldly highlighted (except for pricing being the only congruent element of the evening), as I had to scan through the sandwich section, which I’m assuming is for the lunch time menu and which I was not expecting to see when ordering my dinner. The sandwiches were also the highest priced sandwiches in Durban at around R75 each. The main menu didn’t have anything that excited me, fish, steaks and curry, so I went for a fish dish. After approximately 45 minutes of waiting (we were a table of 15, which should not be an excuse for an exclusive hotel), the food finally came and to my irritation it was hard and cold on the outside, a sure sign it had been sitting under the lights for a more than 15 minutes. My partner had ordered a fillet steak which was probably the thinest and smallest fillet steak I have seen served in Durban, and which was also cold and hard on the outside. The only factors that rescued my meal was the devine mixture of spinach, peas and beans which my fish came served on and the amount of wine I had consumed while waiting for my meal. The service was fair, although after being called away from the rugby to sit down and order we waited at least 45 minutes to even get that done. No-one bothered with dessert which also didn’t look too exciting and we called for the bill.
I am unable to justify spending R360 a head. The wine was good, the ambience and service fair and the food served warm to cold with no real wow factors on the menu. I believe that when you position yourself in the market (no matter what your product) as an exclusive, boutique experience, you place high expectations on your product/service, which you then need to deliver to. I would have felt better ordering McDonald’s and giving the rest of the money to a poor person.
My personal rating would be 2/5
Please leave any comments on your personal experience, be they good or bad!
Durban Dining 
With you on the Terrace Restaurant – and include the flasher one across the hall on that too. For me the highlight of the Oyster Box is the Lobby and the Lighthouse Bar. For the feel of ambience and decadence you get when you enter the lobby – the food and service don’t match the lofty expectations.