My second opportunity to attend a bloggers meetup hosted by the lovely Dilshad of Hungry for Halaal brought me to The Butcher’s Wife in Belgravia Road, Athlone. I had heard so much about this restaurant but had never been. After a long day at work and navigating my way through the traffic on a hot summers day, I found myself outside this very cute establishment.
The Butcher’s Wife
Walking through the doors, I was greeted by Dilshad, Qudsiya (The Butcher’s Wife) and Michelle, the marketing manager of the restaurant. It was light, bright and airy; the decor chic, homely and warm. I could see a lot of thought was put into the branding and overall look of the establishment. Great attention to detail from everything like the leather bound menus, chalkboard signs, branded napkins and cutlery holders made me take an instant liking to the place. The Butcher’s Wife is run as a family fare. It used to be a franchise but is now a very unique restaurant. Qudsiya’s husband is an actual butcher and all the meat is supplied by Pickers Meat Centre. They are passionate about what they do and showed great warmth and hospitality to all their new guests.
The Tasting Menu
Antipasti Platter
This massive platter was presented to us after everyone had arrived. It goes without saying we ALL took pictures first and then tasted the food. My favourites were the tempura prawns and crumbed mushrooms.
Pizza Boards
I learnt my lesson after the last meetup to eat a light lunch – as Dilshad advised. I could see why. After the Antipasti, these pizza boards followed. Knowing that I should not get ahead of myself I just tasted a sliver of each. My favourite was the vegetarian pizza with pesto. Hubby enjoyed the pizza right at the back with chicken & beef. They kindly gave us take away boxes so I could take this home to give to him!
Pasta Bowls
I really enjoyed the spaghetti and meatballs. The meatballs had a lovely roasted flavour and the tomato sauce was sweet and fragrant. My ultimate Italian choice is usually a tomatoey sauce – so I gravitated towards that. I found the macaroni & cheese a bit floury but the entire table enjoyed it. I would have also preferred a lighter version of the pesto & chicken pasta (without the cream) but again it was enjoyed by everyone. The seafood pasta had the same masala as the seafood pizza, but was a tad too salty.
Meat Platter
Everyone could not wait for the meat platter and it was wise of us to pace ourselves. This was the highlight of the night. Pictured below: Crispy “Onion Bangles” as Yaaseen Barnes called them, various sauces, BBQ Lamb chops, BBQ sliced steak, BBQ beef ribs and mini beef sliders. I would definitely go back for the ribs, steak and lamb chops. The BBQ flavour had much more depth and balance than the chilli and I was surprised that I enjoyed that more since I am a huge chilli fan.
Dessert Boards & Milkshake Shooters
As Tabassum says “We have a second stomach for dessert”, and we were all in a total state at this point but found space for the dessert boards. It’s a good thing we each got our own, there would have been a Hunger Games situation for those Banana & Nutella Springrolls. They were served with milkshake shots, pictured below. My next favourite were the churros with chilli chocolate sauce. A lot of places do not get the balance right – with the chilli and chocolate but I found this one perfectly balanced. The chilli was just enough to give you that hit of heat and the chocolate sauce dark, rich and smooth.
TBW Information
- Address: 15 Belgravia Road, Athlone
- Phone: 021 696 2007
- Website: www.thebutcherswife.co.za
- Trading hours: Sunday – Thursday 10:00 – 22:00, Friday 10:00 – 12:30 & 14:00 – 23:00, Saturday 10:00 – 23:00
Follow these bloggers
- Dilshad and Rifqah @hungryforhalaal
- Yaaseen Barnes @Ya_a_seen_him
- Nadia @shinysequinsblog
- Tabassum @smileyaleem
- Kauthar @Kauthar_b
- Maryann @ilovefoodies
- Shaheem @shaqct
- Zorah @inthemidnightkitchen
