5
Jason Donaldson -
3 months ago
This underrated restaurant is separately located inside the gated City Lodge property, so it’s easy to assume it’s a typical hotel restaurant… but in my opinion, Carpe Diem is one of Sandton’s better kept secrets, that has enticed me back for multiple visits for both dine in and take-out. Their food is consistently good, with hearty portions and reasonable prices. Their menu is quite extensive offering a variety of meat and vegetarian options and they serve high quality, tasty food at better value than you’d get at some of the higher end chain steakhouses, striking a delicate balance of being appealing but not overly pretentious. As with any good restaurant, the focus here is on the food, not the “fluff” or the fuss of the experience which in many cases tries to distract from or compensate for less than ideal food. Not here. Their pepper steak is one of my favorites, as are the Carpe Diem beef salad, Chicken salad and Chicken and Avo pizza. Their atmosphere is comfortable, understated, welcoming… not overbearing and the staff have always been friendly and provided great service that will keep me coming back. Highly recommend!