La Vie en Sandton

In our eternal quest to unearth the "cool" in Sandton, Vince and I checked out two local establishments this weekend, La Vie en Rose and Katy's Palace Bar.

La Vie en Rose is a lovely and intimate restaurant with a wraparound porch/patio and a large fountained garden for alfresco dining. It is right off Rivonia Road in Sandton's Illovo neighborhood. Hidden from view behind the high walls of Sandton, we absolutely never would have found it if it hadn't been on the Restaurant Week roster. The restaurant relies heavily on French ingredients but leans towards a lighter, more nouvelle cuisine which we prefer. 








There was a  choice of two three-course prix fixe menus for Restaurant Week as well as an a la carte menu. Kebabs of delicately fried Camembert and rosewater-infused croutons or melted brie over a medley of mushrooms were the choices for their Restaurant Week appetizers. Tender chicken breast filets cooked in a balsamic reduction with roasted vegetables or a perfectly cooked rare beef filet in a peppercorn sauce with a side of spinach & pasta for Mains.

deep-fried Toblerone

Dessert was either a generous portion of housemade strawberry ice cream or a deep-fried (yet incredibly light) Toblerone. Guess which one I opted for? Yep. The Toblerone.

So glad we found it because we will surely be going again soon!

Keeping it local once more we went to Katy's Palace Bar for Sunday Brunch. Katy's Palace is a combination event space, gallery and market warehouse for the African and Indonesian craft store Amatuli. Katy's is open for brunch / lunch on the first Sunday of every month.





 

Located in the Kramersville neighborhood, Katy's has multiple levels with a great view from the balcony overlooking the skyscrapers of downtown Sandton.

They had a very good band, an even better buffet lunch and an impressive cocktail bar.

They also have multiple floors of African crafts and art, upcycled antiques and housewares. Basically everything, including the decor, is for sale. We saw a few things we are definitely considering for the apartment. We will be back for one of their Night Market events where you can dine, party ... and shop. The next one is November 13.

See you there, Sandton!