Spirit tastings and unique cuts at this steampunk steakhouse

Bring out your inner mad scientist: experiment with unique spirits + meat cuts

Last updated: 10 January 2023

With the gin atomiser, glass meat locker and steampunk decor, Char’d Grill & Wine Bar is an experimental experience for the senses. Try gin, brandy, tequila and rum and taste rare and unique cuts that you wouldn’t be able to find at most restaurants (with flavour and tenderness scores on the menu or each piece). 

Char’d Grill is situated in the picturesque Hermanus Waterfront. Image: Char’d Grill & Wine Bar

ENTER A WORLD OF STEAMPUNK

Step into Char’d and you’ll feel like you’ve arrived at a mad scientist’s lab. Old-school pressure gauges and cog-shaped mirrors decorate the walls, and lightbulbs hang from large metal hooks. To the right there’s a large glass locker where you can see different cuts of meat being aged. Plus, the wait staff wear genuine leather aprons and steampunk headgear.

With the exposed brick and steampunk decor, Char’d has a sophisticated industrial feel. Image: Char’d Grill & Wine Bar

TASTE GIN, RUM, TEQUILA + BRANDY

Char’d offers various spirit tastings. You can choose from an Oude Molen, Joseph Barry or assorted brandy tasting as well as a Leonista and Espolon tequila tasting. Our team loved the rum tasting: a favourite was the spiced Afrikanis rum, which has flavours of cinnamon and citrus and feels like Christmas in a glass. 

Order a few tastings for the table and have a sip of everything. Image: Char’d Grill & Wine Bar

The interactive gin tasting at Char’d is unlike anything you’d see at a regular distillery. Squeeze the balloon-like atomisers at the gin station and you’ll be able to smell the rose botanicals of Musgrave Pink or the toffee apples that infuse Inverroche Amber. Pick four favourites for your tasting. 

Using the gin atomiser is a fun, interactive experience that you’re unlikely to find anywhere else. Image: Lara van Zyl 

TRY LITTLE-KNOWN AND UNUSUAL CUTS    

The gin tasting isn’t the only unusual thing on the menu at Char’d. This steakhouse tries to use as much of the carcass as possible and has unusual and interesting cuts on the menu that you wouldn’t be able to find at most restaurants. Plus, the cuts are brought to your table for you to choose. Try the flat iron (inside of the shoulder bone) with an 8/10 tenderness and a 9/10 flavour; or the caveman rib, a rich fatty cut with 10/10 tenderness. 

There are scrumptious sides to go with your cut, like deep-fried mac & cheese balls. Image: Char’d Grill & Wine Bar

WHEN + WHERE TO GO 

Char’d Grill & Wine Bar is open: Monday to Sundays, 10.30am - 9:30pm
Find it: Shop 4 | Village Square | Hermanus
Book: Dineplan
Contact them on: 028 312 1986, info@chardhermanus.co.za, @chardhermanus

By Julia Rowley 

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DISCOVER MORE FOODIE FUN 

Try the meat appreciation platter at Char'd Grill.

Find more spots to taste gin 

Keen for steak? Here are our top picks for steak in Cape Town

Visit this hidden gem on a lagoon in Onrus 

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