Lefty’s – my new happy place (insert happy dance here)

by Karisa

I love discovering unexpected gems….

Case in point the new Lefty’s “Dive Bar” over in Harrington Street (which happens to be just a hop-skip-and-jump away from mine – oh yeah).

I’ll be honest, it probably would’ve taken me a while to discover this place if it hadn’t been for a friend’s brother who happened to be walking past and figured he’d give it a try.  The way he raved about the food, my friend D and I decided we had to make a mission over there soonest.  Then after checking out further comments & food pics on Foursquare, we pretty much ran over. 😉

Lefty’s is surprisingly quite big inside (from the outside it looks quite small).  It’s got a great casual atmosphere, a cool bar area and also a great little courtyard out back:

The menu is written up on a blackboard and the selection of dishes is small, but all oh-so-tempting.  Some dishes stay as “regulars”, while others get changed up, but I would describe it all as serious comfort food.  Sticky ribs, cheese burger & fries, pulled pork, beef brisket, chicken & waffles… that’s right, chicken & waffles…

They also usually have a dessert option, but they had sold out on that night.

We decided to go with the Foursquare recommendations which all raved about the ribs,  and then we also tried the pulled pork sandwich:

Sticky baby back pork ribs (R60)

Pulled pork sammich (their spelling – R55)

Those ribs are by far the BEST ribs I’ve ever had in my life.  I haven’t yet been to Sticky Fingers in Observatory – which according to various reports does the best ribs in Cape Town – but I really doubt that they would be able to beat these.  I will of course go and pay them a visit to compare, but I really do doubt that they will.

As for the pulled pork sandwich, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that it’s better than the one they do at &Union… and the one at &Union is pretty damn awesome.

The Kentucky Chicken & Waffles was calling our name as well, but we were nervous.  I mean it does sound like a pretty weird dish right?  We decided we’d rather come back to try it, we didn’t want anything to ruin the total home run that Lefty’s had already achieved…

Turns out the lure of more Lefty’s goodness didn’t keep us away for very long and 2 nights later we were back, this time with more friends in tow.  We snagged the last two portions of ribs, another pulled pork sandwich and then we tried the beef brisket which was served in tacos for the evening (there was a different brisket option the night before) and also a new pork tacos dish:

Absolutely loved the fillings in both. The only thing I will say is that the actual taco shell let them down a bit.  It wasn’t as crispy as you’d expect them to be…

THEN of course, how could we not finally try those Kentucky Chicken & Waffles (R55):

It ended up being the pièce de résistance… I now bow down to it’s magnificence…

Those waffles really are killer.  Quite rich though, so it does come with a warning.  I’d say if you can share a portion, do that and then you can try something else as well.  But definitely do give it a bash as it’s quite an experience.

For food that made me do a total happy dance, I’m going to give Lefty’s a full score of kiss5 on the Miss K Kiss-o-Meter scale.

Our waiter told us that they’ve only been open for about 2 1/2 months now, but I predict “Cape Town institution” status in their future, that’s for sure.

Lefty’s is open:
  • Mon: 4:00 pm – 1:00 am
  • Tue – Sat: 11:00 am – 1:00 am
You’ll find them at:
  • 105 Harrington Street in town
And you can contact them on:

I’m now gonna have to double up on my gym training just to level out my Lefty’s cravings. Oh well, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do…

Update as at 20 Mar 2014:  As predicted, Lefty’s has become super popular.  So to avoid disappointment, it’s best to call them to make a reservation before hand.

xxx

6 comments

Simone Feb 25, 2014 - 10:20 am

Hi Karissa,

Do you know if they take reservations?

Reply
Karisa Feb 25, 2014 - 10:30 am

I actually didn’t ask. It’s a very casual spot, the kind where you just walk in. But give them a shout, I’m sure they would.

Reply
Darryn van der Walt Mar 20, 2014 - 9:43 am

They’ve become very popular lately, reservations are actually advised now 🙂

(nice going, Karisa :P)

Reply
Karisa Mar 20, 2014 - 9:50 am

Hehe… dammit…

Reply
Pierre Mar 2, 2014 - 11:43 am

I totally agree with Karissa, Lefty’s is an awesome place. The place really has the owner’s personality and being. Unassuming yet full of so much potential and just generally a good place to eat.

Reply
Karisa Mar 2, 2014 - 1:42 pm

Thanks Pierre 🙂

Reply

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