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Durban's suburbs gear up for African cuisine

There’s something of a quiet culinary revolution taking place in Hillcrest, one of Durban’s leafiest and most sought-after suburbs, where a combination of old and new money are driving the city’s westward growth at a dramatic rate.

Now residents of Hillcrest and other upper-highway suburbs – and the thousands of tourists passing through the area annually to visit the picturesque Valley of a Thousand Hills – have the opportunity to taste top-quality shisa nyama and African cuisine without having to drive to the Durban CBD or townships.

The shisa nyama industry in Durban’s townships and CBD is a massive one, both with locals and tourists.

Last month, Max’s Lifestyle in Umlazi made the influential Condé Nast Traveller magazine’s list of 207 best restaurants, while other township venues, such as Eyadini Lounge in Umlazi and Seaman’s Corner in Mpumalanga, pull large tourist groups regularly, but such venues are as rare as hen’s teeth in suburbia.

Langa Sithole (47) and Sandile Dlamini (36) both moved to Hillcrest after their success as event managers ahead of and during the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

The duo, tired of having to drive up to 50km to buy braaied meat and eyeing the market for a gap closer to home that they could take advantage of, decided to open an upmarket shisa nyama lounge in Hillcrest’s Oxford Village, one of a host of new, upmarket malls that have opened in the area.

Sithole and Dlamini’s new venture, Classique Braai Lounge, was launched a month ago and already seems to be carving out its own space in what has become something of a hipster belt for the city, with a range of artisanal breweries, bakeries and eateries popping up alongside new housing developments.

They not only offer a top-notch meat-eating experience – their kitchen and butchery is run by MasterChef SA season one top five finalist Lungile Nhlanhla (36) – but classic South African jazz sounds up in an upmarket, relaxed environment.

Over a lunch of lamb chops, steak, wors and liver, Umlazi-born Sithole, a former manager with Touch Africa Promotions, outlined the philosophy behind Classique.

“I moved up here to Waterfall in 2010 and have always seen the need for a place to have braaied meat, listen to music and chill – that’s where the idea started.

"Every time I wanted shisa nyama, I had to trek to Clermont or Umlazi or KwaMashu.

"This upper-highway area is growing and the community is changing, so we felt that it was time to create a space where people could enjoy the cuisine and experience without having to travel such a long distance,” he says.

Sithole believes, however, that the upmarket nature of Classique, combined with great service, music and a unique overall experience, will allow it to successfully market a township product in suburbia.

“It’s early days, but we are already progressing at the pace where we want to be,” says Sithole.

“The sit-down custom is there and is growing. We have been pleasantly surprised by the demand for takeaways from people from the area, and from the amount of business from our fellow tenants, so we are now looking at a delivery service.”

Sithole believes the combination of quality food – Classique’s meat is sourced daily from Oxford Butchery, which owns the mall – and service will prevent them from being “boxed”, keeping away non-African diners.

“We refuse to be boxed. If we allow that to happen, we won’t survive a month.

“Thus far, we are drawing clientele from all races who are interested in great shisa nyama in a chilled venue, where the family can have a great experience without driving miles,” he says.

“South Africa is becoming more cosmopolitan. The people who come here represent just that.”

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