[REVIEW] Oh so Easy Tiger, Kenilworth

There’s a new diner in town and it’s got me all hot under the collar. Ok, I know that doesn’t seem likely with it being all wintery and all (this week excluded), but Easy Tiger really did just open in Kenilworth and I was spoilt enough to be invited to taste some of their tasty food.

Easy Tiger is a small little restaurant and is where ‘Graze’ used to be, opposite Hob Nobs and next to Fat Harry’s. It’s a great place to pop in for some take out or have a small gathering.

Having been past the one in Bree street a number of times, and not understanding if it has anything to do with Tiger’s Milk, I finally have all the deets. Easy Tiger IS an affiliate of Tiger’s Milk, with Tiger’s Milk being a more formal restaurant layout and Easy Tiger being a more relaxed, diner, kiosk take out offering.

We met my lovely friends Dean and Tracey from InstaEats for a meal there last week. We were warmly welcomed by JP, the manager, and our server, whose name I didn’t get, who was also a really friendly and nice. A second server, Brenda also assisted us towards the end of the evening.

Easy Tiger went out of their way to show us what they’ve got and they did not disappoint. For starters we had some nice finger foods. My two favourites were the ribs and crumbed chicken wings. Saying the ribs were good is REALLY a compliment coming from me because I’m very fussy when it comes to ribs. But there were great because they were very soft and had been marinated for a long time. Too often ribs are just coated, without the flavour really getting into the ‘meat of the bones’. The crumbed wings were my ACTUAL favourite as they had a good consistent coating, were very tender, had a touch of garlic in the crumb and were cooked well (no pink, but not dry either).

They also have sticky chicken wings available, which are also good, but I prefer crumbed chicken. We were also given chilli poppers, which were delicious but PHEW! I enjoyed them because they had real, melty cheese inside and not that random feta come cottage cheese vibes that’s so often in the box versions.

As if I wasn’t almost nearly full at this point, we still had to have mains – burgers! I was afraid they would be horrible box burger patties, but nope! Delicious, fresh mince (without that weird seasoning) patties grilled to perfection. They were generous with their toppings too. I had the mushroom and cheese burger and their mushroom sauce has a light touch of truffle oil. TOO often truffle oil is over done and for a long time I wasn’t a fan. But when it’s used in moderation, it really trumps up the flavour and makes a big difference to the overall depth of flavour. This was delicious. (Mr John had bacon and cheese and Dean had ‘guido’ style (no bun).

I enjoyed my food very, very much, but as greed would have it, we still topped off the overall meal with a milkshake! They recommended the nutty caramel shake, which at first I was a bit disappointed by. The reason is because my favourite flavours (in life) are chocolate, caramel and toffee. So when I thought of nutty caramel I thought it would have that really deep, creamy caramel taste, which these didn’t. BUT, when I realised it was a celebration of NUTTY KRUSTS with SOME caramel, then it all fell into place. I could taste the cinnamon and 5 spice (if that’s even in nutty krusts?) and the caramel used wasn’t the old South African caramel in a tin style, but a rather thinner syrypy version. So this milkshake really is about the combination of the two and not all about the usual caramel flavours. If you keep this in mind, you will really enjoy this milkshake. It doesn’t have soggy biscuit bits in it either, it’s blended properly.

Easy Tiger has a fantastic lunch time special on at the moment where you can get chips, a burger and a coke for just under R80. It’s a great special and the quality of food is well above regular takeout. These offers will change as the weeks go on (it’s not a set special menu).

It also has a lovely long bar, so if you wanted to pop in for toot and a catch up with a friend over some snacks and a drink, it’s the perfect place. They also offer a few craft beers on tap which may interest you beer drinkers out there.

Pop by and see what you think. Once you’ve gone, leave a comment on this post or on Facebook to I can hear about the food you liked the most. Enjoy!