Many yonks (and nostalgic sluks) ago there was a spot in the most central of Gqeberha’s Central called St James, which had a unique feature.
At a certain time in the evenings (and maybe the occasional Friday afternoon), the bar’s service hatch would open and, like a magician’s hat gone into overdrive, a string of authentically-dressed music hall can-can dancers would appear, much to the delight of slukkers, who thankfully didn’t follow up with a spaghetti Western saloon punch-up.
This mos always used to happen in the movies when somebody skeefed another oke in the bar (one of them them being a toothpick-chewing stranger) and for some inexplicable reason prompted all other patrons — presumably buddies in a one-horse town — to beat each other up and smash up perfectly good furniture and bottles of liquor.
There were a couple of things about the can-can routine, however, that raised the City Slukker’s one eyebrow higher than his froth-topped glass.
How on earth did the French-style dancing troupe manage to all fit through a tiny hatch and, far more importantly, how did they not slip on the bar counter with its obligatory mis-sluk puddles of spilt beer (which, by the way, is something to cry about)?
The Slukker only mentions this because there exists today on the border of South End and Walmer, a venue called St James, where you might not find petticoat-clad dancers, but where they can-can serve up great sluk-sluks and really great grub-grub.
The Heugh Road venue (with its old world homestead structure) manages to achieve that delicate balance (always important in a sluk-den) of being a pub, cocktail lounge and restaurant in equal measure, with the result that you feel quite at home whether you are enjoying sundowners or having a romance-sluk dinner or shooting the breeze (not saloon fittings) and breezing through shots with a party of friends.
The Sluk Team was highly impressed with the service behind the bar.
Having popped in on several occasions, bar maestros Brett and Luto know how to keep patrons happy and are more than adept and cheerful with this tall glass task.
Beers are ice-cold and although the Slukker-in-Chief was smiling like a cat who got the cream with his Castle Lite 500ml draught, the Slukkertary-General was a tad disappointed that there was no Castle Lager draught option on tap.
There is, however, Car Park John available at the dispensing station if craft is your draught.
Otherwise the range of cocktails, bottled beers, wines, spirits and shooters (the non-cowboy kind) are plentiful.
The Slukker’s 500ml Castle Lite draught (R45) was perfectly chilled and while the Slukker-tary-General had to settle for a smaller Castle 330ml dumpie (R35) — two, in fact — he was more than happy.
Of course, in thirst place in terms of St James’ sluks are their cocktails and these are just as interesting to witness being constructed as they are to sluk — like the Island Sunset Kiss (spiced rum, coconut syrup, cranberry juice), which looks like a Caribbean holiday all by itself, complete with plenty of fruit slices.
On the food side, here’s where St James really excels.
The Slukker has previously sampled the chicken schnitzel with a cheese sauce (R108) and was most impressed.
Not only was it ultra tender with a crispy crumbed coating, but the cool thing is you can enjoy it with a side of hand-cut fries, or a garden salad, or stir-fry veggies, or regular hot veg, which is what he had opted for (2026 being his healthy year, of course), and the wholesome butternut and cream spinach partners were good company indeed.
And at the price, the generous serving was excellent value.
On this occasion the S-G sampled the BBQ Melt burger which was jumbo size with BBQ sauce, cheddar cheese, bacon, fried onions, rocket and fries (R112), and the S-G was already discreetly nibbling away before the Slukker’s chicken and bacon wrap (R119) arrived, which was filled to capacity and a meal deserving of an eager appetite.
The menu is, indeed, wide-ranging with a wide selection of steaks, ribs, wings, pasta, pizzas, snacks and nachos, so you won’t go wanting in this department.
St James is built into one of those buildings with old worldly charm so there’s plenty of space and extra rooms for separate functions, while the indoor pub and restaurant area and the semi-open air verandah are the main buzz points.
The ablutions were ultra clean with all the necessary supplies, but one just feels they could do with a proper upgrade and sprucing up given the age of the venue. Nothing that replacing a few cracked tiles wouldn’t fix.
So, all in all, a great spot to chill with superb service, top class munchies and a really friendly, warm vibe which is why you came along, is it not?
Ratings out of 5.
Beer Barometer: 4
Chilled beer, clean glasses — just some variety at the on-tap draught station would be an improvement.
Bite Barometer: 5
Really top-notch, value-for-money and tasty meals, and an extensive menu to make it a pleasantly difficult selection task.
Buzz Barometer: 5
Outstanding, friendly service — nothing was too much trouble for the on-the-ball crew.
Bog Barometer: 4
No complaints when it comes to cleanliness, but a bit of an upgrade would be in order.
Venue; St James Restaurant, 24 Heugh Road, Walmer.
Contact: 041-587-5070
Venue visits are unannounced and food and drinks bills are paid for in full. Prices are accurate at time of publication.
The Herald
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