A family friendly escape by the beach : Something Good Roadhouse review

This is what the restaurant looks like on the outside, very colourful and inviting. Picture by Owentando Zantsi

Summerstrand in Port Elizabeth is the number one destination to visit in the city, with luxurious hotels and a vast variety of beaches that refresh the soul in both winter and summer. The warm beaches such as King's, Hobie and Humewood sit opposite the cities famous Boardwalk Hotel strip, which is coincidentally only a 5-minute drive away from the funky relatively new Roadhouse I visited, Something Good.

This is the back seating of the restaurant, closest to the beach. Picture by me

The interior design and customer appeal

This vibrant new restaurant perfectly captures the breezy, carefree spirit of the Summerstrand area, transcending the previously overlooked lot into a lively family-friendly escape perfect for an outing with the kids. The interior embraces the easy-going rhythm of coastal living, with open spaces that flow seamlessly into one another, inviting guests to relax and unwind. Bright cheerful colours such as coral red, turquoise and yellow further mimic the seaside colour pallet, catching the eye of even those simply driving past.

On the deck, the vast outdoor seating is shaded with umbrellas and elevated by a beautiful view of the sea beyond. Beside it lies the designated kids play area, littered with swings, slides, a bouncing castle, mini cart racing and many more exciting things that guarantee that the kids will be preoccupied while the adults enjoy their meals. This makes it a must go destination for families looking for a chill day by the beach.

This is the interior upstairs of the restaurant. Picture by Owentando Zantsi

Food and service

Now, while the roadhouse has promising elements that draw one's attention, the food and service, is a different story. I should reiterate that this is of course my experience but, in general, I find both aspects to be somewhat underwhelming. When I arrived with my family it took about 10 minutes for a waitress to take notice of us, even though on this particular day as it was not that full as it was Thursday morning. I definitely understand that during peak hour service can be slow, but I was truly stumped when I found myself having to walk around just to find a waitress to attend to our table.

The issue was not unique to us either, the tables around us seemed to face the same challenge, with some fellow patrons even commenting on the delay. Eventually we got a waitress, but unfortunately, this was not the end of our dissatisfaction. The food arrived cold, and part of our order- a drink- missing. And once again, it took forever for the waitress to come back around so that we could explain this to her.

This is the food menu, showcasing the price of each meal we had || picture by Owentando Zantsi

In terms of our meals, I had a Mexican burger with fries (R142), my uncle had 300g steak with fries (R185) and my siblings had chicken pizzas (R74). My burger-although cold- was delicious, it was juicy, and the sauce hit the spot with its spiciness. It's sizzling flavour rich in spice almost made the wait worth it, making me rate it a solid 7/10.

This sentiment was not shared by everyone at our table though. When I asked my uncle what he thought of his meal, he went on to describe it as dry and rather thin for a 300g steak, overall rating the meal 5/10. My siblings had split opinions of the pizza; one rated it a 10/10 and another rated 4/10 but I suppose this come down to personal preference. When I tasted it, I found it okay, so I'd rate it a 5/10, but it was a bit bland for my palette. The chips on the other hand were definitely not to my taste, as they were a bit too hard. The saving grace of the entire meal was the drinks. My cookies and cream milkshake really wrapped my meal up well with its sweet yet crunchy flavour.

This is the Mexican burger and milkshake I had, looks about as good as it tasted honestly. Picture by Owentando Zantsi

Final Thoughts

All in all, I believe the roadhouse has immense potential– thanks to its perfectly designed interior and inviting atmosphere. However, I think I would love it even more if the food and service measured up to those aspects. I don't think they're necessarily bad but there's better for the same if not cheaper prices in the city. For now, though, I would say if you're in the city give it a visit but with reasonable expectations.