I’ve always imagined Giraffe to be a noisy restaurant. One of those irritating places that prides itself on its ‘atmosphere’ over the basic ability to hear the person sat two feet away from you.
Thankfully, in this I was mistaken: the ambience was surprisingly relaxed for an eatery on George Street on a Friday night, and the service prompt and friendly.
Eating is my primary concern. I like my food high in quantity and high in quality. Giraffe delivered on both counts. A meal is not a success in my eyes unless I come away in at least a modicum of pain. My partner in crime and I shared the nachos. I like nachos even in their most basic form, and these were nachos on a higher plane. I would say they were probably the very best bit of the meal. Lots of cheese, alarmingly big slices of chili and all the appropriate condiments.
My first error was to have the burger. Not because of the quality, but the quantity. My second was to order a side of onion rings, even on top of the chips it came with. The burger was good, not at all overcooked. I had mine with bacon and avocado, which may offend some burger purists, but avocado improves any and all dishes. It’s the virtuous cousin of mayonnaise.
My accomplice went for the exotic sounding mojito chicken – this was an experiment which fell down a little. The chicken was well cooked, but the spicing was all wrong. It needed a lot more lime to live up to its name. She did however proceed to help me out with the burger and agreed wholeheartedly on the avocado.
For dessert we shared a banana waffle split. The banana was gorgeous, hot and sweet, and there was just the right amount of ice cream to balance out the gooey waffle. A success, had I not eaten so many nachos in the first place.
Giraffe may not be haute cuisine, but it has substance and at least a little bit of style. Just try to avoid undue gluttony, remember the mantra ‘starter or dessert, not both’.
Giraffe are now offering 25% off Monday – Thursday and Sundays from 6pm with an NUS extra card: perfect if your college doesn’t serve hall on weekends or you want a different sort of crewdate.
