I am a great believer in publically acknowledging those people who provide me with good service and products.
My favorite Portuguese restaurant is Calisto’s in the south of Johannesburg in Mr. Mandela’s land of sunshine – South Africa.
Today, my partner Eileen and I popped in to Calisto’s for a lunch.
For a number of (and they had to have been) good reasons, I have not dined there for a several of months.
Well, to my amazement, as we walked in through the front door, the assistant manager greeted me with a warm indigenous handshake, saying, “Welcome back, we have missed you”. The manager, Chris, who was standing nearby, displayed a big smile, exclaiming, “Where we have you been all this time, we were worried about you”.
With a quick look around, he said, “Your table is waiting for you”.
Once we sat down, two of the waitrons came up to us and with much hand shaking and big smiles, as only Africa can give you, they welcomed us as long standing family members, whom they had not seen for too long. Customers were turning their heads to see why the two older people were attracting such attention.
Probably, if we had thanked all and left the restaurant at that point, we would have been two very satisfied customers, but….the best was yet to come.
The ambience, with many shades of happy people, a few young children moving between the tables, Portuguese music in the background; lots of old Johannesburg memorabilia hanging from the ceiling, photos on the walls, we began to experience a sensation of complete comfort and relaxation. The fact that it was a cool Highveld winters day outside – inside was ever so cosy.
In all the years of dining at Calisto’s, I cannot ever remember a disappointing meal. My personal favorite being beef cubes cooked in Trinchado sauce and Eileen’s being Portuguese styled chicken and that is what we enjoyed today.
We loved every moment of our two hours spent in this very pleasant ambience.
Calisto’s is a exceptionally unique restaurant, in my opinion (and I rate myself high on the gourmet scale) not just for the delightful cuisine, truly cosy Portuguese ambience, but the friendly and hands on attention you receive from all the staff.
Sorry for those of you outside of historical Johannesburg, missing out on this special treat, but who knows, maybe you’ll be blessed with an opportunity to experience Calisto’s when you visit our land of sunshine…..
Calisto’s
20, Gill St. Gillview
Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Call Chris and book now:
011 680 0368
011 680 3844
011 680 6423
Calistos@mweb.co.za
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