Status on Valentine’s Day:
____ Single
_X__ Taken
_X__ In love with food
Valentine’s Day – One of the only days in the year when reasonably intelligent human beings go crazed in their pursuit of the quintessential bunch of red roses and decadent Belgian chocolates to demonstrate their undying love for the significant human being in their lives. Yuven and I have been glancing over Valentine’s Day for the past couple of years because it has never felt any more important as compared to any other day we spend together. We say “I Love You” to each other every day, and spoil each other on random days with bits and bobs that we know the other will adore. Which is how we ended up trudging along bustling Durban North, brimming with fully-booked restaurants, looking to have our typical Tuesday/ Wednesday date-night and simultaneously throw in an awesome review.
After our failed attempts at gaining entry into potentially reviewable restaurants that were spewing with love-sick couples and their reserved tables, Yuven and I were desperate for any grub to drown out the awful “borborygmi” our tummies were letting loose. Eventually, out of hungry desperation, we decided to pull over at the side of the road, and phone some of our favourite default eateries, and Porter’s Sports Bar just happened to be one of them which had tables available.
We have stopped by Porter’s Sports Bar a handful of times, be it just for a quick drink or for somewhere to lounge on a lazy Saturday afternoon, and we’ve never been disappointed. The beers have also been “Brrrr!” and the service outstanding, and Valentine’s Day proved no different. Instead of obeying the rules and splashing stereotypical red and white tones around, Porter’s felt just like it did on any other day.
The bar and outside seating area held groups of people all refusing to offer stereotypical Valentine’s Day any recognition, and the inner restaurant was completely void of any people so our waitress gave us free reign when it came to picking a table. Since Durban was showing of its appealing weather, we picked a table on the balcony with a stunning view of the Indian ocean. Our waitress mirrored Durban’s exceptional vibe – She was super friendly and laid-back, and when I couldn’t decide on what I wanted to drink, she suggested the Berry Daiquiri. Yuven obviously had a Black Label Beer.
Our drinks swayed their way to our table whilst we got comfortable, and a single sip of my Berry Daiquiri had me already thinking of the next one. It was bright magenta and every sip let loose a berry explosion – Yum! Yuven had zero complaints about his Black Label, and we both just slurped lazily on our respective drinks whilst we watched the sun slowly make way for the moon.
We decided to have supper in the inner restaurant, and our waitress, Stephanie, was more than willing to allow us to relocate. She appeared when our drinks ran low, and didn’t hover unnecessarily. When we eventually decided on supper after perusing their expansive menu for the 163rd time, Stephanie was ready and waiting to jot down our order and offer some commentary on our respective choices whilst finding a way to slide in some humour into the conversation. Yuven and I were taken aback by the warm hospitality and feeling of having supper at a friend’s place.
Whilst lounging on their cushy seats and surveying the atmosphere in Porter’s, a pleasant face popped up before us sincerely querying about how we were enjoying our night. After receiving a satisfactory answer from us and he scuttled away merrily to the next table to drop off some hospitality. Stephanie told us that the enormous personality we had just witnessed belonged to their manager, Jason.
Our food made its entrance before our next round of drinks could be ordered, and we could smell it before it reached our table. Stephanie did not lie – There was a lot of bacon! I ordered Hangover Wrap (for no particular reason other than it sounded quite good) and Yuven ordered a Cheese Chunk Wagon. The Hangover Wrap was overflowing with bacon and mushrooms, and was topped with a single egg with the yolk runny. No complaints from me because I love a runny yolk, and I also seem to be warming up the idea of bacon which I hated before. The generous amount of fries, which I despised myself for wasting, were how fried chips should be prepared – Crispy on the outside and soft as a pillow on the inside with a scattering of some salty condiment for the extra “Oomph!”.
Yuven’s burger had our conversation paused for a while as he devoured every glorious piece of beef, bacon, cheddar and mushroom. Porter’s sure does not hold back on their portions, and once again we had to leave those delectable chips and some of the food behind at the fear of our seams bursting. Stephanie was delighted to hear that we had relished our dinner, and after some animated conversation, she stopped by again with two shooters on the house!
Since the ingredients in the shooters were a surprise, we tipped our heads back and poured them in, delighted at what we would be tasting. The shooters were of a coconut and chocolatey flavour, and tasted almost like a Caribbean Mocha (I was so tempted to lick the glass!) Jason stopped by again to check up on us, and his face lit up in glee as we relayed our enthralling experience. Kudos to you, Jason, and your team for affording us such hospitality.
We would recommend Porter’s Sports Bar in the blink of an eye to:
- A group of friends in search of somewhere to have a few drinks and watch the big game
- Someone looking to book a table for a birthday or year-end function
- A couple intending to go out for date night
- Literally anyone else who just wants to chill and drink ice beer
But as usual that’s just in my opinion 🙂
