Papachinos - Fourways

Thanks for popping past another one of my venue reviews and this time Papachinos Fourways! It’s much appreciated.

OVERALL RATING OUT OF 10

This was a new place I discovered in Fourways and has become one of our new weekend hideouts for my little one and myself. We always see this Italian restaurant sign as we drive on Witkoppen Road towards Paulshof from Monte Casino and always think to ourselves, we should go check it out. We just love a good pizza and if it goes bad, let's just enjoy something to drink then. So, we went!

Making your way there is rather simple; heard if Pineslopes Shopping Centre? Billy the Bums? Well, not quite inside there but rather across the road from the entrance of that centre. If you are worried about parking, don’t be. There are more than enough parking bays. You will also notice a few other shops in this centre in case you would like to explore a little more. What’s nice about the parking is that you go through a security check in the Sevens Décor Centre to get in, so you feel even safer. I really enjoy safety especially with my little superhero in the picture.

As we came to the entrance of Papachinos Fourways, we noticed that there was a party to our left. A whole lot of balloons, toys for the kids and of course… a lot of kids. It looks like the restaurant is split into two sections; the kids party section on the left and the usual dining area on the right (which also includes a kids play area). But in the middle, they have a cool seating area as you wait for a waiter to help you and to get you seated… called the Chill Zone.

As we got seated the waiter took our drinks order and it seems they offer most drinks including cocktails and my favourite, an ice-cold Castle Light draught… with half a tot of lime. The waiter then also left the menus with us while we waited for our drinks to arrive. As the drinks arrived, we needed another 5 minutes to decide what to eat. Just so you know, one thing I don’t like about restaurants is having to look for my waiter; even worse is having to call another waiter to call our waiter because our waiter was nowhere to be found. 15 minutes later we could order our food. Not a good sign for us. We really do appreciate good service.

So, while we were waiting for our food and I was enjoying my beer, I decided to check out the play area for the kids. What a jol! I had so much fun! With my daughter that is. #justsaying. It has a 3-story jungle gym with slides, steps and a little tube slide. My little superhero went nuts! Extra points!

When the food was ready, my date at the time signalled us and we returned to the table. The food arrived rather quickly which is a plus in my books and to my surprise… was delicious! My little superhero ordered the kiddies mac and cheese and pigged out, cheese sauce everywhere! Nothing pleases me more than seeing my daughter pig out. Another plus in my books is when I cannot finish my food, and this was the case at Papachinos; I had a doggy bag and it was good.

The service is something to work on. Having to look for my waiter was a turn off and having to call our waiter to settle our bill must have taken an additional 30 minutes… even after calling him 2 more times to bring it after that. What I did enjoy is that the other waiters help other waiters and tables out when the responsible waiter is out of site. Perhaps they have a waiter issue?!

The décor was average and what really makes this a nice place is the fact that it has this massive tree giving you a nature vibe while you eat. I think this might be a bit problematic if there are a lot of birds. The tables were also pretty bland with nothing special on them that would make you look twice.

The bill was a bit of a nightmare as I mentioned and if you are paying by card, they accept all cards.

So that was my experience at Papachinos Fourways, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. If you have been there and would like to tell me about it, please leave a comment below or lets go grab a beer there.

Enjoy these few pictures of Papachinos Fourways, take care and be safe!