After hearing rumours of the awesome that Distillery 031 was bringing to Durban, it was only natural that I’d make my way there immediately once in Durbs-by-the-Sea.

Okay, so I know that stating that something is the BEST brunch in Durban is a very strong statement, so perhaps I should rather say it’s the best brunch I’ve had in Durban in the last year or so. And I’m there pretty often since my sister lives in Heat City.

I first read about Distillery 031 on Ask Ashe, but at that time it wasn’t yet open to the public all that often. I saw the guys from Distillery 031 mention on Facebook that they also do brunch on Sundays, and was totally sold on visiting on my recent holiday to my favourite city (other than Jozi of course)!

Distillery 031 is based in The Foundry in Durban on the second floor. We followed the signs up to the right landing and then entered into a distilling wonderland. The industrial feel of the place is so complimentary to the area you’ll find Distillery 031 in, and sitting alongside the distillation equipment, you’ll feel perfectly at place.

What went into my mouth at Distillery 031

I ordered a Jalfrezi Bloody Mary first (above), and was totally bowled over by the smokiness of this Durban-infused breakfast cocktail. Obviously, this is made with the signature Distillery 031 vodka. For brekkie, I went for the Prohibition Waffle, a toasted waffle with sous vide chicken and sticky, sweet sauce. The thick blue cheese sauce on the side was very more-ish!

Alessio tried out the Asian Wors Roll, which was good although a little on the dry side, and my brother-in-law tried out a traditional scrambled egg dish with chakalaka. I definitely won in the meal stakes that morning!

Sadly, I never got a chance to try our more of the spirits, but will be going back for a tasting session when I’m back near the Golden Mile.

I loved my experience at Distillery 031, my only gripes are surprisingly drink-related: they only offer drip coffee, which our waitress put us off when she said it takes very long to prepare, and my poor sister had very limited choices in terms of non-alchoholic drinks (lemonade or orange juice). We ended up going ’round the corner to The Morning Trade market to get a coffee after brunch.

Distillery 031 doesn’t have a website yet, but you can check them out on Facebook here.