The chef
Every second review of this place mentions the owner before it mentions the food. Here is how he got here.
Lee qualified as a chef under the late Christina Martin. That is where the basics came from, and the basics are still what this kitchen runs on. Sauces made properly. Eggs cooked to order. Nothing sitting under a lamp waiting for you.
The fun stuff on the menu only works because the boring stuff underneath it is right.
His first place was Flavour Cafe in Pietermaritzburg. He ran it for 12 years and it got known for burgers and milkshakes that were far too big, in the best possible way.
People came back for the food. They also came back because Lee was in the room. That part has not changed.
In 2019 Lee started Ginger and Pops, a small batch dairy free ice cream on a coconut milk and cream base. Made for people who are lactose intolerant or vegan, and good enough that everybody else ate it too.
That work changed how he cooks. Vegan and gluten free stopped being a short list on the back of a menu and became plates he actually wanted to eat.
The Break Room opened in the foyer of a building. People walked in, took a break from their day, walked back out. The name stuck.
It outgrew the foyer. It is at 2 Quarry Road in Hilton now, with a garden, a jungle gym, and room for the dog.
Tell us what you cannot eat
Lee will cook around it. Most of the menu already can be.
The SushiDogg is his. Nobody else in the Midlands makes it. It is the thing people bring their friends back for, and the name is the least strange part of it.
There is a vegan one too, because of course there is.
Lee is here most days. Ask him what is good, or tell him what you cannot eat and let him cook around it. That is half the point of the place.
2 Quarry Road, Hilton, KZN, 3245. Mon to Sat, 8am to 3pm.