While Don Pedro, in Woodstock’s Roodebloem street, is still excellent value it wasn’t quite the cheap ‘n cheerful place I remember where we’d spend an evening asking for extra ice to make our drinks last longer, or where four of us would share a salad and then ask for more “free” bread.

This occasion was an auspicious one -- the third anniversary of my newly joined book club -- and some 20 of us gathered for a celebratory meal. As bookish people do, there was much discussion about an appropriate venue for people on varying budgets and in that regard Don Pedro was a first class choice, although I’d far rather have had a discussion about smoking or non and let the budget-sensitive folk fend for themselves. So with 20 of us in a very busy restaurant, in the smoking section it’s a miracle that I enjoyed my meal at all.

Don Pedro was willing to allow each of us our own bill and we were assigned a number which we pinned to our shirts like kids at a party. It made paying the bill a pleasure. I understand that penniless students rely on this particular service (I remember that while Mike’s Kitchen would give us free suckers after a meal, separate tabs were always out of the question) but I think that today’s diners, not always wanting to take fellow diners out, would appreciate the option of separate bills rather than sharing the cost of Bollinger, lobster and pizza equally.

The specials menu on the blackboard was much more interesting than the printed menu which, aside from some interesting pizza combos, wasn’t noteworthy.

I ordered the chicken livers peri-peri (R22.80) as a starter and although understanding that offal usually contains more fat than other nibbly bits, I assured myself that I would have a simple fish dish as the main and skip dessert.

The chicken livers served with bread (albeit government loaf) could have totally satisfied a lesser appetite. The peri-peri was good. I was once made that dish by a client who had been taught the way by a Mozambican during the 80’s Angolan border skirmishes and this dish perfectly replicated the chunky sauce with discernable things in it rather than the homogenous redness you get from a fast-food chain. I’d prefer the livers pinkish inside but it was a substantial portion well executed.

For the line fish, a choice of three, I opted for the Marlin (R39, 80) and went with the baked potato instead of rice. The dish should have come with vegetables; butternut and broccoli with a béchamel sauce, but Clive, although perpetually calm in dealing with 20 orders, couldn’t manage to get me a portion of vegetables for one and whisked veg-for-four off to another table.

Maybe you’ve noticed this: certain restaurants seem to have in common a certain type of waiter. Mostly, these are in places like Woodstock, Obs or Mowbray and seem to have a pleasing numbness to the high pressure of serving in an exceptionally busy restaurant. Maybe it’s a spiritual thing that goes with Indian-print and thongs, maybe it’s the shadow of the mountain. Maybe not. I bet that if Clive were on the Titanic he’d have got more people off the boat before it sank, interjecting his quiet requests for people to “move along to the lifeboats” with the occasional “hey, shoo – wow”.

The Marlin (R39, 80) was supremely delicious and although it was a large portion (around one centimetre deep, half steak) I could have enjoyed even more. The baked potato was also very good.

A fellow diner had the black mushrooms with mozzarella as a starter, which lacked salt, and the vegetarian paella, which lacked flavour. Maybe the Mexican paella is different and topping it with cheese is the way they do it, but I always expect Chorizo in paella or paprika at the very least. This dish tasted to me more like a nutty rice bake.

The Mexican décor at Don Pedro’s is difficult to discern because there were so many people there, happy folk were all I could see. My table was covered in a flimsy Mex-print of corn that I imagine people in Indian Print would shimmy into a shawl or turban. There were wooden tables and chairs that looked Mexican although I admit that my entire knowledge of Mexican and Spanish décor comes from watching Zoro.

Most notable (and I imagine authentic Mexican) was the chili chocolate cake (R15, 80), which had a gentle amount of chili in the deep chocolate icing and was adorned with a crystallized chili. I’ll return again to Don Pedro for that perfect piece of cake alone.

Don Pedro at 113 Roodebloem Street, Woodstock. Phone 021-447-4493.