Breaking plates in South African restaurant

South Africa lives up to its rainbow nick name, there is no doubt about the physical beauty of the different cities. And it is impressive that attention is paid to all its cities. Sandton City, which is a 40-minutes’ drive away from Johannesburg, is one such city.

Sandton, pronounced, {san-ton} is a business and residential hub – it is here that most of the hotels are located. There are also residential homes and shopping malls. The streets are clean, isolated and well-manicured.

Taking a stroll is irresistible. When you do, chances are that you will end up at the Mandela Square. Mandela Square is a buzz of activity majority of which is dining and shopping. The gigantic sculpture of Nelson Mandela is what might draw you to Mandela Square, but it is not what will make your visit to the square memorable. What might is the Greek experience at Papa’s on the Square Restaurant.

Weird tradition
The ambience, food and atmosphere are all Greek. Their food is exotic and their sea food is delicious - the salmon fish is finger-licking. What is outstanding, though, is the plate-breaking moment at Papa’s. Yes, when you are done with your meal, you break the plates!

As I ate, I could not wait for that moment to come. My neighbours had experienced it before and made it seem so exciting. However, they declined to give me details of what exactly happens. I hated that I had to wait.

I actually thought we were going to break the plates we used to dine. I wondered why any restaurant would engage in such a wasteful venture. I couldn’t help imagining how much the plates we were about to smash cost. But then a waiter came and took the plates. I was puzzled and asked why he was taking away the plates we were going to break. Shocked, he laughed silently – he was just being polite, it was clear he wanted to laugh out loud at my ignorance about the activity.

Shortly after, he came back with a dozen small plates and handed one to everyone on the table. Those are the ones we were going to break. They are a little bigger than saucers, white in colour and are made out of clay. Songs with instrumentals similar in the range of soft rock are played as you break the plates. But just before we started breaking plates, brief explanations are made.

We were told breaking plates is a Greek tradition. It is what they do when experiencing extreme emotions – when very angry or when extremely happy. After the explanations, space is created at the centre of the restaurant for the ceremony. When the music begins, one by one you take to the centre with your plate in hand, then you raise it up above your head and with a loud bang, you smash it landing on the floor in several pieces. We were over 10 people and as everyone took to the centre to break their plate, we cheered them to get the most broken pieces.

It was such a noisy activity, but none of the other people at the restaurant seemed to complain. In fact, some cheered us on. We were told it is something many tourists love to do. But I felt sorry for whoever had come to the restaurant to have a quiet time.

For us, taking part in the tradition was out of sheer happiness. It felt like we were getting rid of the day’s fatigue. But when you think of it, breaking something would only be satisfying to do if you are angry. It feels vengeful. It doesn’t seem to add up if done when happy. But when it began, it was exciting to see every one of us attempt to break their plate into the tiniest possible pieces. It is fun to do if you are in a big crowd of more than 10. And if you are a noisy bunch, you will forget there is music in the background as you will find your own rhythm. We certainly walked out of the restaurant a lot happier than we had walked in.

bbanura@ug.nationmedia.com