The Britannia Hotel on Umbilo Road is an unreconstructed Indian-Durban institution — a slightly weatherbeaten Victorian pile with peeling paint outside and queues out the door at lunchtime. The reason is the mutton curry, widely held to be the best in Durban: deeply spiced, fall-off-the-bone, served with rice and roti for less than R100.
The dining room is canteen-style, the pub next door is rough and friendly, and the experience is more memorable than any of the polished restaurants up on the Berea. Lunch only on weekdays.