New eating experiences abound in Cape Town

03 Feb 2017 - by Michelle Colman

With a growing desire by travellers to experience a destination’s unique food experiences, Michelle Colman explores some of the possibilities in Cape Town.

Widely regarded as the most authoritative restaurant poll, the Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Restaurant Awards, generally features a high number of Cape Town and Western Cape amenities in its annual Top 10 lists.

True to form, the 2016 awards, which were announced last November, featured Cape Town’s Test Kitchen and La Colombe in first and second place and Greenhouse at The Cellars-Hohenort in seventh position. Restaurants in nearby Somerset West, Franschhoek and Stellenbosch took the other placings, all of them easily accessible in an hour or so from the Mother City.

Cape Town starts 2017 with a wide spread of new restaurants. One of the more unusual ones is La Tête, in downtown Bree Street, which subscribes to the nose-to-tail eating philosophy. The thinking is to leave no part of an animal to waste, and delicacies are made of all organs. With experience garnered in London, brothers behind the venture, Giles and James Edwards are proponents of the concept.

Nose-to-tail is also in practice at Ash Restaurant in Church St, where the age-old method of charcoal cooking is utilised and the menu is kept down to a concise page. The restaurant’s name belongs to Ash Heeger, who has worked at top eateries in Cape Town and London.

House of H (H is Chef Heinrich Koen) in Loop Street on the site of an old parking lot, uses an unusual self-service method, issuing diners with a POS card which they swipe themselves as they make orders. Tattoos and haircuts can also be had in this dining facility.

The tapas bar in Bree Street, Chefs Warehouse, has opened a new branch at the Beau Constantia wine farm in the Constantia Valley, a partnership that also includes former head chef of the Test Kitchen, Ivor Jones. The signature experience is tapas for two, and the restaurant is open Tuesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner.

Also in Constantia, the restaurant Bold by Brad Ball has opened next door to the Last Word Constantia Hotel. According to the hotel’s Nicky Coenen, the eatery features robust flavours in interesting and surprising ways, in a casual setting that is accessible on foot.

Tintswalo Atlantic’s Head Chef, Jeantelle van Staden, has moved on to the position of Operations Manager. In her place is Guy Clark, who TV watchers will know from appearances on Masterchef SA.

For Tintswalo guests who wish to eat further afield, the hotel recommends a short drive to the Bay Harbour at the Market Hout Bay. The market is only open at weekends and offers an eclectic, family-friendly vibe, often hosting live musicians.

When The Ritz in Sea Point reopens this year sporting its trendy refurbishment, one of the weapons in its arsenal will be Chef Bertus Basson. Basson will be at the helm of the hotel’s revolving, top-floor restaurant, to be known as Bertus Basson at The Ritz. SLC also manages Bloemendal Wine Estate with its Bon Ami Restaurant, which currently offers pizza specials on Thursdays and half-price sushi on Fridays. SLC’s Shimmy Beach Club has a popular low-carb, Banting-friendly sushi option, using cauliflower instead of rice.

Scheckter’s Raw, also in Sea Point, focuses on raw ingredients and is making vegan and health food fanatics happy. Its philosophy, says founder, Toby Scheckter, is to focus on plant-based, cruelty-free and nutrient-dense food. “We source our ingredients only from the best of local and international suppliers,” he says.

In mid-March, the suburb also becomes the home of the Mojo Market, a city block on Regent Road (below the Mojo Hotel) given over to food and retail stores and a live entertainment stage. It will be open seven days a week and visitors will be able to buy baked goods, fresh juices and ice creams, along with Asian, Mexican and American-inspired cuisines.

A unique dining experience with a communal bent is Reverie Social Table, a “proudly South African table d’hôte-style eatery” in Observatory. Each evening, Chef Patron, Julia Hattingh, welcomes guests to sit around her 18-seat table to enjoy a five-course meal and wine.

Communal seating is also the ‘thing’ at Chefs in Gardens, where a menu of only three meal options is prepared daily – a meat or fish dish, a vegetarian meal and a lighter meal. All diners need do is arrive between 12pm and 8pm, choose their meal and beverage and pay at the counter before taking their seats to dine.

Says Suzanne Benadie, Sales and Marketing Director for Your Africa: “Gold Restaurant is highly recommended by us for an interactive, entertaining African-style meal. Guests kick off the evening with a drumming session before settling into a 14-course Cape Malay/African style set menu. The meal is served in individual and sharing portions at the table. The dining experience is enhanced with live entertainment based on a Mali puppet show, which includes storytelling, dancers, and musicians.”

Your Africa is part of the Tourvest group, which recently opened MareSol at the V&A Waterfront. The upstairs seating area is ideal for groups and the menu offers a good selection of meat and seafood dishes.

In the five-star environs of the Taj Cape Town, The Gallery is a new fine-dining concept celebrating wine making, cuisine and fine art. Consisting of two rooms, there is space devoted to wine tasting and sales, art sales and a Chef’s Table accommodating up to 10 guests for a wine-paired meal.

Visitors who enjoy the live music venue Café Roux in Noordhoek will be pleased to know it now has a ‘sexy little sister’ in downtown Shortmarket Street. Each week Café Roux hosts top and up-and-coming musicians and comedians in a 100-seat, urban chic space.

Gourmet coffee and freshly-baked pastries are the attraction at the Coco Safar at Cavendish Square, with an espresso bar, luxury café, couture patisserie and capsule emporium, where high-quality, micro-roasted coffee and rooibos tea are available in pod form.

Ice creams are much in demand in Cape Town and some to try are Unfamed Artisan Ice Cream in Kloof Street, the Creamery Café Palmyra Junction in Claremont and Moro Gelato in Long Street.

Some other restaurant suggestions: