Slaves from the East Indies brought the spices and fragrant curries of the Cape Malay community. The French Huguenots stepped ashore with grape vines and rich continental cooking. Italians brought olive oil and a lust for life, while the English brought a formality that endures – and endears – to this day.
No, it’s not easy to put your finger on the pulse of South African cuisine, and harder still in the gourmet heart of the ‘Rainbow Nation’. But what photogenic Cape Town lacks in cohesion, it more than makes up for with bountiful natural beauty and a sense of gastronomic adventure.
Table Mountain towers above the vibrant central business district; the vineyards fringing the city stretch toward distant peaks, and the Atlantic Ocean wraps the ‘Mother City’ in her frigid embrace. With orchards and wheat fields, pastures and the ocean on its doorstep, it’s perhaps no surprise that Cape Town bags the lion’s share of South Africa’s culinary limelight.
“It’s the culinary capital of the country,” says Abigail Donnelly emphatically. As editor of the Eat Out restaurant guide, she’s tasted the best of South Africa and remains adamant that Cape Town is the most exciting epicurean address on the continent.
“It comes down to so many things,” says Abigail. “The availability of great produce is a huge consideration, but I think Cape Town diners are simply more adventurous than in other cities.”
Take Woodstock, for example. A gritty suburb on the outskirts of the city centre, this unlovely neighbourhood has enjoyed a renaissance in the past five years as owner-driven eateries, artisan bakeries and boutique coffee roasters draw hungry hipsters out of the suburbs.
At The Old Biscuit Mill, a Saturday food market overflowing with small producers brings in foodies from across the city, while a crop of new restaurants keeps the space alive at night.
“With restaurants like Burrata, or The Pot Luck Club and The Test Kitchen by Luke Dale Roberts, what’s happening at places like the Biscuit Mill is hugely exciting,” adds Abigail. “And if anybody is going to be the trendsetter it’s going to be Luke. He’s an absolute magician.”
It’s fair praise indeed. Voted the best chef in South Africa last year, Luke earned a loyal following at winelands bistro La Colombe, pushing it to 12th position in the revered San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards. When he moved to his own space at The Old Biscuit Mill, the hungry hordes followed him to The Test Kitchen.
As the name suggests, the menu is experimental and pushes the flavour and plating boundaries of food. Although he steers clear of molecular gastronomy – “you can extract more than enough flavour naturally… you don’t need any help” – he’s a chef that loves to blur the boundaries between art and appetite.
“My food’s getting more thematic and conceptual at the moment,” explains Luke over a latté, as his army of chefs prep pigeon, tongue, smoked quail and foie gras for the evening service. “I go through phases, and right now with winter it’s very earthy.
“But the good thing about The Test Kitchen is that when people come here they’re already stepping outside of their comfort zone. Because they’ve done that, they’ll push the boat out a little.”
And anyone expecting a simple meal will certainly need to do a little pushing. Dishes are deconstructed and reimagined, yet retain the “flavour impact” that is at the heart of Luke’s cooking. Yellowtail tataki arrives with a yuzu jelly alongside chickpea and ginger salad. Lamb is glazed in dark beer and doenjang, a fermented soybean paste, and sent out with pan-seared sweetbreads.
It’s not for everyone, but the most common complaint from diners is simply the waiting list for a table; up to three weeks in the summer.
Happily Luke has spread his wings into the space next door, with the opening of The Pot Luck Club. The kitchen creativity and attention to detail carries through, but the pared-down prices and tapas-style portions make it more approachable.
While it’s easy to spend a fortune on fine food, Cape Town is full of great restaurants at remarkably good prices. The tourist-friendly V&A Waterfront usually snares most visitors, but the real gems are hidden away in the city centre; places like Bizerca Bistro, whose humble location belies the quality of cooking in Laurent Deslandes’ kitchen. A chalkboard menu changes according to three things: the seasons, what Laurent finds fresh at the markets, and what his regulars will allow him to take off the menu.
“I love the backbone of French cooking, but traditional French cuisine is sometimes a bit passé, so I try to make it a bit more modern,” explains Laurent.
And it’s easy to see why the salad of Norwegian salmon is a permanent feature: thick slices of fish, fatty marbling like veins of white gold, plated alongside a rocket salad dressed with vinaigrette of chives and spring onion. So too the braised pig trotters: deboned and wrapped in crisp pastry to be served with pan-seared scallops.
And as the modern décor of Bizerca makes it a bistro without the beret, so my favourite Italian eateries are far removed from humdrum trattorias.
Set in historic buildings in the city’s legal district, 95 Keerom and Carne SA are the stylish stars in the small universe of restaurants run by chef Giorgio Nava; a Certified Master Chef of Italian Cuisine.
Voted Eat Out’s Best Italian Restaurant in 2011, 95 Keerom’s delicate ravioli and perfect carpaccio never fail to impress. Popular with power-lunching lawyers by day, it comes alive at night, when you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more romantic spot in the city.
Across the road, Carne SA is the modern foil to the more traditional 95 Keerom; a steakhouse reimagined. All brushed-steel tables and ethereal ghost chairs, it’s almost alarmingly minimalist, but it’s all in aid of focusing your attention on the plate. Steak reigns supreme here, and much of it is grass-fed, free-range beef and venison from Nava’s own two farms.
“I always choose grass-fed, because for me it has a far better flavour,” says Giorgio. “The cattle don’t grow as fast as if you feed them grain, so it takes time to fatten them up, but I’m in no hurry.”
It’s a laconic approach, and one that fits well with Nava’s uncompromising philosophy on Italian cuisine. In a country that loves its steaks with a sweet barbecue basting, Nava stands firm.
“For us Italians, the sauce is olive oil… only olive oil,” says Giorgio. “Because when it is only olive oil, finally people discover how good meat can really be. Served like this, with just olive oil and salt, you can’t hide anything. Finally the customer gets to eat the meat and actually taste the flavour of the steak, not the sauce.”
Free-range steak reared correctly, cut generously, grilled briefly and served simply. No wonder Carne’s tables are full night after night.
Around the corner from Carne SA, simplicity is also what keeps Societi Bistro filled with locals six nights a week. Victorian fireplaces and a cosy bar appropriately named The Snug make it an ideal wintry bolthole. And then, of course, there’s the rustic menu from executive chef Stefan Marais.
It’s “rural food in an urban environment,” says Stefan of his well-priced French/Italian menu, where the likes of cassoulet, pork belly and signature risottos compete for attention. “These are classic dishes adapted with local ingredients. And we try to be as sustainable as possible, from the fish that we choose to ensuring that our menu follows the seasons.”
Perhaps it’s fitting that Societi, like so many other Cape restaurants, follows the seasons. As the hot windy days of summer give way to blue-sky autumn and wild winter, the city’s character changes. Shiraz replaces sauvignon blanc in your glass and fires are lit in hearths. In this chameleon of a city, it might not be easy to put a finger on the pulse, but you can be sure that the kitchens of Cape Town are thriving.
Golden book
The Test Kitchen
+27 21 447 2337
www.thetestkitchen.co.za
The Pot Luck Club
+27 21 447 0804
www.thepotluckclub.co.za
Bizerca Bistro
+27 21 418 0001
www.bizerca.com
95 Keerom
+27 21 422 0765
www.95keerom.com
Carne SA
+27 21 424 3460
www.carne-sa.com
Societi Bistro
+27 21 424 2100
www.societi.co.za
