By David Fingleton Eating out in Cape Town
I HAD expected Cape Town and its sur- roundings to be beautiful, and its wines to be excellent. What I had not been prepared for were the variety and excellence of its restaurants. In five days there I ate in many restaurants, every one of them a winner, and by the end felt that I had done no more than scrape the surface of what was avail- able. Not only that but, with almost ten rands to the pound, meals on the Cape are absurdly cheap, providing some of the best value I have experienced recently any- where, with even those magnificent Cape wines rarely costing above £15 a bottle in a restaurant, and plenty under £10. In short, it is a demi-paradise where one eats in beautiful surroundings beneath sunny skies, even in mid-winter, and is charmingly served in establishments mustard-keen to do well. What joy.
My first stop was at one of the Cape's finest, in the upmarket suburb of Constan- tia. Less than a decade ago, charming, effervescent Liz McGrath had the misfor- tune to lose her businessman husband, pre- maturely and unexpectedly. She decided to fill her life by opening a hotel and restau- rant in properties adjacent to the 18th-cen- tury cellars of the Klassenbosch wine estate, and at Hohenort, the splendid turn- of-the-century manor house beside them. She refurbished both, furnishing them with impeccable taste, arranged two swimming- pools in nine acres of utterly beautiful gar- dens, put in 38 immensely comfortable bed- rooms and 13 suites, and swiftly became a member of the Relais et Châteaux group. Liz McGrath also persuaded the fine Lon- don French chef, Jean-Christophe Novelli, to come out and oversee the creation of a top-class French restaurant, Novelli at the Cellars (tel: 021 794 2137; fax: 2149), and after he had done so and departed she retained his assistant, George Jardine, to carry on the good work. This he continues to do with spectacular success, while in the other building a more modestly priced Cape Malay restaurant offers local speciali- ties which I could not sample as it was closed for redecoration.
Two dinners at the Cellars demonstrated just how high are standards. The dining- room is elegant yet rural — one feels very relaxed — and service is charmingly impec- cable. I found a remarkable grip to the cooking, as well as imagination. Among dishes enjoyed as starters were a fine warm terrine of new potatoes, aubergine and Gruyere cheese with a balsamic dressing, an excellent risotto of pancetta and black trumpet mushrooms, and 'minestrone' soup with wild thyme, in fact a misnomer for a translucently clear consommé of great intensity poured over a julienne of petites legumes. Among main courses were a bril- liant roast cutlet of karoo lamb covered in a blue cheese soufflé, with smoked garlic mash and green lentils, excellent fillet of cod, baked with baby fennel, tomato fon- dant and fresh pea sauce, and admirably juicy, pot-roasted guinea fowl in a wild mushroom and truffle bouillon with braised cabbage. Desserts, including pear tarte tatin with vanilla ice-cream, warm orange sponge with burnt-orange sauce and mar- malade ice-cream, and iced armagnac par- fait with prune compote, were on a similar level of imagination and execution. Wines, served with charm and expertise by young French sommeliere Tatiana, included Hamilton Russell's remarkable Pinot Noir and the magnificent Muscat Vin de Con- stance.
As well as Hohenort, Liz McGrath has the Plettenburg Hotel in Plettenburg Bay, also Relais et Chateaux, which I did not have the chance to visit, plus a new acquisi- tion at Hermanus, where whales can often be seen just off-shore, the Marine Hotel, containing two restaurants, the elegant Pavilion, where ex-London Ritz Scottish chef Kenny MacDonald is in charge, which I did not try, and Seafood at the Marine (tel: 028 313 1000; fax: 0160), a simpler fish establishment where young Frenchman Charles Lefebvre cooks, and where I Appeal denied. lunched on a totally authentic soupe de poissons with croutons and rouille, and some sparklingly fresh grilled kingclip with provencale pommes purées, ending with a fine coffee-flavoured crème br1116e. With three courses totalling just £10 prices might be described as reasonable.
One of the oldest, and most elegant, of Cape Town's restaurants is the Cape Colony at the Mount Nelson Hotel (tel: 021 483 1875), with its glamorous 1920s vaulted and pillared room and magnificent Cape mural backdrop, well-spaced tables and crisp white linen. One might think that to eat there would be a punishingly costly experience: it is not. The lunch menu comes at £8 for two courses, £10 for three, and the evening a la carte should cost no more than £14 for three courses, plus wine. I went for lunch, surrounded by a splendid- ly ancien regime, clubland clientele. I start- ed with a delicious crayfish bisque with spicy fish dumplings and a foam on top, and went on to powerfully tasty Cape Malay spiced chicken breast with tomato, rocket and excellent aioli, and ended in glory with a luscious caramelised hazelnut tart, served with lavender mascarpone and decorated with spun sugar. Stony Brook Chardonnay made a suitable companion to this wonderfully decadent meal.
Thanks to Alexis, the sister of Heston Blumenthal of the Fat Duck at Bray, who is a Cape Town resident, I was introduced to two other good restaurants. Blues (tel: 021 483 2040), right on the ocean at Camps Bay, is Californian in style and offers a pre- dominantly fishy menu. In its spectacular setting we particularly enjoyed calamari in a ginger and chilli sauce, and memorable mussels cooked in coconut milk, curry and coriander. Prices are distinctly low.
There was also the attractive La Colombe (tel: 021 794 2390; fax: 7605), in the middle of a vineyard. Young French chef Franck Dangereux did not do us badly, despite inauthentic steak tartare and undercooked ostrich, but the star of his show was an admirably spicy tripes a. la tomate in best Provençal style. I found the recital of dishes in the absence of a written menu faintly irritating and probably enjoyed La Colombe least of my Cape venues.
Any sense of gastronomic bathos on board ship, sailing to St Helena, has been totally absent, thanks to the inspired menu composition and cooking of young Cornish chef Peter Teague, aboard RMS St Helena. Whether offering British (bloaters at breakfast, gingerbread and Madeira cake for tea), St Helenan (punchy curries and pilau) or international cuisine with a fine creative range (a variety of tropical fish, inventive starters, well-bought meat immac- ulately prepared), neither concept nor exe- cution has faltered to St Helena and beyond. As for the island itself, reports from two of the least accessible restaurants in the world, Ann's Place and Dot's, with its unique fishcakes, must wait till another day.
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