Whale Cottage Portfolio Blog

Since the opening of the One&Only Cape Town last week, Capetonians are coming to check out the hotel, and are having dinner at its two branded restaurants, Nobu and maze.

maze is a Gordon Ramsay restaurant, the first to merge maze Tapas and maze Grills, which are separated elsewhere in the maze world.    Sol Kerzner, the One&Only owner, encouraged Ramsay to add a South African touch to the menu.   The touch is most visible in the dessert menu.

But, to get to the beginning.   We had dinner five days after the opening day.  We were greeted with confusion as to what we should do with the car.  Mistakenly we had assumed we could just drive in at the low key entrance (at night), and a lit up One&Only sign was the only branding one saw upon entering the grounds, surprising for one of the world’s leading hotel operations.   The car problem was quickly solved, when it was valet parked, organised by a most impressive looking and charming doorman, wearing a waistcoat with leopard print over his smart black suit - it looked superb.   Unfortunately this dress theme was not carried through once one steps inside the foyer.  One’s first impression is the stunning chandelier in the Vista Bar.  The Bar has a magnificent view onto Table Mountain in the day, but it is not visible at night.   Staff were on hand, proactively assisting in providing directions for the two restaurants, to the left and right of the bar.

As one comes down the staircase to maze, a manager comes to greet his guests with the reservations list, and one is quickly seated.   The menu is cream-coloured, and its cover understated, with the zen-like maze logo on the outside.   The menu pages number three in total, with a surprising small selection of starters, mains and desserts.   The pleasant surprise was the affordability of the dishes - not inexpensive, but on a par with the more expensive restaurants in Cape Town:  R 160 for a 250 gram South African or Namibian fillet,  R 750 for a 200 gram Australian fillet, Karoo lamb at R 130, kingklip at R 90, and dessert prices range from R 60 - R 90.   All side dishes for the main course are charged extra, at R 25 - at that price, the portion sizes are small.   Interesting is that a side order of bobotie can be ordered with one’s steak or fish.   In addition to chips, one can have side orders of sherry mushrooms, mash, braised carrots, french beans, etc.    We learnt that the signature dish of maze is the beetroot salad.

Staff in the hotel wear uniforms designed by local fashion designer Jenni Button.   A strong turquoise blue is used throughout - in the waistcoats of the bar staff, the ties of the male managers, in the scarves/sashes of the female managers.   The less blue the staff member wears in the uniform, the more senior he/she is.

The restaurant interior is very brown, earthy, chocolatey and darkish, with dark woods, and oval-shaped orange lights.  With only a little tea light on the table, it was very hard to read the menu.   Special clip-on reading lights are available, but this was not communicated in advance.   Turquoise is not reflected in the decor at all.   The restaurant carpet had massive geometric blocks on it - garish, hotel-like, but fortunately one’s attention is not on the floor.   Tables for two are on the side, with one person sitting on a fixed bench, not well matched to the height of the table, making this an uncomfortable seat.    The cutlery is beautiful and new, and no table cloths or overlays decorate the tables.    The use of slate as coasters and underplates is unusual but practical.

The winelist is impressive, with 35 pages of varietals of 150 international and  450 local wines, and more than hundred wines-by-the-glass.   Irritating for a winedrinker preferring wines by variety, is the winelist that is arranged by Wine of Origin region.   So, for example, one has to check every region to find a preferred Shiraz.  Complicating this further is the Wine of Origin grouping, so that  Boekenhoutskloof will be found under Paarl, and Franschhoek does not appear at all.   The prices are reasonable - R 590 for the Boekenhoutskloof Shiraz 2006, Meerlust Rubicon is available per vintage, ranging in price from R 560 for the 2004 to R 1 850 for the 1993.

If one compares the service from the superb One&Only sommelier Steven Towler with the waiters at maze, the former wins hands-down.  His personal approach,  extensive knowledge, and ability to assist in selecting a suitable wine could not be matched by his maze counterparts.   The recommendation of a Rijk’s 2004 Shiraz, which had been enjoyed by Nelson Mandela and Sol Kerzner at their lunch in the hotel last week, was spot on, and was priced at a reasonable R 320.   After the main course, a special invitation was extended to show the customers the Wine Loft, with 6 000 beautifully displayed bottles of wine on silver racks in a glass-enclosed space, with its own tasting table, and wines cooled at 18 C.   The cherry on top was the complimentary Joostenberg Chenin Blanc sent to the table with the desserts. 

On the maze side, things were a little slow.   The crayfish starter, priced at R 65 per 100 gram, was beautifully presented on ice, with the meat displayed on the open tail.   It took an hour after the starter was cleared (2 hours after arrival) to be served the main course of a steak and kingklip.   The kingklip was very bland and boring, and served with the skin side up, not very attractive.  It had bones, which was an immediate no-no.   The steak was juicy and good, but served on a Spur-style wooden board that captures the juices.   The main course certainly was a disappointment, in terms of the reasonably small portions, and the bland display of the food, by comparison to the attractive presentation of the starters and desserts.

The dessert list is interesting, with unusual combinations, and almost overdone-South African touches (”melktert, pink grapefruit granite, lemon curd” and ”malva pudding with poached apricots, gingerbread ice cream”).   The most interesting sounding dessert was the “maze peanut butter and cherry jam sandwich with cherry sorbet”.   A delectable range of sorbets (including lime, cream cheese, basil) and ice creams (including gingerbread, honey and milk, smoked salt and almond) can also be ordered, costing only R 15 for three small scoops.   The melktert dessert was disappointing, in that the milk part of it was soft and runny, and not set, as one is accustomed to in South Africa.  Ramsay’s chefs will have to learn how to make their South African dishes.  

The maze waiters are supported by local waiters, and the gap between the service levels is understandable, and will need more training to reduce.   It was encouraging to learn that former Grand Roche sommelier, and ex-Steenberg and Singita staffer Kent Scheermeyer is the Food & Beverage Director of One&Only Cape Town.

The food preparation is largely done inside the restaurant, and electric equipment is used, sounding just like a vacuum cleaner, disturbing the ambiance of the restaurant.

The bill took a long time to come, and had a price error for the crayfish, it being charged at R 500 instead of at the R 130 for the 200 gram ordered.    It took two revisions to get the bill fixed to reflect the correct amount.

The cloakrooms are bizarre, with a glass panel on one wall, and blown-up photographs of a woman’s fishnet stockinged legs, plastered on all the toilet doors.   Bins holding the toweling cloths overflowed and only two of the nine toilets had toilet paper.

maze will improve, and needs to meet the standard of the One&Only Cape Town service levels as far as the wine side of the hotel goes.    Impressive was Assistant Manager Phillip, who came to the table, to request feedback about the evening.

The car was returned promptly, and ten out of ten for the driver for moving the seat back to its original position before getting out of the car.

Sol Kerzner, celebrating his 40 th anniversary of hospitality with the opening of his new One&Only Cape Town last week, told students of the University of Johannesburg that excellent service is one of the most important ways in which hospitality establishments can combat the credit crunch, reports Business Day.   He also recommended patience, in weathering the financial crisis.

Kerzner started his career in South Africa in 1969, and made his mark when he developed Sun City and the Palace of the Lost City in the Eighties.   He left the country when potential legal action was threatened in relation to casino hotels he set up in the then independent “homelands”.    He attracted attention when he opened the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas, setting himself up as one of the world’s most successful hotel and casino operators.   He created the One&Only brand, standing for so-called “6 star” service, with hotels in Mauritius, Dubai, Maldives, Mexico, the Bahamas, and now also in Cape Town.

Stating that he made the decision to erect a One&Only in Cape Town in 2003, he speculated that he may not have gone ahead had he known that the world would be in a credit crunch at the time of his hotel’s opening,   “….if I’d known that we’d be 10 to 15 percentage points down on occupancy.”   Some of the One&Only projects have been put on hold due to the world economic crisis, but the Cape Town and Mexico hotel projects went ahead.

Kerzner stated that it was vital that international service standards be maintained at South African hotels.    Therefore well-trained hotel staff is vital for the hospitality industry, as the best planned and best designed hotels can only be as good as the staff that run them, he said.

Many of Kerzner’s staff have been attracted from other leading hotels in Cape Town, including The Table Bay, the Cape Grace, the Mount Nelson, the Grand Roche, and Steenberg Hotel.

The One&Only Cape Town will be launched today, a day ahead of its official opening, with a star-studded cast of VIP’s, but at a ”relatively low key” function of only 400 invited guests, compared to the $20 million owner Sol Kerzner splashed out for the re-opening of his One&Only in Dubai.

Sharon Stone,  Thandie Newton, Robert de Niro and Naomi Campbell head the star-studded VIP list, reports The Times.   Guests at the cocktail-like launch party will be spoiled with a “moveable feast” between Gordon Ramsay’s maze and Nobu Matsuhisa’s Nobu restaurants.    Both chefs have adapted their menus to add South African dishes.    The Banquet Room will be turned into a disco, with international stars, as yet unannounced, performing.

Rates at the One&Only Cape Town in the V&A Waterfront, with 131 rooms, will range between R 6 000 - R 50 000 per night.   Staff uniforms have been designed by local designer Jenni Button, and are made from pure silk.

Sol Kerzner, owner of the luxury hotel group One&Only,  is turning on his PR campaign to publicise the opening of his newest hotel in the Waterfront in April.

On Thursday evening Kerzner had 40 guests over for dinner, at his Leeukoppie Estate in Hout Bay, to give leaders in tourism, fashion and media a taste of the new restaurants that are set to open in the new One&Only.    maze and Nobu, two top international restaurants, owned by Gordon Ramsay and Nobu Matsuhisa, respectively, will be two major attractions in the hotel.   The guests were also introduced to the New York-based interior designer Adam Tihany.

In an article about the networking dinner in The TImes, the writer states Kerzner’s home could do with some of Tihany’s decor, the African curios being described by a guest as “bad, bad Greenmarket Square”.

 The opening function will not match that of the recent spectacular One&Only opening in Dubai, the newspaper reports.

Sol Kerzner’s One&Only in the Waterfront is set to open on 4 April, the construction work to be completed in an unheard of four months ahead of schedule.

The new Gordon Ramsay restaurant Maze will also open that day, reports TravelHub.  The restaurant has 170 seats and the menu will include seafood, game and organic foods.   More than 6 000 South African wines will be available to patrons.

Camps Bay became the temporary home and eating place to a number of celebrity visitors to Cape Town over the festive season, reports The Times.

The Grand Cafe was the dinner venue for John Cleese (of Monty Python and Fawlty Towers fame), Adrian Brophy (Oscar winning actor), Sir Ian McKellen (Lord of the Rings), Sir Richard Branson, and Queen drummer Roger Taylor.  Cleese left a card behind which praised the restaurant’s “wonderful lobster and CHEAP”!

Sir Richard Branson also entertained 13 ladies at Blues, and 30 guests at Paranga for New Year’s eve lunch.   He rented a six-bedroom house in Camps Bay, as did the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, and her two daughters, the Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.  

Felicia Mabuza-Suttle, former SA TV talk-show queen and ex-South African Tourism representative in the USA, partied with her daughters in Camps Bay, before seeing in the New Year at Sol Kerzner’s estate in Hout Bay, a party attended by Sarah Ferguson and her princess daughters as well.

Sir Elton John and Jamie Oliver were spotted in Cape Town over this period as well.

Sol Kerzner, owner of the One&Only hotel group, which is opening a new hotel in the Waterfront in May, and was the visionary creator of Sun City and the Palace of the Lost City, celebrated the new year with 300 friends and family at his Leeukoppie Estate in Hout Bay on New Year’s Eve.

While Kerzner lives in the UK now, he chose sunny Cape Town to entertain VIP guests including John Cleese, spotted at The Grand Cafe in Camps Bay the week before, Sir Richard Branson, and Sarah, Duchess of York and her two daughters, the Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, reports The Times (renamed from the Sunday Times).

The newspaper reports that “showgirls” served the Moet & Chandon, while guests dined on Beluga caviar, oysters, crayfish, braaied chops and chicken, and pancakes.  The crowning glory was a “magnificent” fireworks display at midnight.

Sol Kerzner’s One&Only Cape Town is scheduled to open in the V & A Waterfront in May next year, reports Luxury Travel.  

The hotel will have 131 rooms, of which 40 will be located on a specially created island in the Waterfront.   The other special island will host the eleven-room Spa and pool, and will be linked to the hotel by means of bridges.    Other facilities will include the One&Only Fitness Centre; Nobu, Island Terrace and Plate restaurants; the Wine Loft with more than a hundred wines by the glass; and a KidsOnly Club.

Sol Kerzner, who became a renowned hotelier and casino operator when he established Sun City and The Palace of the Lost City outside Johannesburg more than 25 years ago, says of his newest project: “One&Only Cape Town will become a significant landmark in Africa with its bold, contemporary design promising to make it one of the world’s leading luxury resort destinations.  I am looking forward to once again contributing to South Africa’s tourism industry, which has seen an incredible growth in recent years.   I am very pleased to open a spectacular resort with a fresh and exciting new concept in my home country in what I’ve always believed to be one of the greatest sites in Cape Town.   Opening in plenty of time for the 2010 World Cup, the resort will appeal to the international traveller and play a key role in the local community”.

Kerzner’s One&Only hotels are located in Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Bahamas and Dubai.    He opened his latest Atlantis Palm Jumeirah One&Only in Dubai two days ago, with a $20 million opening extravaganza, including the world’s largest fireworks display and a performance by Kylie Minogue.   VIP guests at the opening included Robert de Niro, Charlize Theron, Wesley Snipes, Janet Jackson, Mischa Barton, Yasmin le Bon, Denzil Washington and Shirley Bassey, signalling the scale at which the One&Only Cape Town could be opening next year.