Whale Cottage Portfolio Blog

An extremely hot summer’s day, as well as a mouth feel urgently requiring crayfish, beckoned the writer to Salt restaurant in the Ambassador Hotel in Bantry Bay, which has been running a crayfish special at R 185 with its sister restaurant OYO in the V&A Hotel for a while now.   There was no cooler way to escape from the heat than lunch at Salt.

Parking is uncomplicated, either across the road from the hotel, or on its roof, and is complimentary if one eats at the hotel.   As the restaurant hostess sat at the computer, meaning that she had her back turned to the restaurant entrance, she did not see the customer arriving.  A yawning waitress attended to the guest but had to go to the hostess to decide which of the many tables could be allocated (only 5 tables in total were occupied)! The waiter Michael came to the rescue, and seated the customer at a table with a lovely cool breeze, and wonderful view onto the ocean.   Later on, the sliding doors were opened completely, and an even cooler breeze cooled one down.   The protective glass barrier can barely be seen, and it looks as if one is sitting at the edge of the door, making this restaurant one of the most spectacular in terms of its location, view and ocean smell.

Michael efficiently took the order for a glass of Colmant Tradition bubbly, at R 59, and agreed to organise that the ordered crayfish be served cold rather than hot.   Cold water was brought to the table regularly, and while the wait for the crayfish was long at 45 minutes, it was worth every minute.  Six small tails of crayfish were served with the most delicious jasmine rice (a bowl of chips was initially brought to the table in error, and one cannot imagine that the restaurant would serve chips with crayfish) and a salad (the only odd ingredient was mozarella cheese, which clashed with the crayfish), and a piquant mayonnaise, a little too strong.  It was the perfect Saturday afternoon lunch.

Other lunch options are salads (caesar salad at R 55); three pasta dishes ranging from R 70 - R 80; four seafood options (mussels R 70, squid R 95, fish and chips at R 115, and fish of the day R 120);  five meat dishes (including burger R 65, chicken schnitzel R 80, and rib-eye steak R 125); and desserts cost about R 55, the most expensive being a three-variation creme brulee at R 85.

The bill was brought to the table efficiently, and Michael was the perfect waiter - no small talk, efficiently answering questions and executing requests.  What is missing is the personal touch - no Manager appeared to be on duty, to check one’s satisfaction with the meal.  This is what differentiates a hotel restaurant from a stand-alone one.

The new chef at Salt restaurant at the Ambassador Hotel, Top 10 chef Jacques de Jager, who recently moved from Grande Provence in Franschhoek, has not yet made himself felt, in that the existing menu is still used.   His new dinner menu will be launched tomorrow evening.   According to Michael, the menu will be in the French cuisine style.

Salt restaurant, Ambassador Hotel, 34 Victoria Road, Bantry Bay. tel 021 439-7258,  http://www.newmarkhotels.com/newmark/salt 

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

The Sweet Service Award  goes to OYO restaurant in the V&A Hotel in the Waterfront, which invited a number of writers to a yummy crayfish lunch, to try out its crayfish special of R 185 for 500 grams (the same offer is available at Salt restaurant in the Ambassador Hotel).  The restaurant has bought a 7-ton pre-allocation of crayfish, giving it 14 000 crayfish tails.   The crayfish is served grilled or cold, depending on the diner’s choice.  It is served with a choice of three sauces: lemon butter, garlic, and peri-peri, and home-made mayonnaise.   The main course was preceded by a most beautifully decorated 5-oyster dish served on a bed of coarse salt, served in 5 styles: dukkah, Bloody Mary, tempura, verjuice and pickled.  The Boschendal Brut Rose’ was an excellent match to the seafood lunch.   The dessert was a beautifully presented cherry and champagne jelly and ice cream with a fine biscuit cup holding a finely chopped fruit salad and served with a Rooibos African Ruby Vermouth made by Klawer Cellars.   The Friday afternoon lunch was the perfect way to end off a busy week.   The OYO name comes from the shape of two plates and a cocktail glass in the middle, a waiter explained.   The service from the waitrons was very attentive.

The Sour Service Award goes to the Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa for wasting R 235 000 of taxpayers’ money when he stayed at one of Cape Town’s most expensive hotels, The Table Bay Hotel in the V & A Waterfront, for 17 days, while his parliamentary residence was being renovated.  His accommodation included stints in the Presidential Suite when the hotel was allegedly fully booked on some nights, as well as accommodation for 5 bodyguards and 2 officials.  The Minister denied that he had made the hotel arrangements, blaming  “officials in his office”, according to a report in the Cape Times.   He also claimed to not know the high prices charged by the hotel.   A week later The Sunday Independent reported that the same Minister spent R 578 499 at the Hilton Hotel in Durban.   He justified this expenditure as accommodation for a crime prevention roadshow!

The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog.  Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com.   Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.

The Cape Town restaurant scene has been buzzing this month, with a number of new restaurants opening, and an e-mail exchange creating the biggest restaurant stir ever experienced in the city.

The opening of the Cape Quarter extension on Somerset Road in De Waterkant has seen two restaurants open in the centre to date: Cru Cafe, a restaurant which has created “its own terroir” in the centre, says director Elsie Pells, in serving a selection of 150 wines hand-picked by Pells, a Cape Wine Master.   Voila, an all day breakfast and light meal restaurant, owned by the owners of Wakame, is a friendly addition, with cakes, muffins, croissants, fudge, toffee apples and many more treats prepared on site.   A clever touch is that glass domes presenting the treats are placed upon stacks of cookery books!  Downstairs, at the entrance, is an Andiamo Espresso, which is a sister coffee shop to the one in the original Cape Quarter, but on a very much reduced scale, only selling coffee, ice creams, juices, sandwiches and muffins.  It belongs to the same owners as the amazing Spar Gourmet Food Store at the entrance to the center.   Vanilla will open at the end of the month, and is owned by father and son duo Nigel and Simon Newhouse from Tuscany Beach in Camps Bay.   It will be the lead restaurant in this centre, with 180 diners catered for on two levels.   The chef  Evan Coosner worked at Reuben’s  and Ginja previously.   Kuzina - Greekooking, LAZARI, and BICCCS (Bread, Ice Cream, Cakes, Coffee, Croissants, Sandwiches) are restaurants still set to open in the centre.    To celebrate its opening, the Cape Quarter has organised a Food & Brandy Festival on 13 and 14 November, with Giggling Gourmet Jenny Morris, in conjunction with the Alchemy of Gold (Klipdrift, Flight of the Fish Eagle, Oude Meester, Nederburg, Uitkyk and Van Ryn’s brandies), talking and preparing food all day long.

The talk and tweet of the town has been an e-mail exchange between Cormac Keane, owner of new restaurant Portofino, and a client, who cancelled a 5 pm dinner reservation one hour before time of arrival.  Keane expressed his frustration to the client in no uncertain terms and with true Irish directness.  The client was not happy with the replies he received from Portofino, and made contact with some websites that had written favourable reviews of the restaurant, including WhaleTales.    He also sent it to a hip website called 2oceansvibe, which decided to post the e-mail exchange on its blog, leading to an outburst of mainly critical and at times extremely crass and defamatory attacks against Keane.  On the other hand, many readers of the exchange admired Keane for standing up to an inconsiderate customer, and lauded him for his bold and direct stand. The end result:  the customer has gone into hiding, and has requested that his name be deleted from the exchange on the 2oceansvibe website.  For Portofino, it has meant a fully booked restaurant ever since the e-mail exchange was circulated around the city, reinforcing that there is no such thing as bad publicity!   The WhaleTales’ review of Portofino, which was written shortly after Portofino opened, was offered as a link in some of the website comments, and the review attracted more than 2000 readers in the past week, a record readership.   A vindictive customer tried to show up what he felt was a rude restaurateur, and got more than he bargained for.  Instead of spreading the word to prevent others from going to Portofino, he has done the restaurant the best possible favour by creating wide-spread exposure for it, a bonus for a restaurant which only opened 6 weeks ago, and now has become the best known restaurant in town!   Portofino is not the first restaurant to have told a customer to not return: Le Quartier Francais, Carne, Beluga and Sevruga are known to have done so too!    Carne and Le Quartier Francais are finalists for the Prudential Eat Out Top 10 restaurant awards, and it begs the question whether such poor restaurant customer care should make them eligible for such a sought-after award.  

Another restaurant that is on the Eat Out Top 10 restaurant shortlist is The Roundhouse in Camps Bay, which has demonstrated its arrogance almost since its inception, stating at the outset that its goal is to become the best restaurant in Africa.  A response of the owner Fasie Malherbe to a customer comment on the Eat Out website is a scary reflection of what one might encounter at this ‘Big Brother’ restaurant: “every guest that has ever walked through our door and dined with us is on record to the extent that I will outline your exact time of arrival, what you ate, what you drank as aperitif’s, digestif’s wine that was served to you, the guests comments made on each dish, positive or negative feedback, special dietry (sic) requirements, the guest interaction between staff is noted, what car you drove, whether you smoked or not, how many times you went to the restroom and any other details that we could use to ensure that when you return that we may ensure consistency in offering or if you have complaints as we have here that we have all our ducks in a row and can learn from the ordeal”!

Bruce Robertson, the previous owner of The Showroom, which is where Portofino is now located, has confirmed that the Franschhoek restaurant that he is consulting on is that of La Motte, which is due to open in May.   The wine estate has just opened its new tasting room.   Robertson is also working with Warwick wine estate outside Stellenbosch on their gourmet picnic offering, which will be available from 1 December.  Robertson is also a gourmet food tour guide now, and he led the editor and 8 readers of USA foodie magazine Bon Appetit around the culinary delights of the Cape, including Reuben preparing a meal at Boekenhoutskloof in Franschhoek; a winepairing dinner at Grand Roche with Cederberg Wines; a malas tasting at Paul Cluver matched to organic farm foods; a seafood braai paired with Hamilton-Russell wines at Birkenhead in Hermanus, with the Southern Right whales frolicking in the ocean as a backdrop; and an interactive Cape Malay cooking demonstration with Cass Abrahams and paired with L’Omarins wines. 

OYO, the restaurant in the V&A Hotel in the Waterfront, is offering a crayfish special at R 185 for 500 grams.  A choice of hot or cold crayfish is offered.  Sister restaurant SALT at the Ambassador Hotel in Bantry Bay is also offering this special.

Alle’e Bleue wine estate has opened its beautiful top class winetasting room, and has a new outside courtyard restaurant seating about 80 linked to it, serving only five options:   Flammkuchen, Bobotie, a cheese platter, a chicken/spinach salad and a mixed grill.

Delaire Graff has made three changes after only being open for four months:  its prices have increased, its staff have changed, losing their exceptional Maitre’d, and their menu has changed.   Read a report on the latest visit here.

New Italian restaurant Alla Posta is to open at 51 Kloof Street shortly.  It will not only offer Italian delicacies, but also Italian furniture, decor and books, and show Italian movies.

Two new restaurants are set to open in Franschhoek soon, both owned by one of Franschhoek’s largest retail and hospitality landowners Robert Maingard.   In the old station building once hosting the Tourism Bureau, a sports bar is set to open, while a creperie should have opened a few months ago already close to the Huguenot Fine Chocolate shop.   A Franschhoek branch of Gelato Mania, which already exists on Somerset Road, in Green Point, opened recently and is tucked away alongside Col’Cacchio.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio www.whalecottage.com

An ad for the “Klassische Kaproute”, appearing in the latest edition of Suedafrika magazine, proudly displays the Winchester Mansions in Sea Point, the Devon Valley Hotel in Stellenbosch, the Belvidere Manor in Knysna, and the Lalibela Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape, inviting guests to “erfahren Sie die atemberaubende Schoenheit des Kaplandes!” (experience the awesome beauty of the Cape!).

However, Lalibela is not in the Western Cape, which is traditionally referred to as “The Cape”, making this ad misleading. Prior to the political change in 1994, the Eastern and Western Cape were one province, called the Cape Province officially and The Cape colloquially.

The Winchester Mansions Hotel page in the brochure on the website of the Cape Clasical Route pushes the boundary of believability when it claims to be “Cape Town’s leading Beachfront boutique hotel - situated on the Atlantic Seaboard”. The hotel has four stars, and fellow Atlantic Seaboard hotels The Ambassador, the V&A Hotel, The Twelve Apostles, the Table Bay, the Cape Grace, the Radisson, The Peninsula and the Bay Hotel could equally make such a claim as far as location goes.  However, only the Bay Hotel in Camps Bay is at the beach, while the Winchester Mansions is not.   Furthermore, the hotel can hardly be described as “boutique”, a much abused term in accommodation marketing. Nils Heckscher, ex-FEDHASA Chairman and ex-Cape Town Routes Unlimited director, is the GM of the Winchester Mansions Hotel.