I was invited by Chef Jan Kruger of The Café Racer to visit his restaurant in Somerset West, and try some of his newest burger creations. I had no idea that the restaurant would be dedicated to motorcycles, the passion of Chef Jan, in addition to his passion for cooking.

As it was my sister’s birthday and I do not get to Somerset West very often, I asked whether my sister could join me. My sister’s school friend Gudrun Clark joined us in the last minute, so it turned out to be a celebratory birthday lunch.  I ran late due to a dreadful traffic blockage near the airport, so called the restaurant from the car, and asked Mika if she could offer my sister and her friend some bubbly already. She told me that they do not serve sparkling wine, but that Chef Jan would go to the bottle store next door, and buy a bottle of bubbly. The Boschendal Brut Rosé was on ice when I arrived, and Chef Jan poured it for us. 

From the minute one steps into The Café Racer one sees motorcycles, to the right of the staircase as one enters, on the wall art relating to motorcycles, and on the walls throughout the three rooms of the restaurant, one room with tables and chairs, another with the bar offering mainly craft beers, and a third room with the coffee bar. A terrace attracted Chef Jan’s interest when he considered the building on the Main Road in Somerset West, with its lovely view onto three mountain ranges. 

The upstairs space also houses a tattoo artist and a boxing gym at the back, in addition to the restaurant as one enters. 

A rebuilt antique 1903 model Indian Machine motorcycle, a predecessor to the Harley Davidson, stood near our table, and had a beautiful sleek design. Every wall is covered with motorcycle pictures, gloves, and other motorcycling paraphenalia. 

Chef Jan explained the Cafë Racer concept to me, as follows: ‘So the term “Cafe Racer” basically translates to “customized bike” – “bike with modifications” – “unique bike”. The movement started in Britain after the Second World War. The boys that came back home after the war obviously had a lot of training (mechanically) and needed a way to release their need for adrenaline – they would modify mid-size-engines to gain insane levels of performance out of them and then race one another on public roads. So in Britain you had the Cafe Racer-movement and in America they started the Hot Rod-movement. The ultimate accolade would be for your bike to reach “The TON” – a slang term for your modified motorcycle to reach 100mph. The movement died down in the late 60’s when Britain fought its way out of financial depression and then in the late 90’s it came back with huge popularity. Today, Cafe Racers are more focused on “the look”-modification instead of being performance-based. Cafe Racers are beautiful and shows off a true reflection of the owner’s vision‘.

Chef Jan chose The Beehive building as the venue for his restaurant. At first he was put off by its dilapidated state, but on his third visit he saw the potential of its New Orleans-style balcony, and bringing life back to this older part of Somerset West. To make its mark, the restaurant needed a strong theme, and this led to him marrying his two passions: cheffing and biking. Chef Jan told me that they are different, but surprisingly attract few bikers. Patrons supporting the restaurant come to find out more about about Café racers. The bikes on display, the craft beer, and Chef Jan’s innovative burgers attract customers. Staff are encouraged to express their personality, and our waitress Mika fitted this bill perfectly. The Service approach is casual yet professional.  

Mika gave us each an A3 menu, printed double-sided, filled with lists of burgers. Chef Jan has a great sense of humour, and played with words to add a touch of fun to the names of the dishes. Each burger has a motorcycling connection. It was hard to choose what to order with so many choices, but I was clear that I wanted a shrimp cocktail, one of very few non-burger items on the extensive menu.  It was topped with two slices of avocado, and was drenched in Marie Rose sauce, and contained a generous offering of shrimps. 

Bettina and Gudrun chose a burger each. Gudrun’ choice was called Brüger la Mignon, and was a new addition to the menu, with a beef patty (which had beef brisket included in the patty, Chef Jan informed, to add more flavour), roasted marrow bone, potato rösti, and a Bordelaise reduction, served with moreish chips (R120). It was an impressive looking burger stack. 

 My sister chose an unusual salmon and potato burger, called Hanger Lane, served with wild rocket, fresh tomato, shrimp cocktail, and caper seed aioli, and loved the Tempura broccoli served with it (R120). 

 

For dessert Chef Jan insisted on introducing us to his mega Zepher special, described as a ‘garage-style Sundae with Jack Daniels, jelly’, and packed to the brim with tiny and standard size marshmallows, and licorice all sorts, with a vanilla milkshake, 

which we shared amongst the three of us (R60).  He also introduced us to his newest dessert, Mad Mods, being chocolate brownies served with basil ice cream (R45). 

Chef Jan explained the names of some of his Burgers as follows: 

‘All the dish names have personal or some type of meaning in one way or another… Below I will name a few that on the current menu:

Triton
Smoked Pork patty with creamed portabellini mushrooms, roquefort and honey marinated red onion
This is named after a famous type of Cafe Racer. A Triumph Bonneville engine built into a Norton frame – hence the name TRITON

Hanger Lane
Smoked Salmon patty with wild rocket, fresh tomato, shrimp cocktail and caper seed aïoli
This is named after a famous road in Cafe Racer-culture. Cafe Racer enthusiasts would race around a makeshift track on public roads around London and Hanger Lane was notorious for a place where accidents are likely to happen

Wheeler HD
Beef Brisket patty, cream cheese, bacon, mac ‘n cheese & sundried tomato oil
Named after ALEX WHEELER… He and his team from Apocalypse built 60 motorcycles for the Harley and the Davidsons – series on Discovery Channel. Once aired internationally in October 2016, he donated the 1903 Indian that was one of the bikes used in the production whilst filming in Romania (the motorbike you took a picture of)

Mikachu

Beef Brisket patty with grilled pineapple, bacon, sliced banana and condensed milk
Named after waitress Mika. I don’t truly get on with many people, but I have a lot of time for her and hold her in high admiration for the unique person she is.

Fat FΩ#k Freckles

Beef Brisket patty with jalapeño, back bacon, hummus, chilli aïoli, fried egg and gouda
So the one day an ex-girlfriend of mine came to the restaurant with her new boyfriend. The guy was a ginger, big and rather fat, with plenty of freckles. He ordered the Isle of Man burger and added extra bacon and egg to it – that pissed me off for obvious reasons. So when it came to a new menu, I designed one especially for him and named it rather appropriately, I think… Interestingly enough; they didn’t date for very long, but he became a regular client and without knowing why the burger was named that; it became the dish he ordered every time he dined here’.

Chef Jan and I had first met when he worked at Chabivin Champagne and MCC House in Blaauwklippen Road in Stellenbosch four years ago. His sauces impressed greatly.

Sage Restaurant sauces sparkle at Chabivin Champagne and MCC House!

Chef Jan was extremely generous in not wanting to accept payment for any of our dishes. Chef Jan himself rides a Honda Shadow 1100. Chef Jan told us that he has designed the menu to challenge his clients to get out of their comfort zone, and he has succeeded in this.

The Café Racer, upstairs, 159 Main Road, Somerset West. Tel (021) 821-8118 Facebook. Instagram: @TheCafeRacer.sw

Chris von Ulmenstein, WhaleTales Blog: www.chrisvonulmenstein.com/blog Tel 082 55 11 323 Twitter: @Ulmenstein Facebook: click here Instagram: @Chris_Ulmenstein