For my last World Cup viewing I chose The Twankey Bar at the Taj Hotel in Cape Town, a bar I had wanted to visit on a previous occasion, but which was closed for stocktake on that day (the Germany versus England match). Last night it was the 3rd and 4th play-off between Germany and Uruguay, and the five Germans at The Twankey Bar were delighted with their team’s 3-2 win.
I did not know that the Widow Twankey is a well-known character in Alladin. According to Wikipedia, she is a “pantomime dame portrayed as a man” (read more here). The Widow Twankey figurine is a feature outside on the erstwhile Board of Executors building in which The Twankey Bar is housed, and gave the bar its name.
The Twankey Bar has a swanky feel, as you step into it from the corner of Adderley and Wale Streets, in a venue separated from the Taj Hotel. It has beautiful wooden floors, marble table and bar tops, red leather tub chairs (uncomfortably high and very sharp arm rests), bar chairs and some of the other tub chairs are in silver leather, a silver painted pressed steel ceiling, beautiful art deco lamps, and silk-like curtains in a deep red and silver. The silver and red theme is not carried through in the staff uniforms, which are a creme shirt, black cap and black pants, odd given the colourful uniforms the staff wear in Mint and Bombay Brasserie inside the Hotel. A lone black and white photograph of a boat decorates one wall, and echoes the “seafood” theme, probably picked up from the anchor in the Twankey statuette. I would have liked a little more light, especially to read the bill.
We were given the choice of rugby or soccer, as the initial guests in the Bar were not watching any sport. When they left, soccer won, and the volume was turned up. Nothing in The Twankey Bar reflected the world’s largest sport event taking place in the country. With five of us in the Bar during the match, we certainly made the “gees”, but there were not enough customers on the rainy and cold Cape Town night to give it the spirit. But when your team wins, you don’t need other people’s “gees”! It was an exciting match, and kept one holding thumbs and begging Paul the Octopus to make his prediction of a win for Germany come true, his seventh correct prediction!
The menu is a simple yet elegantly designed one, laminated, and I was encouraged by the Manager Leslie Heaven to take it home with me so that I did not have to write it all down. The menu states “Seafood * Champagne * Guinness * Oysters” on the front, and this gives one a feel of its focus immediately. The manager told me it is an Irish pub, due to the Guinness served. The Seafood focus is odd for a pub, but it is only Calamari (R55), Tempura Prawns (R85), and the Tuna Tatiki (R85) that meet this description. On the table were heavily spiced cashew nuts, wasabi peanuts and chilli poppers, encouraging one to drink more beer to get over the spiciness. On the reverse side it refers to its “Tapas Menu”.
Our food and beer were brought quickly after placing the order, with new-looking quality cutlery and very small material serviettes. The Guacamole and spicy tortilla dish (R50) was massive – despite having asked for the least spicy tortillas, they were still pretty hot, and the manager organised some toast instead. The guacamole was spicy too, with a strong taste of onion. I am used to guacamole being smooth – The Twankey Bar’s was chunky. The Quail spring rolls were served with chilli plum sauce, and were an expensive choice at R 65 for four small rolls, but were enjoyable. I liked the Karoo Lamb Samoosas, four small ones costing R 55, not having any spices in them. The serving of four large prawns came with a very diluted soy sauce, but I was brought the real thing when I requested it. Oysters cost R90 for six. Other “Small plates” one can order are Chicken Tikka Wrap served with mint chutney (R55), Tequila Salmon Gravlax (R75) and Jalapeno Poppers (R45). What I liked was that as far as pub food goes, this was the most creative menu of all the pubs I visited during my World Cup journey. What I disliked was the spiciness of almost all the dishes, limiting my choice.
The Menu is dominated by the drinks on offer; including ten Cocktails all costing R40; four non-alcoholic ones (R30 each); two draught beers (Guinness at R 29 and Jack Black at R 20); and bottled beer – Heineken, Peroni and Windhoek are very reasonably priced at R 20, while the Brewers Union Unfiltered, Dark and Stepheiss (sic) all are charged at R 40, the same price at which it is sold at &Union up the road. One can order Moet et Chandon at a precious R 225 per glass, or at R 900 per bottle, and even splurge on a bottle of Dom Perignon Brut Rose at R 8000! Seven of the thirteen Methode Cap Classique wines offered can be ordered by the glass, and seem expensive – Pierre Jourdan Cuvee Brut and the Simonsig Kaapse Vonkel are the cheapest at R 50 per glass, while the Teddy Hall Blanc de Blanc costs R 100 per glass. I was proud to see Melissa Nelsen’s Genevieve Blanc de Blanc listed – what a prestige for the new sparkling wine producer who only launched her brand earlier this year! A small selection of red and white wines is offered, by the glass and per bottle, and commendably the vintages are specified. The prices seemed more reasonable here – for example the 2007 Villiera Merlot costs R 35 by the glass, and the Warwick First Lady Red Blend 2008 costs R40.
I was grateful when the Manager took over looking after our table when our waitress seemed more interested in chatting to her colleague and watching the soccer. She was asked to bring the prawn tempura dish to the table in the halftime, but this did not happen and had to be requested. While the World Cup is history after tonight, it surprised me that, generally speaking, bar staff do not seem to understand that one would like to hear the commentator during a match – a problem I picked up at Harvey’s Bar and Salt Vodka Bar too. It irritated me that they kept coming to ask something and even blocked the TV screen during what was a most exciting match. At one stage we had to ask them to stop the icemaking machine because it made such a noise. It was one of few pubs (also Salt Vodka Bar, and Pure at Hout Bay Manor) in which I saw a manager, and whilst he could have been more assertive with his staff about the disturbances, he was good at reading customer irritations, coming to check with us, and acting upon feedback immediately.
The Twankey Bar is not a food destination in itself, but would be the start or end to a special evening in town. Recently it was decided that The Twankey Bar should stay open until 23h00, as guests were popping in for a late snack. The food is expensive and spiciness dominates, but the drinks are more reasonably priced.
The Twankey Bar, Taj Hotel, corner Wale and Adderley Streets, Cape Town. Tel (021) 819-2000. www.tajhotels.com (The website exaggerates, in my opinion, when it describes The Twankey Bar as a “seafood restaurant”. It also claims to have “sublime jazz”, but we did not experience any music). Open from 11h00 – 23h00, Mondays – Saturdays.
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com
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Pub Review: Watching the World Cup at The Twankey Bar…
I found your entry interesting do I’ve added a Trackback to it on my weblog :)…
Hi Chris
Thanks for the mention of Genevieve MCC!
Regards
Melissa
Dear Chris,
Thank you for taking the time to share feedback on your blog with regards to your recent visit to the Twankey Seafood, Champagne and Oyster Bar at the Taj Cape Town. Having been open for less than 6 months, we welcome any and all constructive criticism in our endeavour to improve the service and overall quality of the experience that a guest may enjoy at the Taj Cape Town.
I am particularly grateful for your very kind comments with regards to the decor and design of the Twankey, as well as acknowledging the wonderful story behind the naming of our Seafood, Guinness, Champagne and Oyster Bar. It was most definitely our intention to make the name of our Bar relevant to the local Cape Town market and the feedback we have continued to get from our customers has been very positive indeed. For a full explanation of the Origins of the Twankey, please go to http://www.tajcapetown.co.za as the actual name was a nickname given to the statue by Capetonians themselves. As a brand, Taj is world renowned for history, heritage and authenticity, so the Twankey certainly contributes to this in a significant manner.
The interior design was completed by internationally acclaimed David Edwards, of John Parks and Associates who are based in Singapore, and there is no doubt that he has hit the mark just right at the Twankey. I would invite followers of your blog to visit our Press Review pages at http://www.tajcapetown.co.za/blog/press-coverage/ to read what several renowned interior designers, recognised restaurant critics and bloggers have written since Twankey opened its doors a few months ago.
While I take your point with regards to displaying World Cup material in the bar, we felt that this would take away from the elegant ambience of the Twankey and would not be consistent with the positioning of this outlet. Our exterior signage, just outside those beautiful wooden doors you referred to, did communicate to our passing customers that the Twankey was showing live sport and in particular, the all the World Cup games (except when we are closed). We did however make a decision to preserve the integrity of this beautiful space.
In saying that, I am very grateful for your comment that the Twankey offered, “…the most creative menu of all the pubs I visited during my World Cup journey.â€
This is a wonderful sentiment to share with your blog followers and we are very grateful.
I would also like to add that Lesley, our Manager looking after Twankey, truly appreciated your comments as to how he managed some of the service irritations experienced during your visit to the Twankey.
We are also delighted with the very positive comments relating to our selection of wines as this has also been a key part of our strategy. Our intention was to identify some of the less well known, but equally superb South African wine finds! Again, thank you for acknowledging this.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to respond to as many of the points that you have raised on your blog…….
1. “Twankey closed for stock takeâ€
Response: The Twankey Bar is closed on Sundays, which is when the match between Germany and England was played. The operating times for all our outlets is communicated in all our sales collateral as well as on our website. Additional training has been provided to our staff to this effect but I do apologise that you were inconvenienced on this occasion.
2. Twankey being an “Irish pubâ€
RESPONSE: As communicated in all our sales and marketing collateral, the Twankey is a Seafood, Champagne and Oyster Bar. With our joint venture partners for the Taj Cape Town being Irish, as well as the fact that Guinness is considered one of the most appropriate beverages to enjoy with oysters, one can understand the association with the Irish and their legendary pubs! We are both delighted and proud of this association!
3. The heavily spiced nuts and snacks
RESPONSE: All customers visiting the Twankey receive this selection of bar snacks as a complimentary offering and this has been most appreciated by our guests. I suppose this may partly be due to the fact to the fact it does encourage them to order another ice cold beer!
4. Most of the food being over spicy
RESPONSE: The Twankey menu, which offers a selection of 9 different snack items, and includes at least 5 items that are in fact, not spicy in taste. While we understand and appreciate that the personal taste of our customers will vary, specifically with regards to the “spicy scaleâ€, we do offer a variety of other menu items that are not spicy. In addition to the wide variety of oyster cultivars, the menu also offers the following non-spicy items that would no doubt tickle your taste buds, namely:
• Tuna Tatiki with Soya Shallot Dressing
• Prawn Tempura with Tsuyu Sauce
• Karoo Lamb Samosa with Mango Relish
• Tequila Salmon Gravalax with Salsa Verde
All of these items are served as tapas portions, which are stated as such on the Twankey menu. Our intention is to consistently change these over time to provide variety to our customers.
5. Chunky Guacamole
RESPONSE: While your preference may be for a smooth guacamole, I have taken the liberty of doing some research, and am able to confirm that an authentic guacamole could in fact, be chunky in its consistency. Again, I appreciate that many of our customers may have their own personal preferences. Here is a link to one of the better recipes I found, with a picture of a rather chunky, but delightfully tasty looking bowl of what has been referred to as, “the perfect guacamoleâ€: – http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/perfect_guacamole/
6. Pricing of Food & Beverage
RESPONSE: As you have rightly stated, our beverage prices are very reasonable. Thank you for this feedback and in particular, your comments about the pricing of our wines, bubbles and beers. As we are specifically targeting the local Cape Town market, we have done a great deal of research to ensure that our food and beverage prices are attractive and since opening, we have received feedback to this effect so we are confident we are on the right track.
7. Diluted Soy Sauce
RESPONSE: The sauce served with the tempura prawns is in fact a TSUYU Sauce, as it is described on the menu, and not soy sauce. This is freshly prepared by our chefs and consists following ingredients, namely, soy sauce, sugar, salt, and an aromatic oriental flavoured seasoning that is extracted from the Bonito fish. I am pleased however, that our service team was able to accommodate your personal preferences by providing you with plain soy sauce, as you requested.
8. You irritations with regards to the interruptions and noise coming from the ice machines.
RESPONSE: This is very good feedback which is truly appreciated. I can assure you that we have provided additional training to our service staff to ensure that are able to strike a balance between providing great service, but not being too over bearing. In the early days of a new Hotel opening, this is invaluable feedback. We are also working on a solution for the noisy ice machine.
9. Twankey not being a food destination.
RESPONSE: You are absolutely correct. The Twankey is not a food destination, unlike our Bombay Brasserie and MINT, both of which have established themselves as wonderful dining experiences in the short time they have been operating. In particular, the Bombay Brasserie is a fantastic success story. As you have indicated, the Twankey is the perfect start or end to a special evening.
10. Comments on expensive food and spiciness dominating.
RESPONSE: While I trust that I have already covered this above, I do appreciate that customers have different tastes and preferences. We do however believe that our menu accommodates these preferences. Considering the spectacular venue, decor and ambience of the Twankey, we are also confident that our food pricing reflects good value for money compared with many of the other restaurants of a similar standard, both in Cape Town as well as some of the other luxury Hotels in the city. We did a lot of research on our competitors to ensure we got our pricing strategy right. I am grateful for your comment in this regard.
11. Twankey being described as a restaurant on our website.
RESPONSE: Thank you for flagging this as this is not an exaggeration, but rather a mistake on our part. All our collateral does refer to the Twankey as being a Seafood, Champagne and Oyster Bar. However, with the Hotel being so new, this is one area where this description may have slipped through the cracks. The changes will been made and corrected accordingly.
In closing, I would again like to thank you for your comments and feedback. I would also like to invite the followers of your blog to visit our Press Coverage pages on our local website (www.tajcapetown.co.za ) that focuses on engaging and interacting with our customers. The numerous press reviews will no doubt provide a more balanced opinion of what customers may experience not only at the Twankey Seafood, Champagne and Oyster Bar, but also the Taj Cape Town. To review just some of the coverage we have received, please visit http://www.tajcapetown.co.za/blog/press-coverage/
In the spirit of South African hospitality, I trust your followers will appreciate this facility.
Thank you again and we look forward to welcoming you back to the Taj Cape Town in the near future. I am certain we shall exceed your expectations…..
Kind regards,
Theo Cromhout
Director of Sales & Marketing for Taj Cape Town
Dear Theo
Wow – I am blown away by your positive attitude and response to The Twankey Bar review. I think you have covered everything.
Just on the stocktake – when I called the hotel on the Sunday, the chap answering the phone sounded very dozy, and he put me through to what was meant to be Twankey, but was a bedroom answering machine. This happened twice. On the third call, I asked to speak to someone else, and a friendly lady told me that you were doing stocktake at Twankey on that Sunday. Your staff do seem uncertain as to what happens at Twankey on Sundays, at least the two that I spoke to on that day.
Thank you for your time in providing the detailed feedback, and for not being defensive in the manner one sees so often.
I am blown away by Twankey’s response to the blog. This is how you make friends and influence people. Too often we see knee-jerk defensive posturing instead of being the professionals in the hospitality industry that they are supposed to be.
We will be visiting Twankey in the near future!
me thinks this guy has too much time on his hands…..
he is correct the Guacamole should be chunky not the usual liquid mess you get here
next he will be telling us we shouldnt put ice in our white wine