Cornuti has been synonymous with Plettenberg Bay, being one of the longest established restaurants in the seaside town, having opened 19 years ago and especially known for its pizzas. After a renovation closure of eight months, the restaurant re-opened in mid-December, and has confused everyone in the town as well as past visitors with the branding change to the building!

Cornuti belongs to Italian Pierro Carrera, who also owns Cornuti restaurants in Illovo and in Parkhurt. He lives in Johannesburg, but has a very soft spot for his Plettenberg Bay branch, evoking his own holiday memories and therefore he wanted to bring the names of his daughters Stella and Luna into the business and onto the building. New Manager Daniel Varkel, originally from Cape Town, tried to explain it to me. He said the building is called Cornuti, and the name is above the doorway, but is not visible from the road running past it. The ‘Luna‘ name is on the left, above the Bar, and the ‘Stella‘ name on the right is that of the restaurant. It seems marketing madness to throw away the Cornuti name, and to create such brand confusion, even amongst the locals! The problem is exacerbated by the feedback that I received about the restaurant taking a dip in support, especially amongst locals, who felt that the prices of the pizzas in particular were becoming exorbitant.

As I arrived, I heard my name called, and was embarrassed to not recognize the very friendly Kevin King from South Hill in Elgin, who was also dining at the restaurant, and who knew who I was from being a Facebook friend.

In the good old Cornuti days the restaurant was so popular that one had to arrive early (they did not take bookings, if I remember correctly), and one saw queues of customers outside, trying to get a table at the most popular restaurant in town. Those days seem to have gone, although they had a busy Festive season, waitress Nolo told me. The restaurant was about a third full, a busier evening than in the past two weeks, Nolo said.

The inside structure of the restaurant has not changed, the changes being cosmetic, like adding cutout stars in the ceiling over the section alongside the window, many lanterns made from plywood having cutouts too, and the star cut outs carried through into the bottom frame of the benches. The Stella name is above a far wall, barely seen from the tables near the window. The ceramic tiles at the two pizza ovens have been redone in a soft sea blue, and the two pizza counters are made from wood with big black stars on them. I could not help but think that this was an owner interior decor designer, always a problem, and this was confirmed by the manager! The Luna bar has a completely new counter. Daniel explained that the renovations took eight months, and were done slowly over this period to not stretch the Cornuti Group cash flow too much.

The grey plastic moulded chairs look new, while the tables probably are not. My table was wobbly, and Nolo asked her colleague to help her to stabilize it. On the table was a Cape Herbs & Spice Atlantic Sea salt grinder and a Woolworths black pepper grinder, with unbranded glass bottles of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Stackable windows allow one to see the sunset, and to see a little of the ocean. The music was playing towards the deep end of the restaurant and was very loud, and most songs on the playlist were not very nice!

It appears that staff is freshly acquired too, Nolo having started in mid-December when the restaurant re-opened, and Daniel only started two weeks ago, having moved to Plett from Cape Town. It seems that the previous manager left with all passwords, so they are slowly setting up their Social Media accounts again. They have no marketing material, and their website is under construction, a marketing disaster!

The staff wear white shirts and blue jeans, with a beige Three Peaks apron, but the wine does not appear on the wine list. Nolo confirmed that they have none in stock, and have not had any since she started working there a month ago!

A four-page laminated menu contains a selection of starters, of pizzas, of pasta dishes, desserts, and a cocktail list. A separate wine list summarizes which red and white wines are available by the bottle, and the 12 which can be ordered by the glass, costing from R30 for the Unbelievable sweet wine at R30 to R48 per glass of Ashbourne White Blend. Protea, Saronsberg, De Wetshof, and Leopard’s Leap are on the wine-by-the-glass list. Pierre Jourdan (R238),  L’Ormarins (R270) MCC, and Billecart Salmon Brut Reserve Champagne (R1340) are on the list too. Corkage costs R50. Meerlust (Rubicon is the most expensive wine at R774), La Motte, Ken Forrester, Meinert, Waterford Estate, Tokara, Paul Cluver, Saronsberg, and many more are on the wine list.

Pizza bread is a starter, topped with different herbs, and even one with mozzarella, costing between R38 to R78. A new addition to the menu is Cicheti, described as small plates to be shared by the table. They offer fried haloumi, squid heads, hake, crumbed artichokes, calamari, beef carpaccio, parmigiana, and chicken, in a price range of R68 – R84. Five salads cost between R66 and R96.

I ordered a Pattana Bianco pizza, which was a thin-base, large, well-covered pizza with spinach, bacon, feta, and avocado added after baking (R96).  I liked the taste combination, and the crispy pizza base. It was perfectly prepared and the price was reasonable. The menu offers about 20 pizzas, ranging in price from R65 for a Margherita to R135 for a Pizza di Parma,  with mozzarella, goat cheese, Parma ham, and wild rocket.  Some pizzas have a tomato base, and others are indicated as Pizza Bianco, without tomato.  The pizza list has interesting ingredients, including smoked salmon, anchovies, marinated brinjals, peri-peri prawns, imported pepperoni, and artichokes.

Seven Pasta dishes cost up to R135 for calamari, mussel, and prawns.  Pasta with bacon flambèed in vodka sounds interesting. Main dishes offered are T-Bone steak (R195), fillet steak (R175), chicken/fillet Prego, burgers, line fish (marked as SQ), and King Prawns (R30 each).

The dessert list is short, but I did not see anything else other than the first-listed Tiramisu (R59), my favorite dessert. I was disappointed, in it not being light or very creamy, but the alcohol content was very evident. One can also order an interesting sounding Bar One Banana Spring rolls (R53), Affogato, Nutella chocolate pizza (R66), and ‘hand crafted ice cream/sorbet’.

Unusual to see on a menu is ‘Terms and Conditions‘, of which there are six, and which Cornuti uses to indemnify itself against customers having allergic reactions to the food or hurting themselves on the premises.

Time will tell how the confusing branding change will affect the fortune of the restaurant, and whether its loyal customers will return after the eight month closure!

Cornuti Stella e Luna Plett, 1 Perestrello Street, Plettenberg Bay. Tel (044) 533-1277  www.cornuti.co.za. (under construction) On Facebook.

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