crayfish special | WhaleTales Blog by Chris von Ulmenstein

In summer I had a wonderful crayfish special lunch at Salt on a hot summer’s day, and wrote a glowing review about it. A visit to try the winter special lunch of 2 courses for R 140 and 3 courses for R 170 was disappointing, in that it lacked the evidence that Top 10 Chef Jacques de Jager, who was previously at Grande Provence, was in the kitchen or had compiled the winter special menu.

The hostess Taahira, with a very low cut dress, wanted to seat us in the furthest corner and not necessarily at the window, but our lunch was purely business, and therefore we did not need to be “hidden”. Being the only patrons initially, about a week prior to the start of the World Cup, we were then allowed to choose any table we liked. My guest Darren said that the table we chose was the one Daniel Craig sat at in the movie “Flashback of a Fool”, large parts of which were shot in Cape Town.

Darren and I both had the three-course special, and chose a different course each – one has a restrictive choice of two options per course. A quick page-through the new a la carte menu designed by Jacques was also disappointing, as I expected the creativity that he has become known for, and was recognised by Eat Out as a Top 10 chef in November, would be reflected in the menu. It was my first visit to the restaurant since De Jager introduced his new menu after taking over the Salt kitchen. I had expected a heavy French emphasis in the menu, especially as the waiter Michael had told me on my previous visit that the staff were learning all the French terms in the menu – I could only find the French terms “moules mariniere”, “souffle”, “mussel veloute”, “ballottine”, “ratatouille”, “bouillabaisse” and “parfait” on the menu.

We did not order wine, but one can pay an extra R 25 in total to have the courses paired with a wine per course (Paradyskloof Chenin Blanc 2009, Paradyskloof Pinot Noir 2008, and Vriesenhof ‘enthopio’ 2005), making the meal far better value.

We were served a choice of two breads: ciabatta and a light wholewheat bread. An amuse bouche was brought to the table, consisting of pork rillette, truffled pea puree (nice touch of colour on the plate, but too salty) and the cutest looking poached quail egg.

My cream of butternut soup was served exactly how I like it – thick and creamy, and the Gruyere-crusted toast was a lovely match – this was my best dish of the three, yet I missed Jacques’ creative touch. Darren was happy with his lentil salad with bacon, feta and croutons, which looked very healthy to me, but he felt that it could have done with a dressing to liven it up.

I was disappointed with my braised lamb, probably due to the rich sauce it was served with, which dominated the dish. The sauce is not mentioned in the menu. The sweet potato mash it was served with had a pronounced green colour – a bit worrying, as I have never seen it served this green before. It lacked the taste of sweet potato. Darren’s cob served on cannellini beans and sauce mittone was another healthy choice (after his lentils), but was too salty, and the carrots and celery were undercooked, he felt.

My chocolate parfait looked pretty, decorated with two strawberries, the plate decorated with four orange segments. The menu says that they were marinated, but what it was marinated in was not mentioned. Darren’s pear frangipani tart was served with cinnamon ice cream, but the pears were not ripe enough and the pastry hard.

Michael was efficient in looking after all our needs, and impressed us when he rolled down an outside blind when he saw that Darren was affected by the glare of the sun. He only got it wrong when he brought the bill in response to a request for more water, and he asked my how I wanted to pay as soon as he put down the bill, without allowing me to look at the bill first. Taahira sent a copy of the menu to the table, which I had requested to prevent me from having to write down the menu, in a roll held together with a brown ribbon – a professional touch.

I would find it hard to recommend this Winter Special, due to it lacking excitement, it not reflecting any of the dishes on the standard menu, and it offering far less value for money as a winter special, compared to the 6-course Myoga or the 5-course (plus amuse bouche) Cape Colony specials, for example. The Salt view and decor is far superior to those of Myoga and the Mount Nelson though.

The August winter special will offer the following choices: vol au vent or cured beef carpaccio; baby chicken or linefish; pavlova or citrus pudding.

Salt restaurant, Ambassador Hotel, 34 Victoria Road, Bantry Bay. Tel 021 439-7258. www.saltrestaurant.co.za Open Mondays – Sundays, lunch and dinner. The winter special is not available on Friday and Saturday evenings.

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

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