{"id":10950,"date":"2010-08-04T09:42:20","date_gmt":"2010-08-04T07:42:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=10950"},"modified":"2010-08-04T19:21:47","modified_gmt":"2010-08-04T17:21:47","slug":"restaurant-review-1800-restaurant-at-cape-royale-still-not-hot-winter-special-dishonest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/cape-town\/restaurant-review-1800-restaurant-at-cape-royale-still-not-hot-winter-special-dishonest\/","title":{"rendered":"Restaurant Review: 1800 Restaurant at Cape Royale still not hot, winter special dishonest!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>In my Hausfrau past, I was a mean Beef Wellington preparer for dinner parties.\u00a0 When I saw this dish advertised as the new Winter Special (at R 99 with a glass of sparkling wine, until the end of the month)\u00a0at 1800 Restaurant at the 5-star Cape Royale Luxury Hotel, I had to have it!\u00a0 We had tried the Winter Special almost a year ago, and were disappointed then (read review<\/a><\/strong><\/span>).\u00a0 Unfortunately our return visit was no different.<\/p>\n

It started when we arrived – I was finishing a call in the car, and a staff member of the hotel\u00a0interrupted my call and hassled us about parking, even though we were\u00a0in a legitimate bay outside the hotel.\u00a0 He was intimidating, and I asked him to step back.\u00a0 Two security staff we walked past upon entering the hotel did not greet us.\u00a0 The manager seated us at a table next to one of those\u00a0odd “confession” screens, which allows one to be heard, and to hear every word of the table on the other side of the screen, near a drafty entrance to the restaurant.<\/p>\n

We had barely settled in, when we received a complimentary glass of sparkling wine as a “token of our appreciation for dining with us tonight” – nice touch, but the rest of the introduction sounded straight off a script.\u00a0 When I asked what we were drinking, I was told by the waiter Alex that it was “Kleine Zalze”.\u00a0 From the little I know about wines, I could not recall a sparkling wine made by this wine estate, and asked him to bring the bottle to the table – it was a Kleine Parys Cuvee Brut in fact!<\/p>\n

The bread was brought to the table immediately, really not exciting at all, and I left it to one side.\u00a0 We received a sermon about the location of the cloakrooms, the meaning of the name of the restaurant (steak is prepared at 1800F), and the\u00a0menu.\u00a0 The waiter talked us through everything, including the eight special sauces of which one can order one for free, and did not mention the Beef Wellington special we had come for.\u00a0 For the special, there is no choice of sauce – you must have it with the Red Wine jus, as prescribed.\u00a0\u00a0 The restaurant service is affected by this long introduction to the restaurant, as no other tables close by can be served.\u00a0 I ordered a starter and the special, and the starter arrived within 5 minutes, commendably quick (compared to the slow service for the rest of the evening).\u00a0 I had not even placed the order for the wine.\u00a0 Three spiced salts were brought to the table as well, but the waiter only knew the origin of them (smoked paprika salt from Africa; Sumac salt from Arabia; Allepo salt from South America) but could not describe their taste to us.<\/p>\n

The focus of 1800 is on steak, and the restaurant’s website states:\u00a0 “<\/em>Owner, Paschal Phelan, brings with him many years of experience in the meat industry in Ireland, and under his direction, his team ensures the best quality by inspecting suppliers’ farms to maintain the highest standard of their meat offering.\u00a0 The restaurant’s succulent beef and other selected meats are grass reared and then grain fed for a short period to enhance the flavour and ensure tenderness.\u00a0 It is then matured to perfection in the grill room’s temperature controlled storage”.<\/em> I could not help thinking of Carne when I read this.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prior to\u00a0the starter being served, an amuse bouche served on a spoon was brought to the table – it was a smoked paprika cheese and mash ball with sweet chilli sauce, a non-event.\u00a0 The starter Duck Rillettes were served on white toast.\u00a0\u00a0I was attracted to the description of the dish on the menu: “Duck liver parfait, toasted pecan nut and honey broiche and brandied sultanas”.\u00a0 The toast looked like ordinary white bread, and there was no sign nor taste of nuts nor honey in it, even when the manager brought us an untoasted slice of the “brioche” to taste.\u00a0 The manager could not answer\u00a0when I said that this was not as described in the menu.<\/p>\n

The service problem came from there being no heavy-weight manager on duty.\u00a0 Our waiter of last year, Emmanuel, whose service we were not happy with then, now is the manager, out of his depth we felt.\u00a0 The owner of the hotel was also dining at the restaurant, and perhaps the staff had their attention focused on him and his party.\u00a0 The music was far too loud, and not pleasant, but luckily was turned down as soon as the owner arrived.\u00a0 Nothing has changed in terms of the decor in the year since our last visit.<\/p>\n

The “Beef Wellington” at 1800 Restaurant is not made with pate de foie gras, nor\u00a0are the duxelles mixed with leeks, nor do they\u00a0cover the whole steak –\u00a0a tiny teaspoonful of the mushroom mix was placed on\u00a0the top of the fillet, underneath the puff pastry, like a crown!\u00a0\u00a0The steak was prepared medium, as specified\u00a0by the waiter.\u00a0 I asked the manager why there was no foie gras, and the answer he brought back from the chef was that it would make the dish\u00a0costing too high\u00a0– a con!\u00a0 We felt that the portion of steak also was not close to the advertised 200 gram.\u00a0\u00a0 When the plate of\u00a0food was brought to us, the mash and the vegetables on the plate were cold, so we sent\u00a0them back.\u00a0 The second set of vegetables was extremely salty. The red wine jus had a very rich dominant taste, and I felt that it spoilt the taste of the steak.<\/p>\n

We ordered the Allee Bleue Shiraz 2007, at R 50 a glass, and while the portion served was very generous, it was not a particularly pleasant wine.\u00a0 The “Wine\u00a0Portfolio” (nice name)\u00a0is divided into wine type, and then by wine region within that, with listings of local and international wines.\u00a0 The house wine is a\u00a0Capaia Blue Grove Hill Sauvignon Blanc (R35\/R140),\u00a0and\u00a0its Merlot\/Cabernet Sauvignon blend (R40\/R160).\u00a0\u00a0 Graham Beck’s sparkling wines are listed under Stellenbosch and not Franschhoek!\u00a0\u00a0 Champagnes range from R680 for Lacombe and Leillier to R 2400 for Dom Perignon.\u00a0\u00a0 Some of the wines are expensive, but I counted\u00a0eight white and seven red wines by the glass that cost\u00a0less than\u00a0R40, which is good value, especially as none of the red wine vintages were younger than 2007.\u00a0 One can indulge in such international wines as Giovanni Corino Barolo Vigne Giachini, Domaine Ussegilo Chateauneuf-Du-Pape Imperial Cuvee, Chapoutier St Joseph Les Grantis Rouge, and Alain Chavy Puligny-Montrachet les Purcelles, all upwards of R 1000.<\/p>\n

The manager could not answer our\u00a0challenge that serving the “Beef Wellington” short of its identifying ingredient was dishonest.\u00a0\u00a0 The Executive Chef Jonathan Gargan, who took over the restaurant only about three\u00a0months ago\u00a0after service on cruise ships, was not on duty, and his deputy Chad Booysen (ex-Beluga)\u00a0clearly was not coping with the room full of diners.<\/p>\n

We knew it a year ago, and we should have known better\u00a0in returning to 1800 Restaurant.\u00a0\u00a0 What they are\u00a0offering as a Winter Special\u00a0is dishonest, and does not do their reputation, nor that of the 5-star Cape Royale Luxury Hotel, by whom it is owned,\u00a0any good.\u00a0 The staff and manager need a serious training hand, and the Executive Chef should be on duty on busy weekend nights.\u00a0 The name of the chef of a year ago (Lindsay Venn)\u00a0is still on the Cape Royale Luxury Hotel website, while the restaurant website does not mention the chef’s name at all!<\/p>\n

In re-reading my review of a year ago, it is clear that little has changed – the special is not mentioned when one arrives, the service slows down as\u00a0the restaurant fills up, and the wait for the main course is long.\u00a0 The prices have not moved much compared to a year ago, which is commendable – the price of the 200 gram fillet has come down to R120, that of the 400 gram has remained the same, while that of the 300 gram has increased.\u00a0 The price band of the starters (Paternoster mussels, Franschhoek salmon trout, baby calamari, Kalahari springbok carpaccio, two salads and chicken livers), being R40 – R69, has not changed much.\u00a0 The linefish price has however increased by 19 % to R115, while the cheapest dessert has come down to R28 now, to a maximum of R45.\u00a0 Desserts include ice cream and sorbets, souffle cake, cheese cake and a plateful of miniature desserts.<\/p>\n

1800 Restaurant<\/strong>, Cape Royale Luxury Hotel, Main Road, Green Point, Cape Town.\u00a0 Tel (021)\u00a0430-0506. \u00a0www.18hundreddegrees.com<\/a>. Monday – Saturday.<\/p>\n

POSTSCRIPT 4\/8<\/strong>: Read the reply to this review from Jonathan Gargan, Executive Chef of the Cape Royale Luxury Hotel, in the Comments section.<\/p>\n

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In my Hausfrau past, I was a mean Beef Wellington preparer for dinner parties.\u00a0 When I saw this dish advertised as the new Winter Special (at R 99 with a glass of sparkling wine, until the end of the month)\u00a0at 1800 Restaurant at the 5-star Cape Royale Luxury Hotel, I had to have it!\u00a0 We […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[3,124,20,21],"tags":[1908,6327,6355,6342,6345,6336,3848,6326,1508,6340,6349,1903,32366,1434,6357,4915,6354,32378,6330,6328,5217,6353,6339,6341,2125,32369,6352,226,666,146,6338,6356,6331,1335,6350,6351,6358,6344,6337,6343,6332,252,3625,6335,1062,6333,32376,6334,3440,32373,6346,6348,6347,6329],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t