{"id":15335,"date":"2011-01-04T08:22:53","date_gmt":"2011-01-04T06:22:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=15335"},"modified":"2011-01-04T08:25:27","modified_gmt":"2011-01-04T06:25:27","slug":"restaurant-review-belthazar-restaurant-and-wine-bar-launches-alfresco-value-lunch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/cape-town\/restaurant-review-belthazar-restaurant-and-wine-bar-launches-alfresco-value-lunch\/","title":{"rendered":"Restaurant Review: Belthazar Restaurant and Wine Bar launches Alfresco Value Lunch"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I recently received a call from Ian Halfon, co-owner of the Waterfront-based Belthazar Restaurant and Wine Bar (and Balducci), telling me about their new\u00a0Alfresco Value Lunch, which is available every lunchtime.\u00a0\u00a0 It is an amazingly affordable\u00a0offering of good value dishes, and even some wines, from a restaurant that has been known for excellent but expensive steak in the past.<\/p>\n

The full menu and winelist is still available, but the Alfresco Value Lunch menu was brought to the table when I asked for it.\u00a0 It is an A4 page, in the same design style as the larger standard menu, and is divided into Starters, Burgers, Wet and Dry Aged Beef, Salads, Fish, Desserts and the Value Wines.\u00a0\u00a0 The menu also refers to the new “Instore Biltong Bar”, beef, ostrich,\u00a0kudu and “other rare South African game” biltong being available for sale at the Reception desk inside the\u00a0restaurant.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Co-owner Doron Duveen came to say hello, and told me what a difficult year it has been for business across the board, and how clients are trading down in terms of food and wines, and cutting out starters and desserts.\u00a0\u00a0 Their response has been the recent introduction of the Alfresco Value Lunch,\u00a0with a\u00a0good number of options to choose from.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Initially I declined Doron’s offer\u00a0to have a glass of wine, but his sommelier-in-training Luke Ericson was better able to twist my arm to have a small taste of a wonderful 2006 Rijk’s Shiraz.\u00a0\u00a0 The glass was served with a tag, denoting the name of the wine, the variety,\u00a0and its vintage.<\/p>\n

I chose to sit outside, under the Nederburg branded umbrellas, surrounded by tourists.\u00a0 The staff look smart, with a white branded Belthazar shirt, black pants and white apron, and\u00a0a smart-looking black bow-tie.\u00a0\u00a0 All staff smile, and check regularly if all is in order.\u00a0\u00a0The Belthazar staff have always impressed me with their professionalism, and those with attitude do not seem to work there anymore!\u00a0\u00a0The bread plate, consisting of a large roll, butter hygienically protected with a branded paper cover, and a pork and beef sausage in a Napolitana-style sauce, was brought to the table, whether one orders from the standard or the Alfresco Value Lunch menu, a mini-meal in itself.\u00a0\u00a0 A standard as well as a steak knife is automatically set on each table, with a material serviette.\u00a0\u00a0 Even though I only used the fork for the bread and sausage, the whole sideplate and its cutlery was replaced in preparation for the main course.\u00a0\u00a0 No fish knife was offered for my choice of main course.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

While I associate Belthazar with steak, I chose to have calamari served in a\u00a0pan – usually it is served with chilli and garlic, but I asked for the former to be removed – and with chips or a baked potato, which the waitress was willing to have changed to rice.\u00a0\u00a0 The pan looked brand new and shiny, and came with Patagonian calamari tubes, the rice, and a generous lemon-half, excellent value at R89, and surpassing my benchmark of\u00a0the best calamari\u00a0which I usually have at Willoughby’s.\u00a0\u00a0 Linefish costs R99; Burgers cost R65 for a classic pure beef burger, up to R85 for a “Double Whopper Beef Burger”, served with two patties; Steak Roll and chips costs R89; a 200 gram sirloin and chips costs R99; and salads range from R55 for the Alfresco Salad to R85 for a Smoked Tuna Salad.\u00a0 For Starters one can order Biltong (R75) or Dro\u00ebwors (R 65) – the weight served is not specified; a cured meat platter with olives and bread for two costs R120; and Smoked tuna carpaccio costs R\u00a085.\u00a0\u00a0 A Value Seafood platter filled with linefish, calamari, prawns, and mussels served with rice or chips and a sauce costs R265 for two persons to share.\u00a0\u00a0 Three desserts are offered,\u00a0ice cream or sorbet at R40, and Ice Cream Sundae and Malva Pudding at R49 each.\u00a0I had a lovely frothy Illy cappuccino, costing R20.<\/p>\n

Three wines are offered as Value Wines: Koelenbosch Sauvignon Blanc 2010, South Hill Ros\u00e9, and Morgenhof Fantail Pinotage 2008, all three costing R99 a bottle.<\/p>\n

I will come back to Belthazar for a lunch stop when at the Waterfront, knowing what a nice selection of light lunch options they now serve at affordable prices.<\/p>\n

Belthazar Restaurant and Wine Bar<\/strong>, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town.\u00a0\u00a0 Tel (021)\u00a0421-3753.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 www.belthazar.co.za<\/a>\u00a0 (The website is functional, with the standard menu, Alfresco Value Lunch menu and winelist, but few food photographs).\u00a0\u00a0 Monday – Sunday lunch 12h00 – 16h00 for the Alfresco Value Lunch, standard menu available lunches and dinners, seven days a week.<\/p>\n

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

I recently received a call from Ian Halfon, co-owner of the Waterfront-based Belthazar Restaurant and Wine Bar (and Balducci), telling me about their new\u00a0Alfresco Value Lunch, which is available every lunchtime.\u00a0\u00a0 It is an amazingly affordable\u00a0offering of good value dishes, and even some wines, from a restaurant that has been known for excellent but expensive […]<\/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":[9238,1349,2221,9237,3200,32378,9241,5456,1426,3208,9239,9244,9242,2832,3625,6569,1072,9245,1707,32393,9240,32373,9243,365],"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