{"id":3675,"date":"2009-08-23T00:14:10","date_gmt":"2009-08-22T22:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=3675"},"modified":"2009-08-23T00:15:27","modified_gmt":"2009-08-22T22:15:27","slug":"1800%c2%b0-not-very-hot-yet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/cape-town\/1800%c2%b0-not-very-hot-yet\/","title":{"rendered":"1800\u00c2\u00b0 not very hot yet!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A restaurant that opened in October last year when the Cape Royale Luxury Hotel and Residence opened in Green Point is 1800\u00b0<\/span>, named after a special New York-style griller which grills steaks from the top at 1800 degrees\u00a0F (982\u00b0<\/span>\u00a0C), our waiter Emmanuel told us on arrival at the table.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The restaurant\u00a0has established itself for its excellent steaks.<\/p>\n

Given the 5-star grading of the Hotel, the interior decor of the restaurant is disappointing, it being\u00a0‘all over the place’ – tables are placed next to each other, but separated by cane screens, which means that you can hear every word the couple next door says, but you cannot see them at all, much like sitting in a confession box!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The benches at the walls of the restaurant are covered in a brown fabric, with random white stripes, and garish plastic-like yet fresh orange\/yellow flower arrangements above each.\u00a0\u00a0 The restaurant is very brightly lit, and the music cannot be heard, as the noise level\u00a0of the patrons rises as the evening wears on.<\/p>\n

Emmanuel introduces the restaurant by telling us where the cloakrooms are located, an interesting but important touch.\u00a0 He talks us through the menu,\u00a0describing almost every dish as “lovely”, and recommending all of them highly.\u00a0 Yet, he feeds back that the chef is not recommending the\u00a0sirloin\u00a0on the particular evening, as it is too tough – 10\/10 for this honesty!\u00a0\u00a0 He explains about the flavoured salts, “infused with herbs”,\u00a0that\u00a0one can select from a list, to enhance\u00a0the steak, and brings a sample of three salts to the table.\u00a0\u00a0 A selection of sauces – Argentinian, German mustard, Italian mushroom and herb – and more can be ordered with the steak, and a starch comes with the dish.\u00a0 A side salad\u00a0and vegetables can be ordered, at a most reasonable R 16 each.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The fillet steak costs R 130 for 200 grams, 300 grams cost R 160 and 400 grams cost R 190, while the 200 gram rump costs R 120 and 300 gram R 140.\u00a0\u00a0 A discount of 10 % off the price of the steaks is running in August, but\u00a0the waiter does not tell us that.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Starters are mainly soups and salads, and cost R 35 – R 60.\u00a0 The linefish of the day costs R 97, and other main courses are reasonably priced.\u00a0\u00a0 Desserts cost R 37 – 48, and are predictable – chocolate bomb, coconut pannacotta, lime tart, creme brulee, \u00a0ice cream and sorbet.<\/p>\n

The Manager Lauren arrives at\u00a0the table soon after we arrive, to check on things, but as we have not received anything yet except the winelist and menus, we cannot answer her question as to how we are doing.<\/p>\n

The restaurant fills up quickly on a Friday evening, and soon the waiter is hardly to be seen.\u00a0 The wait for the steak is quite long, but worth it, as both the fillet and the rump are outstanding.\u00a0 The flavoured salt does little to add to its delicious taste, and the sauces are excellent.<\/p>\n

On tasting the 2007 Brampton Shiraz, the customer proclaims that it needs a lot of breathing.\u00a0 The bottle of wine is placed on a\u00a0nearby table, and the customer only sees that the screwtop has been placed back on the bottle\u00a0by Emmanuel when he pours more wine in the glasses.\u00a0\u00a0 This is a serious deficiency in Emmanuel’s training.<\/p>\n

Lauren, the Manager, is very attentive as the evening wears on, and comes to the rescue in describing the ingredients and preparation of a chocolate dessert special.\u00a0\u00a0 While the customer does not choose the chocolate dessert, the chef sends a complimentary slice to the table anyway.\u00a0 The chef sends his business card too, asking for feedback of his food.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The bill arrives with a spoonful of chocolate truffle for each diner, almost as if the bill has to be sweetened.\u00a0\u00a0 The automatic deduction of the 10 %\u00a0discount off the cost of the steaks is commendable, as it was not mentioned during the evening –\u00a0the steak special\u00a0is printed on a piece of paper, and lies at the reception desk.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

On paying at the\u00a0reception desk, due to the wait to have the payment taken,\u00a0 Cheny at the front desk asks the “plastic” question as to how the customers enjoyed the “experience”!\u00a0 The customer asks what ‘experience’ she is referring to, as it is a restaurant much like any other, just\u00a0lacking in\u00a0atmosphere.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Underground parking is available for free, and can be arranged with the doorman on arrival.<\/p>\n

The total cost for 2 steaks, one dessert, the bottle of Brampton Shiraz and a cappuccino was R 405.<\/p>\n

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

A restaurant that opened in October last year when the Cape Royale Luxury Hotel and Residence opened in Green Point is 1800\u00b0, named after a special New York-style griller which grills steaks from the top at 1800 degrees\u00a0F (982\u00b0\u00a0C), our waiter Emmanuel told us on arrival at the table.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The restaurant\u00a0has established itself for its excellent […]<\/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":[3,20,21],"tags":[1908,1910,1909,32366,666,1783,252,1707,32373],"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