The Test Kitchen by Luke Dale Roberts - #STFFonTour in South Africa

 

 

We're in Cape Town for a week, a holiday within our 3 week holiday. When I left South Africa 13 years ago it was very much a 'chain restaurants' sort of place - great steak and great seafood but not very much that was unique. Or maybe it was just that I wasn't into food as much as I am now and so I never sought out what was different?

A couple of very good friends of ours live in Cape Town and fortunately for me they are also mad about all things food and wine. So when we planned our trip I was very grateful for their expert guidance on some of the fabulous places to try. That coupled with a bit of research and some help from my Twitter friends, I compiled quite a nice list!

Right at the very top of my list was The Test Kitchen by Luke Dale Roberts. Voted South Africa's number 1 restaurant in 2012. Luke Dale Roberts has quite an impressive pedigree having trained at the  famed Bauer Au Lac Hotel in Zurich and having cooked with the Roux brothers protégé Kevin Hopgood.

Located in the Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock Cape Town, the area is quite rough around the edges, but the industrial decor fits in perfectly with the surroundings. (On a side note, Dale Roberts has recently opened another tapas restaurant in the same complex called The Pot Luck Club). Initially The Test Kitchen was only a 30 covers restaurant, but became so popular that El Bulli style waiting lists were becoming common place according to our waiter. When the unit next door became available, Dale Roberts snapped it up, but it is still pretty difficult to get a reservation such is the quality of this restaurant!

At lunch time there is an a la carte menu and a 5 course tasting menu. There is also a 10 course menu gourmand in the evenings. As we'd travelled all this way, it would've been rude not to try the 5 course lunch menu with wine pairing! As I don't know too much about wine, other than what I do and what I don't like, I am not going to make too much of a mention of it.

For the first course we had home dried tomato, black sesame and aubergine puree, burnt aubergine jelly, smoked goats cheese and aged balsamic paired with a Sequillo White 2011. Every single flavour on this plate was intense and the home dried tomato just exploded in your mouth, it was so full of flavour. One in our group doesn't like aubergine, but it had a gorgeous smokiness to it that he mopped up every last remaining morsel with the bread that was on our table. The restaurant has a wood burning oven outside and I was told that the aubergines are roasted for 8 hours to get the intense smoky taste to them.
 

Our next course was a seared gamefish, in this case yellowfin tuna, red cabbage three ways, apple dressing with horseradish emulsion served with Raats Original Chenin Blanc 2012. In one word - sublime! For all of us, this was the best course!

Next was lightly smoked beef fillet, gorgonzola catalan, fresh pear, candied pecan nut, grated nutmeg. The wine choice was Bosman Family Vineyards Dolce Primitivo 2010, a really interesting choice as it was a fortified wine that was almost Port like in nature. Very enjoyable and a great choice as the sweetness cut through the creamy Gorgonzola and smoky flavour of the beef.

For our mains there were 3 choices and I chose the pan fried line fish, which was Kingclip, calamari, marjoram and cherry tomato ragout, polenta gnocchi with light saffron cream. Paired with Constantia Uitsig Unwooded Chardonnay 2012. The fish was cooked perfectly and the calamari beautifully tender. This wine was probably my least favourite, but I am not a great fan of Chardonnay, so it's more personal preference than anything else.

We had another choice of 3 desserts and I chose Luke’s Caprese: Baby roma tomatoes and gooseberries in basil & black pepper syrup, strachiatella, yoghurt snowballs, olive tuiles, basil granite. This sounded really interesting. Tomatoes in a dessert? I had to try it! I am so glad I did. It was perfectly balanced with just the right amount of sweetness to end off a fantastic meal. My dessert was paired with Thelema Rhine Riesling Late Harvest 2009, another great choice.

The waiting staff were all super and really passionate about their product. Our waiter, Basil, had interesting stories about all the wine we had and knew exactly why they were chosen with each dish. The sommelier, Wave (yes, that's her name!) was extremely knowledgable yet didn't make you feel inferior as some sommeliers can do. The restaurant is very laid back - there were people there in shorts - which you would not find in a restaurant of that calibre in London.  But maybe thats just Cape Town? The open kitchen in the middle of the restaurant adding to the buzz and it was amazing to see how many people it took to run an operation like that. I was truly, truly impressed!

The total bill for four came to R3300 (Approx. GBP235) including service for a 5 course tasting menu with wine pairing and 4 glasses of champagne and 4 licquors.

It is easy to see why this restaurant was voted number 1 in South Africa last year. Cape Town is very lucky indeed to have such a gem!

We will be leaving the homeland in a week. I've eaten at some fantastic restaurants while here, but I have a bucket list to be ticking off and next on that list is a meal at The Delaunay.


Until we eat again!


The Test Kitchen
www.thetestkitchen.co.za
 Shop 104 A, The Old Biscuit Mill, 375 Albert Road, Woodstock, Cape Town

Little Social

I've been a big fan of chef Jason Atherton since his days at Maze and particularly liked his first solo venture Pollen Street Social (which I wrote about here). So when I was asked along to the preview of his new restaurant Little Social, I didn't hesitate.

 

Situated directly opposite Pollen Street Social, you could easily be mistaken for thinking that you were stepping into a little bistro in France and not into a restaurant in the heart of London. The feel has been captured beautifully with deep red banquettes, dark wood tables, heavy silverware and vintage French artwork on the walls. The a la carte menu is also classic French, printed on pieces of paper to encapsulate the theme even further. There is also a daily changing prix fixe menu. Choosing what to have was tough.

 

To start I had the slow cooked egg with parmesan, squash soup, sourdough croutons and mushrooms. I ordered this because I remember having major plate envy when TBH ordered a similar dish at Pollen Street Social. I have a thing for eggs, especially ones with runny yolks and this one was very good indeed.  The squash soup was deliciously sweet, but I wish there was a little more of it. The croutons added texture and the mushrooms added a really nice woody flavour.

 

 

TBH ordered the terrine of pigs head and foie gras with a date purée. It sounds challenging, but when you look past the name on the menu, its just a terrine. A very good terrine. The meat was slow cooked and perfectly tender and the foie gras smooth. The date purée adding a gorgeous sweetness to the very rich dish. I would've gone for this if it wasn't for the egg dish!

 

 

For mains I ordered the ox cheek with bone marrow, mash potato and carrot. The ox cheek  had clearly been braised for a long time because I didn't even need a knife to cut it up. A little silver spoon was brought to scoop out the fatty bone marrow that just added more flavour to the plate. The mash was smooth and buttery, but I could've done with more. The carrot was sweet, but still retained a bit of bite. This was a perfect dish for such a dreary day. Comfort food at its best.

 

 

 

For his main dish TBH ordered a burger with bacon and cheese. With the London food scene currently inundated with burger joints, this would really have to be a good burger to compete with some of the great ones we've had recently. It was cooked medium as per his request and was juicy without becoming sloppy. It was served with a garlic mayo and some really good chips.

 

 

I couldn't really decide what to have for dessert and because I'm indifferent to sweet things, I ordered a cheese plate which came with a blue cheese, a hard cheese and the best brie I think I've ever had! They were all French and I didn't get the names, but it was seriously good. I was also given the choice of bread or biscuits with my cheese, which I thought was a really nice touch.  The saffron infused chutney was also really enjoyable and different to anything I've had before.

 

TBH ordered an apple and blueberry crumble with almond ice cream, which he wolfed down in seconds. So I'm guessing it was good!

 

 

The waitress, sensing my indecision over dessert and having asked whether I like sweets or not, brought out a pannecotta with candied pistachio and pineapple for us to share. The portion was huge and maybe after their test days they will reduce the size. For someone who doesn't like desserts that much, this was absolutely delicious. Not too sweet, the pineapple adding a sharpness and the candied pistachios adding crunch. There was also a lovely lime oil drizzled over the top.

 

 

From the moment we walked in to the time we walked out, service was friendly and relaxed. All the staff were engaging and it was nice to talk to the general manager for the group, Michael West, about their plans. Even better was meeting the man himself, Jason Atherton. He was relaxed and happy with the way the preview days had gone. I would be happy too based on the experience we had!

 

 

We were fortunate enough to have been invited to Little Social as guests and did not pay for our meal, but the menu is very reasonably priced with dishes peaking at around £30.00.  Thank you Little Social for your hospitality, we had a wonderful meal and look forward to going back soon.

 

I'm in South Africa for the next 3 weeks and have some very exciting meals planned. Don't forget to follow #STFFonTour on Twitter and SamTheFoodFan on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date.

 

 

Until we eat again!

 

 

Little Social

5 Pollen Street, London, W1S 1NE
 

Chiswell Street Dining Rooms

Chiswell Street Dining Rooms is located near the Barbican, an area that is not renowned for being a culinary hotspot. It backs out onto the Mont Calm hotel and if you were ordering room service, this is one of the restaurants where your food would come from. Just to clarify though, there are no links with the hotel other than its proximity. It is owned by Tom and Ed Martin who also own the runaway successes that are The Gun in Canary Wharf and The Botanist in Sloane Square. These guys know how to do gastro pubs!

 

We chose this restaurant for a girlfriend’s birthday as it’s near’ish to where we all work, one of the gang is vegetarian and this menu seemed perfect for her. The City has no shortage of decent steak houses, but it’s nigh on impossible to get a great meal out for a veggie! Incidentally, she had to cancel, but we pushed on because the menu looked so inviting.

 

To start, I ordered Scottish salmon tartar, soft boiled quail’s egg, caviar and iced horseradish (£7). This has to be one of the nicest starters I have had in a very long time! I ordered it because I was intrigued by the iced horseradish. I was half expecting a few crumbs of flavoured ice on top of the salmon, but when it arrived it was a huge ball of what looked like vanilla ice cream. The food looked as pretty as a picture. The slate plate made the bright pink of the salmon pop and made the white horseradish ice stand out even more. The quails egg added a silkiness to the fatty salmon and I really enjoyed the subtle heat you got from the cold horseradish ice. The peanuts underneath the ice brought a nice crunch to the dish. I am not sure the caviar added anything though, but all in all this was a winning starter. I was excited for what was to follow.

 

 

 I’ve overdone it on the red meat lately, so really fancied something light. I ordered Scottish monkfish tail, Dorset lobster and crab ravioli, clam and shallot cream (£28.00). I don’t get to cook fish very much at home as TBH isn’t a great lover of fish; and monkfish being that little bit pricier than most fish, is a bit of a waste to buy for just one. Anyway, I digress. The fish when it arrived was one of the meatiest, glossiest, most delicious pieces of fish I've seen. Just look at that picture, doesn’t it make you want to take a bite? The lobster and crab ravioli was cooked really well and the flavour of the shellfish did not overpower the beautiful piece of fish. The clams added a nice saltiness and the shallot cream a very subtle touch of sweetness. I’d picked another winner.

 

 

 Now we all know by now that I am not much of a sweet tooth, but I ordered dessert because the birthday girl really is a dessert lover and she couldn’t really pick what to have. So we ordered both – but only because it was her birthday and not because we’re greedy! I chose salted caramel tart, caramelised banana and chocolate crumb (£6.50). I enjoyed this course least, but I think that is more down to personal preference. The salted caramel was just a little too salty and the pastry base a little too hard. The caramelised bananas were good though and I think a bit of ice cream or Chantilly cream would’ve lightened the whole thing up a bit.

 

 

I said in my review of New Street Grill that I thought uniforms of black waist coats, white shirts and black trousers were a little old-fashioned. But perhaps just in that environment? I thought the waiting staff here all looked well turned out and it seemed to fit in with the surroundings, which were homely and stylish. Our waiter was friendly yet unobtrusive and made some excellent recommendations. He must've overheard that we were celebrating a birthday because her dessert came out with a candle in it and a little “Happy birthday” message. She was absolutely delighted! I think it’s these small touches that turn a nice place into something rather special. I can’t wait to go back.

 

Happy birthday M x

 

 I don’t have the full bill any more, but it came to £160 including service for 3 of us.

 

I have one more review coming up of a preview lunch at Jason Atherton’s new restaurant “Little Social” on Friday. Then it’s off to the homeland for 3 weeks for some much needed sunshine! I’ll be posting pics on my Facebook page and Instagram (SamTheFoodFan) of all the gorgeous food I will be eating. Look out for #STFFonTour

 

 

Until we eat again!

 

  

Chiswell Street Dining Rooms

http://www.chiswellstreetdining.com/

56 Chiswell St City of London, EC1Y 4SA
020 7614 0177

 

 

STK London



I went to STK expecting to hate everything about it.  Even the name with its missing vowels bothered me – do you pronounce it S.T.K or Steak? Located in the new ME Hotel in Holborn, this American export with branches in Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami and New York; this branch certainly is a looker! White leather, marble and chrome make it more bachelor pad than ladies boudoir though and that was the target market they were aiming for, according to their Twitter page and website. 

 

The Better Half and I were meeting up with a bunch of friends on Monday night and for once it wasn’t me who suggested where we go. I have heard a lot about STK as people I work with have been to the Vegas branch and the new London branch and absolutely loved both, so I was interested in trying it out when it was suggested. Leaving my preconceptions at the door, the carnivore in me was looking forward to a good steak. If nothing else, the Americans know how to grill a good steak! 

 

While we decided what to eat, the waiter brought us a couple of oversized brioche “tear and share” rolls with a blue cheese butter to dip in, packed full of herbs that gave it the striking green colour. The bread was warm and fresh and we all raved about the blue cheese butter.

  

 

Our table of six ordered the Lil’ BRGS (£10.50) – Wagyu beef sliders with special sauce and a sesame seed bun. “Like a meatball in a burger bun” as TBH remarked. They come 2 on a platter, so we ordered enough for everyone to have one. The bun was soft and the meat surprisingly juicy and well-seasoned for such a small piece and the sauce was indeed special! I could’ve easily ordered more of those, but didn’t want to ruin my appetite. 

 

For the main event, the menu is broken down into “Small” – cuts of beef from 150g – 250g, “Medium” 395g – 450g and “Large” 550g – 750g. There are also speciality steaks and a few other dishes that are not steak on the menu, but if you’re a vegetarian this is not the place for you! I ordered a 450g Sirloin steak (£30.00) cooked medium and when it arrived, it was just that. A huge hunk of beef of really good quality, the fat just melting in your mouth. Delicious.

We ordered a few different side dishes to share:  Broccolini (£3.75) which was cooked al-dente and seasoned well, sautéed spinach (£3.75) a bit bland in my opinion, mac & cheese (£5.00) was a really big portion and a little too rich for me (I didn't get a pic of this, sorry!) and lastly parmesan truffle chips (£4.50) – sensational! At times the truffle could be a little overpowering, but for some reason I found myself keep reaching over to the bowl to get more! Again, there was no room for dessert although I hear the Ferris wheel of fairground desserts is something to behold!

In comparison to the meal I had at New Street Grill last week, this was light years ahead. The quality of the ingredients seemed a lot higher, but saying that, the prices are a lot higher too. 

Service was good and the waiter was happy to engage in a bit of banter with us. There was a little wait between the starter and main course, but we had a lot of catching up to do so it wasn’t a major deal. It’s hard to judge the atmosphere on a Monday night, I’ve heard that the music gets really loud and the bar area really busy on weekends; but when we went it was relatively quiet and the soundtrack was a real hodgepodge of genres. It seemed more American diner than classy restaurant. 

One of our guests very kindly picked up the bill for us, which was totally unexpected but very much appreciated; so I can’t say how much the total bill came to. I left STK with very mixed feelings. The food really is outstanding but personally, I would prefer less of the TOWIE bling. It’s a little too pretentious for me considering it’s “only a steak house”. But I know of others that love that sort of thing. It is safe to say that my heart is still firmly with another, more laid back steak restaurant.  

For the next few weeks I am going to try give the red meat a bit of a break, I’ll be a walking piece of steak soon if I am not careful!

 

Until we eat again!

 

 

STK London

http://togrp.com/togrp-stk-london/about/

336 - 337 Strand, London WC2R 1HA