THE Cape Town Stadium precinct is looking fabulous. The restaurants in Main Road Green Point like Mario’s and the newcomer Doppio Zero will probably be impossible to get into during the World Cup matches so I suggest you go now. I haven’t been to Mario’s in a long while but had a wonderful evening at Doppio Zero, right next door, where News Café used to be.
I enjoyed my meal at Doppio Zero in Mandela Rhodes Place which I wrote about in December 08 but felt that the atmosphere in the Main Road Green Point store more reflected what I liked best about family-style dining.

There is very little about Doppio Zero to suggest it is a franchise restaurant and when chef Steven Nortje comes to the table and recommends something, you’ll be hard-pressed to say no.
I was stuffed after a half-and-half pizza with the Gne Gne Gne (butternut with caramelized onions and creamy gorgonzola, pine nuts and honey) and a new addition to the menu, Very Vegan with aubergine, artichokes, butternut, baby marrow, roasted red peppers, onion, toasted sunflower seeds and pine nuts. What makes this so especially delicious is that half the base is super crispy because no cheese is used on the Very Vegan pizza while the other side, drenched in melted gorgonzola is luscious and juicy.

The only drawback about the half-and-half (R76) combo, which they call Doppio Zero pizza, is that it only comes in large which is too much (even for me) to eat together with a main course.

I ordered the tagliata (R110 for 400g) which is a classic Italian dish of sliced rump on rocket or with Gorgonzola sauce and divine parmesan-rich mashed potatoes while JP went for the Aegean Kleftiko which is slow-roasted lamb with garlic and lemon and herbaceous oregano. Wonderfully tasty but a little dry. We eat this dish often at JP’s sister Isabelle who makes it for her Greek husband where the lamb fat melds with the olive oil to coat the mouth with every fork of meat and a moment later refreshes again thanks to the astringent lemon.

Already bursting at the seams, Chef Steven delivered a taster portion of his oxtail, one of the daily specials. At R95 it is very good value and very delicious. Expect bones in a rich and meaty sauce with tomato and red wine flavours that are thickened by the bone gelatine into a heady paste, just waiting to be mopped up with the aforementioned mash.

This is an ideal venue for comfort eating which, come winter, will be warmed by a big fireplace. In toastier weather, sit on the balcony and watch the crowds mill past. Parking is already at a premium in that area and with the popularity of Doppio Zero expect it to be even more difficult to find somewhere nearby. The solution is to arrive early, order a cocktail (fab Pina Colada) and check your emails before dinner with the free wireless access.

Open daily from 06h30, this is also the place to greet the morning with freshly baked sour-dough bread and artisan coffee. While staying at the nearby Cape Royale Hotel we bought delicious baked cheese cake and savoury quiches for our picnic lunch.
DOPPIO ZERO, 81 Main Road, Green Point, Cape Town. 021-434.9581. www.doppio.co.za

When not covering dining out and luxury travel, Brian Berkman assists clients with PR and social media campaigns. Brian@BrianBerkman.com Follow BrianBerkmanZA on Twitter.

THE French won’t be pleased. Their rarefied corner of the Cape has another European interloper who is bringing her Lake Como sensibilities and big-hearted Italian charm to the historic Klein Oliphants Hoek, Franschhoek guesthouse and restaurant.
Renata Gaggio is on a mission of a different kind from the original 1888 Missionaries who built the property.

Hers is to provide warm and stylish hospitality in this comfortable setting with thoughtful touches like plunge pools for ground floor suites and private sun-kissed decks.
Food is by chef Thurston Viljoen. We loved the antipasti selection which we enjoyed on the wide balcony overlooking their beautiful country garden.

An English journo in our party said she could see fairies among the lavender. Me thinks they were produced by Giorgio Dalla Cia, who introduced his fine wines. The fresh pasta was sensational but we didn’t enjoy the “South African” items from the menu.
There is a lot of high-end costly accommodation available in Franschhoek and while this isn’t a budget property, it is a good option for people who want space and comfort without the fripperies and associated cost of many of its five-star competitors.
Klein Oliphants Hoek, 021 876 2566.

www.kleinoliphantshoek.co.za

I first met Nicholas Patmore at The Radisson, Granger Bay when their breakfast buffet was reason enough to visit. Now he heads food and beverage at The Crystal Towers Hotel and Spa, Century City.

There are a number of dining locations but I prefer the casual deli-style options either on deep sofas or at metal American-diner tables and chairs.
I’m a sucker for glass domes. In fact, you could put a pile of poo under a beautiful glass dome and I’d be transfixed.
Here they have rich chocolate brownies, butter-rich shortbreads, rainbow-coloured coconut ices, savoury and sweet muffins, crunchies and biscotti (most R30) under beautiful glass bell curves.

There’s a fridge of cakes and individual portions of yummy pastries. I couldn’t resist the almond flour and orange cake and JP went into ecstatic conniptions at the choco mousse cake (R45).
Order sushi if you see a Japanese chef in attendance. Our first portion by local chefs was poor but very much improved later when we ordered sushi as a pool-side snack with cocktails, at the time on a half-price special offer.
The chicken wrap (R65) with spicy humus was brilliant and the deli sandwiches looked good. Although displayed so you can see what you’ll get, they are freshly made when ordered.

As a five-star property I thought the prices reasonable for what you get. Nicholas mentioned that while the hotel’s primary target market is the business and conference traveller, the food and beverage side is very much aimed at us.
My nephew Josh Gelb has made the red bar and pool table his new favourite place.

Mine is the blind-making white of the pool bar where you can sink into loungers and comfy chairs with coffees and cocktails. The pool is the hotel’s most dramatic feature as it juts out over the road.
I spied a number of regular faces at a late breakfast the following morning. Seems we aren’t the only ones who like to feast at a late breakfast and then head to Canal Walk for movies instead of lunch.
Crystal Towers 021-525-3888.
www.africanpridehotels.com

YOU can pay R1000 for a bottle of water at The Table Bay Grill. When we dined there, five were still in stock which meant that five people had forked out R1000 for a single bottle. It’s called Bling. The reason for the outrageous price is the removable Swarovski crystals that make up the name. Proof, if ever we needed it, that some people have more money than taste.

I forget how much I enjoy The Table Bay, especially at sunset on a perfect Cape Town day as Table Mountain looms large like a bejeweled tiara on the shimmering harbour waters. It is true that given the good mood we found ourselves in, we might have been more critical than we were, but I hardly think it mattered.

Right from deciding rather than to sit inside and to take in the enveloping evening outdoors to then moving inside again after a chill, service was helpful, efficient and pleasant.

We weren’t having any wine but I really liked the sommelier’s “little black book” of special vintages and finds to complement The Grills already massive wine list.
I spied the hand-written listings with notes from and about the winemaker and also the margin full of corrections as one or two fewer bottlers remained in stock.

The first course of lobster ravioli (R155) while costly was sufficient as a main course. The presentation is beautiful with foam (they call it essence) floating on top of the raviolis among the field mushrooms and baby green asparagus, evoking a rock pool of intense seafood flavour.
JP’s Balsamic Tuna (R85) was the flavour triumph though. The yellow-fin meat gets marinated in soy and balsamic and is then served with crisp chopped Asian vegetables.

We shared the chateaubriand (R260 for two). I did think having field mushrooms again in this dish a little repetitive but they were so delicious I didn’t mind. The accompanying braised endive was also a reminder of how delicious a vegetable it is, one that I hardly consciously order. My only objection was a greedy one – I wanted more Béarnaise.

The Grill gets full marks for bringing the meat on a trolley for tableside carving and serving. A pity they didn’t also flambé it at the table, one of the most exciting restaurant experiences. In fact, for my pleasure, flambéed anything rises far above the cutting-edge tableside ice cream making with liquid nitrogen. Perhaps I had enough of the dry-ice-smoke-thing in the 90’s nightclubs and since some chump nearly spilt liquid N into my lap, I prefer to get my thrills (not chills) the old-fashioned way.

Having coagulated my arteries with red meat and butter-rich Béarnaise I thought it churlish not to also eat the dessert (R80), a two-portion sampler of the hotel’s most popular sweets. Some restaurants simply make their selection and you and your companion have to wrestle for who gets what. Elegantly and generously, they make two of everything here.

Chef Dallas Orr has simplified the menu enormously and introduced crowd-pleasers such as the Chateaubriand that have retro and special-occasion appeal. He’s getting it right, as far as I’m concerned.

Our bill for two would have come in at nearly R600 which is a lot of money without drinks. The Atlantic Grill has extended the time-limit on their amazing special offer to Virgin Active members. If you and your partner are both Virgin Active members not only do you only pay half the bill but you can also chat about it on the treadmill the following day. Our meal for R300 is a great deal in anyone’s book and who’d object to free valet parking?
The Atlantic Grill at Table Bay Hotel. V&A Waterfront. 021-406 5000.