STEP away from that spice bottle! I needed a loudhailer to scream that instruction into the kitchen at Karibu, South African dining restaurant, at the Waterfront. Rather than provide warmth, the clove permeated nearly every mouthful with a woody and bitter taste. Yuk.
Things had been looking up. I was transfixed by the large backlit lush wilderness shot on the far wall of this smart restaurant and the giant wire baobab tree is evocative. Service was good, I thought, with Ellah balancing charm and efficiency and the initial offering of breadsticks, sugar glazed but with a spicy peppering, enjoyable.
I’d had a great lunch here in October last year and especially liked the braaied items on the menu. I was pleased to be invited back to use a R500 voucher to pay the bill. I wish more restaurants would do this, rather than offer to make the arrangements for our arrival. I prefer not being expected.
Here’s what we ordered: fish cakes (nicely presented starter portion with three small fried cakes and three dipping sauces (R55). The sugar bean soup (R59) was too watered down and without pleasing flavour and, unfortunately, cloves. The lamb Waterblommetjie stew R135 (it was R115 when I reviewed the dish previously) looked like a brown mess and again the only discernable flavour was clove. I prayed to myself that no other guests (largely international visitors) would order this dish and think poorly of our heritage cuisine. The Venison Potjie (R159), while attractively presented, lacked flavour and there wasn’t even a hint of the red wine promised on the menu.
It wasn’t all bad. The Victoria Salad looks beautiful with goujons of fried hake on top of a salad rich in jade-green avocado with baby tomatoes and other greens. At R52 I think it a good value quick lunch. The marog, (R21) a side-order of spinach and potato was clumsily seasoned but tasty and, to end, the malva pud R58 was a little stodgy but not bad while the Hertzogies (R42), jam and coconut tartlets, were good. The bill came to R581 which caught us by surprise. Although we weren’t anxiously trying to keep within the R500 budget, it seemed far too high for such a meal without any drinks.
None of the dishes we ordered required dexterity or great skill and with care and quality ingredients each one could have been perfect. I feel sad that a restaurant so clearly targeting tourists has the temerity to serve dishes such as they did. It reflects badly on all of us.
Karibu
021-421-7005 www.kariburestaurant.co.za
221 Waterfront, on the upper level at the V&A, offers a Flavours of South Africa dish (R130) with three large portions of fish bobotie, chicken curry and lamb bredie. Perhaps I am hypercritical about food that represents us as a nation but this dish also disappointed. Although it was good to eat, it didn’t get the local flavours right at all.
The gourmet tomato soup is a winner (R39). It is beautiful to look at, fruity without excess acidity and luscious. The mussels (R60 for eight) are plump and juicy in a heavenly chilli, garlic, lemongrass and coconut cream sauce while the Cognac pepper fillet (R135) served on bashed potatoes with onions is rich and peppery warming but not harsh in anyway. The grilled line fish (R115), Cape Salmon, was a little overdone but gorgeously presented on a rectangle with a lemon butter sauce and a salsa verde with courgettes and butternut mash.
221 Waterfront is elegantly decorated with glass panel doors that peel away in good weather but also shake in the wind as they did the gusty night we dined here.
www.221waterfront.co.za.
021-418-3633