According to Tank’s menu, Chef Arata is a sushi master ranked 7th in the world. Wine magazine reports that he worked with Nobu Matsuhisa at his eponymous New York eatery but having recently dined at both Nobu and Tank I’m struggling to see the consequence of the connection except perhaps that, like Nobu, Tank does sushi with a twist.
Happily our lavish evening at Tank only cost R400 for the two of us including cocktails as apposed to the R860 ticket for my meal at Nobu alone.
Tank is especially recommendable if you want a little attitude with your sushi. Not, mind you from the staff which, reputation rumored were as tightly wrapped in their own importance as a maki roll, but by the cuisine which is livelier than purist sushi purveyors. Bianca and other staff were very pleasant and able to make intelligent personal recommendations without being pushy or obsequious.
Taking their temperature, as I often do, with a Caesar Salad (R38) showed a modern eatery that respected tradition. I loved that it had a poached egg and anchovy in the salad as well as the usual bits.
Mandy Neale-May
wearing a fairytale white dress glowed as the blue under-seat lighting illuminated her in the same ghoulish way as shining a torch inside your mouth. Perhaps the blue tinge is one way of keeping the blue-rinse brigade away although the chic interior would dispel any suggestion that pre-1970 crimpoline would be acceptable. Tank obviously gets its name from the giant fish tank at the front of the restaurant but perhaps on a more subtle level, the blue light and the fact that food and patrons are on display, suggests that the diners and sushi are more closely related than we like to believe.
The Salmon roses (R26) were sublime as mouthfuls of salmon, mayo and caviar as were the Makis – Tuna (R26) and Avo (R20). Mandy had a plate of salmon sashimi (R45) for her main while I had the seafood laksa (R68). We shared a sushi pizza (R50) a portion of four, grilled rice topped with smoked salmon, mozzarella and caviar. Obviously gimmicky, like other Californian-inspired sushi dishes on their menu, it was fun to eat.
I’ve been thinking a lot about a conversation I had with food doyenne Phillippa Chefitz while celebrating Jewish New Year at our shared relatives Babs and Sam Kantor. I said how much I loved Aunty Babs’ chicken pie and how I’d like to see more restaurants offering simple fare on their menus that were full of flavour and delicious to eat. I interpreted her facial gesture to mean she thought I was loopy because the conversation moved to the innovative cuisine trend of presenting ingredients in new ways like foams that encourage the diner to experience the taste in a new way as if for the first time. The sushi pizza fit into that category.
The seafood Laksa was the most fabulous of our dishes and I was so excited to see it on the menu I ordered it immediately. I was so taken with Laksa (rich, fragrant soup with coconut milk and noodles) in Sarawak, Borneo that I convinced the chef at the Hilton there to let me bring some Laksa paste home with me. The dish at Tank didn’t taste like I remembered Laksa did, but it was extremely delicious and I will go back to Tank to have that dish again. The prawn, line fish and mussels were just fabulous and the colour was like I imagined melted copper to be when tinged with saffron.
We dined at Tank on a Monday night and when we arrived at 7pm ours was the only table but when we left the restaurant had filled with a few touristy looking folks, some young and pretties but mostly people wanting a delicious night out. Happily, not a blue-rinse in sight.
Tank, CapeQuarter, Dixon Street, De Waterkant, Cape Town 021-419-0007
This review was unannounced and the bill paid for.
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