Secret Eats: Open Plan Studio

At the Design Factory's Open Plan Studio in Morningside, four floors above the empty streets, long wooden tables stretch across a sparsely decorated industrial space. The tables are strewn with artfully arranged stacks of old books, ceramics and antique appliances. At each place setting, long rows of assorted cutlery reflect the candlelight: two knives, a fish knife, three forks and a spoon. People sit on mismatched chairs - ten to a side and the noise of animated conversation almost drowns out the background music as bottles of wine are passed from one side of the table to the other.

It’s Friday night, and it’s time for another once off event hosted in Durban by Secret Eats, the underground dining experience with limited seats and largely word-of-mouth advertising. The crowd have gathered here for a unique dining experience, this one catered by Tarnah Blane, a graduate of Christina Martin and owner of Private Chef Ballito.

Why go to the effort of applying for invitations to attend pop-up restaurant in out of the way parts of town, or trying to remember the tongue-in-cheek passwords at the door that are part of the Secret Eats experience? Part of it is about the food, which is out of the ordinary, different every time, and follows a set menu format that forces people out of their comfort zones. Mostly though, I think it’s about the people who attend - the spontaneous friendships that emerge across the shared tables, and the chance to discover parts of the city where most of us wouldn’t ordinarily go.

The evening starts well with welcome cocktails and live music from the talented Phil Moffett, who does strange things to a guitar that sound pretty amazing (apparently it’s called slap harmonics). The cocktails are served in retro glass ‘Cooee’ bottles, and involve what feels like large quantities of gin, rosewater and those hipster-y paper straws. The evening’s theme is #SouthAmericanFlavours (Secret Eats is big on social media) so we snack on empanadas dipped in fragrant chimichurri sauce and choripanes (effectively pork sliders, named for their two main ingredients, grilled chorizo sausage and pan, or bread) as we mingle and meet some of the other guests.

We move through to the tables which have unreserved seating, and form naturally into large groups of new found friends. I might be imagining it, but the one table seems to hold a mostly 30s crowd, while the other table is favoured by slightly older diners. We’re sitting at the kids table!

For starters we are served ceviche, the unofficial national dish of Peru - raw fish marinated in citrus juices, and effectively ‘cooked’ by the acid, leaving it tender and slightly chewy with a delicate flavour that really reveals the fish – a perfect food for Durban! This one is adventurously combined with toasted coconut flakes and fried banana fritters. Personally, bananas are the one food that I refuse to eat, so I simply push the fritter to one side. The fresh yellowtail, purchased the same morning from the docks is meltingly tender and simply dressed. The crunchy flakes of coconut add a fun textural component that really pulls the dish together.

Next, it’s a second starter sized portion of panqueques con pollo a la crema (chicken wrapped in a pancake with butter beans, and served with avocado salsa). Pretty tasty, although it could have been served warmer – a challenge for the chefs at all of these functions is cooking for a crowd out of what is generally a makeshift kitchen. Still, the plates are heading back to the kitchen wiped clean, and we are clamouring for more.

The main course is shredded venison (blesbok) served atop a pile of quinoa risotto and chargrilled sweetcorn and decorated with micro herbs. Quinoa’s gluten-free status and high mineral and protein content have made it a trendy superfood, but as well as being good for you it’s also really delicious, and (we discover) goes fantastically with blesbok. Cell phones and cameras are hovering over dishes before they are devoured, as each course is sent out via Twitter and Instagram to those unfortunate enough to have missed out on tickets.

Two of the guests are celebrating their birthdays, and there is an impromptu performance of unaccompanied singing from Ian – a Drakensberg Boy’s alumni who is sitting opposite me. Everybody pauses to enjoy the moment, this is the kind of thing that makes these evenings what they are – a little out of the ordinary.

Finally we reach the dessert course, which is bread and butter pudding of croissant (known as medialuna in Argentina for their half-moon shape) with dulce de leche and Chantilly cream. It’s served in a tin mug, and it’s decadently soft and sweet – a perfect end to the meal.

Open Plan Studio has a photo booth set up, so we gather for photographs with some of the table, as well as Zak and Tam (of Zak and Tonic, who run these evenings). Arms are thrown around shoulders as we huddle up for a pose – just another group of old friends that met a couple of hours ago.

9th Avenue Bistro

A lot has been written about 9th Avenue bistro (almost all of it good), now open for almost thirteen years, and consistently considered one of Durban's best restaurants.

Like many excellent restaurants, it is more concerned with the food than with the exterior view, and is found in the Avonmore Centre in Morningside, an unremarkable location with an inadequate parking lot and a view of... well, just the parking lot really. Having said that, the place has undergone a revamp sometime in the last year or so since we last visited, and the interior is no longer entirely minimalist. A small, enclosed terrace is lined with accents of raw wood, and the interior is painted in cool grey tones. A feature wall carries a collection of paintings and photographs of aloes while the opposite wall holds some of their excellent wine collection. Simple hanging bulbs create a welcoming light, and my only quibble with the interior was the use of plastic flowers (fake protea pincushions) on a high shelf.

The wine list is short enough to read through, but long enough to mean business, and includes offerings from several boutique Cape wineries. We ordered a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc No 7 from Hermanuspietersfontein, a winery we were lucky to visit earlier this year. Platter's gives it four stars - I give it a delicious.

The menu itself is tight and focused, with around ten starters and ten main courses over two pages. We didn't get to dessert on this visit (birthday cake!) so no comments on that front. Prices are on the steep side, but in line with the level of service.

To begin, we selected the pork and chorizo stuffed squid and the crispy fried calamari, which seemed a good combination. The calamari was tender, well battered, hot and delicious and came with two dipping sauces, a Vietnamese and a roasted jalapeno aioli. Both sauces were tasty, but didn't do full justice to their names - they could equally well have been described as a soy sauce and a chili mayo - it would have been good to taste some real smoky flavours from the roasted jalapenos. Presentation was on a wooden board, which I liked, sitting on a paper serviette, which I didn't (soggy serviette, bad).

The squid was artfully presented, the plate painted with squid ink and piled with a rustic couscous, the stuffed tubes, a scattering of Cajun prawns and a dusting of some kind of powder in one corner, which looked good, but was almost flavourless. The pairing of pork and squid was great - although I think that can be said of all pork pairings (bacon chocolate anyone?).

We were well satisfied with our starters, as were the majority of the table, with the exception of the soup of the day (field mushroom) which was rather weak - blandly presented and thin.

Main course was a tough choice, with the pork belly and duck options vying for attention. In the end I went off menu for one of the nights specials: suckling pig (under three months old - I asked, and then felt guilty), roasted whole, pulled off the bone and packed into a slab, topped with crackling and served with a warm salad of potato, apple and basil and a roasted carrot.

The picture doesn't do it justice - it was one of the most wonderful things I have ever eaten. The shredded pork meat was amazingly soft, with just the right proportion of fat, enough to carry the wonderful flavours, but not enough to overpower the senses. The highlight, however, was the crackling, which was thin, crisp and yielding, unlike some crackling, which can be hard enough to break a tooth on. The side salad nicely balanced the pork, with just a hint of apple with the potato. By the time I was done, nothing was left on the plate, and I was sorely tempted to pick it up and lick off any remaining sauce.

I have mentioned before my misgivings about ordering risotto (too often underdone). Happily, 9th Avenue's effort was spot on, with tender, gooey rice, subtly flavoured with leek, mushroom and soft cheese. The risotto was served with 'spring vegetables', which turned out to be asparagus, grilled courgette and peas - simple, tasty, and a welcome improvement on what normally passes for vegetables at most restaurants.

As we were visiting to celebrate a friend's birthday, we ended the meal with a delicious birthday cake, along with coffees (small and strong). We will have to visit again soon to review the desserts...

The oracle of Delphi has spoken

According to Greek Mythology, Delphi was the centre of the earth, as determined by eagles sent forth by Zeus himself, and was home to the Delphic Oracle. According to TripAdvisor, it is also the 76th best rated restaurant out of 160 in Durban (in its defense it has a 90% recommendation rate based on only 11 reviews), and is home to some of the best Greek food in Durban.

Delphi (they spell it Delfi) is found in Lilian Ngoyi (Windermere) Road in Morningside, and is housed in an unprepossessing building just off the road. When we visited, the place looked a little like the temple of Apollo with its tumbledown columns - the wind had recently blown down their patio roof.

Perhaps fortunately, I had forgotten my camera, as the interior is very Greek-kitsch, with lots of checked table cloths, faded posters, chipped plates on the wall (memorabilia from a big plate smashing night?) and tastefully arrayed plastic grapevines.

The wine list is on the minimal side, but luckily I had come prepared with a bottle of Waterford Rose-Mary in the boot, and their corkage is a very reasonable R15.

The place seems to do very well out of repeat business, which speaks well for it - there was much hugging of the owners, and plenty of people seemed to know exactly what they were going to order. It's a small restaurant, with only room for 6 or 7 tables. 

We ordered the meze platter for starters, as well as a portion of squid heads. The platter was the highlight of the whole meal, and featured fantastic eggplant, saganaki, kofta and dolmades. The squid heads were decent, but not as good as some.

The main course was less inspiring - my lamb shank kleftiko was very tender, but a little flavourless, with a thick, sticky gravy which did not add greatly to the experience. The side dish of rice was also cooked with frozen peas and carrots, a pet peeve of mine. The chicken souvlaki was served in a pita and was fairly good, but also lacked real depth of flavour, focusing mainly on garlic, with few other tastes coming through. I felt that it could have used more tzatziki, lemon, dill or mint.

Dessert - the halva and icecream was delicious - I need to make this at home, but the galaktoboureko was also a little plain. The less said about coffee the better.

Overall - it's a cheap and cheerful spot, with simple, hearty fare on a road with several other restaurants. If in doubt, pop in for the meze, and if nothing else takes your fancy - go for a roving dinner.

Friday Nights: Cafe 1999

When the best restaurants in Durban are discussed, Cafe 1999 generally gets mentioned, and has done so for the past ten years. It was with some anticipation then, that we booked a table for Friday night, and having practiced my rusty parallel parking skills in the road opposite, headed inside.

With a restaurant that aspires to inspire as this one does ('iconic dining since 1999' is their tagline), first impressions do count. Cafe 1999 falls somewhat short on this count - it is situated in a small shopping centre, alongside several other restaurants, and does not have much in the way of street appeal. Entering the restaurant, the underwhelming feeling continues. There is an almost conspicuous lack of decor, with one wall completely bare, and the other containing only a long mirror. Tables are simply set with a tea light candle and a diminutive salt and pepper set of the sort that commonly graces tables at the Wimpy or perhaps your Gran's. Clearly the food here is left to speak for itself - not necessarily a bad thing.

The atmosphere is bustling, with waiters flying between closely spaced tables, and the clatter of conversation mostly drowning out the music, which is more Cafe del Mar than Katie Melua.

An amuse bouche is brought to the table, a single fish cake served on a spoon with a few microleaf herbs. Simple, but tasty.

Some reviewers have commented that the wine list is on the pricey side. We ordered a bottle of Ken Forrester Reserve Chenin Blanc  ('you can always trust old Ken', reckoned the waiter) which cost R175 (retail R75). The wine list is well picked, but short, so you might struggle to find something familiar. The Ken Forrester was lovely.

We each ordered a starter - one deep fried camembert (the peppadew jam is the revelation here) and one calamari and tentacles with chourico, beautifully crumbed and hinting at lemon, garlic and rosemary. After ordering starters we heard the specials, and promptly ordered the tuna sashimi starter too, which was probably the best of the lot. Raw tuna, served on a bed of avocado puree, and interspersed with pickled ginger and shards of crispy wafer.

For our main courses we selected a beef fillet on basil pesto capellini and, unusually for me, a chicken dish of thighs crusted with coconut and coriander and served on ginger sweet potato mash. The chicken was delicious - the sweet, smooth mash contrasting nicely with the crisp, salty crust of the thighs. The beef fillet was rare as ordered, tender and well seasoned, but unfortunately cold. We sent it back to the kitchen, from where it returned only marginally warmer - a bit of a downer.

Finally, for desert we settled on the chocolate brownies, a restaurant staple, with the white chocolate and poppy seed ice-cream the deciding factor. I often find desert to be the most neglected course when eating out, but was pleased in this instance to find the chocolate brownies intense, crusty, warm and oozing - everything a brownie should be, and the ice-cream a worthy accompaniment.

So, is it as good as it should be? Perhaps, reluctantly, I would have to say 'no'. The food was generally excellent, although the cold main course, and especially the way it was handled was disappointing. The menu is fairly short, and while full of interest, stops just short of throwing caution to the wind and being a little adventurous. Service was generally good, excepting the incident already mentioned. And as for decor - would it kill to get a few decent salt and pepper set on the tables?

I give it 1997/1999.

Cell phone camera does not do justice...