Bar Ba Coa, Umhlanga

The primal appeal of a flawlessly cooked steak has been expounded upon at length by writers and gourmands alike, and I will not attempt to outdo them here. I will only ask, as John Cleese did, that if God didn't intend for us to eat animals, then why did he make them out of meat?

I love eating steak straight off the coals, almost still smoking; fire crusted and dripping fat, with rusty red juices escaping at the first touch of the knife. I also like it pan fried; seared in nutty butter; caramelised, and drizzled with the deglazed pan residues. I have enjoyed it rare, bloody and marbled with fat – and pink, tender and topped with a freshly fried egg. No meal, perfectly done, is so satisfying; or poorly executed, as disappointing as a simple steak. As Anthony Bourdain reminds us - when you eat meat, something did die, and you have an obligation to value it.

Because of my preference for perfect porterhouse, I view steakhouses with a somewhat jaundiced eye. Too often the steak is served well done when you demanded medium rare, or the natural flavour of the meat is hidden under cheap sauces or ill-conceived garnishes. Sometimes the meat is cold, occasionally it is tough and generally it falls short of expectations, leaving one feeling disappointed and cheated.

For these reasons, it was with a tremble in my step that I approached Bar Ba Coa in Umhlanga on a recent Friday night. Bar Ba Coa calls itself an Argentinian grill and bar – good start. The Argentinians are famous for enjoying one of the highest per capita consumption rates of red meat in the world; and the vast herds of cattle ranging on the open pampas form part of their national psyche.

Interestingly, barbacoa from which the term 'barbecue' derives is actually a form of cooking meat that originated in the Caribbean – Argentinians rather refer to their national dish as 'Asado', which is used to refer to both the method of cooking meat on an open fire, as well as the social occasion surrounding it (much like 'braai' is used in South Africa).

Bar Ba Coa is one of our higher-end steakhouse, and is priced accordingly. Starters go for around R50 to R60 and steaks range from R115 to R180. Their Facebook page features tables of smiling Sharks rugby players and local minor celebrities, so it’s the kind of restaurant that you go to spoil yourself a little.

The place is attractively decorated in a masculine style, with wooden floors, more wood on the tables, plenty of leather, red walls and elegant lighting. There’s an inside area, which is more formal, and an enclosed outdoor area that is a little lower key (large screen TV screening sports), and which is where we were seated. It’s a popular venue, so be sure to book in advance.

We kicked our meal off with a portion of empanadas as well as the ‘dedos de carne’. The empanadas (basically little Cornish pasties) were filled with chorizo, corn and cheese and served with the restaurant’s signature chimichurri sauce (parsley, garlic and red pepper flakes in olive oil and vinegar). Torn apart and dipped in the sauce, they were delicious, and the serving of four is probably enough to share as a starter. The dedos de carne were somewhat less satisfying – described as 'beef strips fried in a red wine jus' the carne itself was pretty good, but the tortillas it was served with were a little thin and uninspiring, and the garnish of a pile of limp shredded lettuce might have felt more at home in a roadside burger house.

Obviously, though, we were there for the steaks, so we scanned the menu carefully and weighed up our various options for the main course. We wanted to maximise on the South American flavour, so we avoided the game options and the monkey gland sauce (too South African), and settled on the carne Argentina (naturally) and the carne Mexicana. Both are 300g sirloin steaks which come topped either with streaky bacon, grated cheddar and ‘drizzled with chimichurri butter' (Argentina) or nacho chips, melted cheddar, guacamole salsa, jalapenos and sour cream (Mexicana). Yes, the Mexicana is basically a steak topped with a portion of nachos – what’s not to like?

Sadly, like too many other restaurants, the fine print at the bottom of the menu stated:  '*All mains are served with a choice of chips, baked potato, rice, mash or salad'. Is it just me, or is that getting old? I don't come to a restaurant to design my own dish – this was not supposed to be a choose your own adventure. To my mind, sides should enhance the dish that they are paired with, the flavours, textures and colours carefully chosen to complement the main feature, not simply tacked on as an afterthought. I ended up going with chips, but honestly – one can get chips with a steak at Spur. Here, in an upmarket establishment, it would be nice to see something a little more thought through, perhaps a portion of verdurajo, the Argentinian grilled vegetable dish made up of potatoes, eggplant, corn and onion cooked on the grill.

The meat at Bar Ba Coa is advertised as ‘grilled on charcoal to bring out the natural flavours'. Unfortunately, to me it tasted a bit like the natural flavours of the charcoal, rather than the meat. It certainly wasn’t overpowering, but the first taste that hit me as I started on the steak was not the smoky, dark, woody flavour of an open fire under a starlit sky, but rather the dusty taste you might find at the bottom of the charcoal bag. Honestly, I couldn't quite work out what was going on here. The restaurant features a large kitchen with a viewing area, and I could see the staff flipping meat over a stack of coals, so it should have been great – but there was this insistent raw charcoal taste hanging on the outer edges of the meat. Kind of like the taste that results when you lose control of your Weber and resort to throwing water over the flames, kicking up ash.

Inside, both steaks were lovely and juicy (almost verging on underdone for a medium rare, with pink blood pooling on the plate) but I felt that they were under seasoned, simply not enough salt or pepper. Now I understand that Argentinians do not traditionally apply anything beyond the basics to their meat, but I think a slightly heavier hand with the seasoning would have helped to bring out the flavour of the meat.

The toppings were alright, but also not very inspiring – the chimichurri was probably the best part, and the chips were very standard, I might have preferred a more rustic, thick cut, skin on chip to better match the big slab of beef.

Desserts consisted of a rather familiar looking line up: crème brûlée; ice cream and chocolate sauce; an Argentinian take on tiramisu. Something I did enjoy was the option of two scoops of Mozart’s ice cream served in a sugar cone. A good way to end off the meal and you can even walk out with it if you choose to – pudding to go!

All in all, Bar Ba Coa is not really a bad steakhouse – it’s just that it falls prey to what bothers me about most steakhouses, with the added issues that at their prices, I expect a lot more. Next time I’ll stick to my Weber.

Market at the Square

The sun has been down for an hour but the heat of the long day continues to rise from the warm streets and walls of Umhlanga's Granada Square in bustling Chartwell Drive. The sound of a crooned Mumford and Sons cover mingles with a hundred conversations, the barked orders of food vendors and the sizzle of meat on flame. Above, a constellation of lights stand in for stars. It's standing room only at the popular Market at the Square, so I'm enjoying feeling a part of the crowd, sipping on a glass of chilled champagne and debating the merits of falafel rotis over lamb pitas.

Falafel roti wins out, so I join the queue in front of the ever popular Falafel Fundi. I don't know his name, so I'll just call him the Fundi, but he was in fine form, rolling and stuffing his rotis at an impressive pace, while keeping up a constant stream of jokes and chatter. Rotis came with or without chilli - I had with, while two others with me had half chilli and no chilli - like Goldilocks' three bears. The rotis were great - bursting with flavour, chock full of falafel balls with the earthy, silky fried chickpea contrasting with the crunchy salad, the warmth of the chilli and garlicky tahini.

Earlier in the evening we also ate at Zak and Tonic, who impressed with their steamed buns, crispy wontons and other dim sum, which were snapped up at such a rate they sold out by the end of the evening.

Several glasses of champagne later, and it's time for something sweet to end off the night. The humorously named 'Legen-dairy' ice cream offers four fantastic flavours, including peanut butter, which I have to try. It's a generous portion, seved in a paper cup with a wooden spoon, and it's as good as you would imagine - do you like peanut butter? Do you like ice cream? Yep, you'll like this then. Only after eating half of my dessert I discover that mixed portions are also possible, so next time I'll definitely throw in a scoop of the oreo and cheesecake ice creams.

In an increasingly crowded market schedule (ten this weekend alone according to my handy market bible produced by @CuizineDurban) the Market at the Square stands out for the great food, chilled vibes and friendly atmosphere. As well as the good eating, there are also plenty of craft stands selling jewelry, art, decor and other fun odds and ends. A fun night out.

Friday Nights: Sevruga, Gateway

Sevruga is part of the Caviar group of restaurants, which includes two venues in Capetown, and now two in Durban. Adverts for the restaurants appear regularly in TASTE magazine, and the Eat Out guide, and invariably feature long haired, blonde models whose enjoyment of the food appears to border on the indecent. The food-porn theme continues on their website, which is currently down, and amusingly offers the Freudian excuse that they are 'currently too busy servicing our guests'. Being of the opinion that good food photography does not require a side of high heels and come-hither glances, I was initially wary of visiting the new Sevruga restaurant at Gateway, worrying that they had chosen glamour over substance.

Happily, however, we had received several 50% off promotional vouchers at the Taste of Durban festival, so determined to take full advantage before they expired, we visited the restaurant twice in a month, once as a couple and once with friends.

The restaurant is located on the Eastern side of the mall, overlooking the Wavehouse and is an impressively large 300 seater. Front of house we were greeted (as expected?) by two bored looking model types, dressed for a night on the town, who ushered us to our table in their matching micro dresses before mincing back to their positions.

The initial service experience was frustrating, as we were descended upon by at least four different servers, each of whom offered us 'a bottle of water for the table', attempted to drape napkins over our laps and generally fell over one other. Once the help had settled down, however, and our eyes had a chance to adjust to the deep gloom of the restaurant interior, we were able to begin enjoying the experience, and page through the extensive menu, which features wonderful and exotic sounding 'regular' dishes (risotto balls with truffle aioli, deboned lamb ribs, marinated springbok) as well as a lengthy dim sum and sushi section.

We had come for the sushi, so the regular section of the menu will have to wait for a later review. To begin, we ordered a portion of Har Gau (translucent dim sum) filled with duck, honey and ginger. Service was prompt (our final waitress on our initial visit was lovely) and presentation was beautiful, with the three generously sized dumplings nestled in still steaming bamboo, and shaped in a way that I had not seen before, with a pretty tri-lobed finish. I would have enjoyed a more pronounced ginger flavour, but they were definitely delicious, with a wonderful soft mouth feel.

Next came a round of crispy, deep fried wontons, filled this time with beef, coriander and ginger. Again they arrived promptly, beautifully presented, hot and tasty.

An interesting offer on the menu was the bowl of Edamame beans. I had heard that these were a popular dish in Japan and China, but didn't realise until they arrived at the table that they are in fact simply immature soybeans, served steamed in their pods and eaten with salt. The characteristically hairy and rather drab looking pods, when broken open yielded up a surprisingly beautiful harvest of plump, shiny, jade-green beans. These offered a good test of my chopstick wielding abilities as I initially ate them one by one after manoeuvring them through a ponzu bath, before abandoning pretenses and popping them directly into my mouth.

The Tom Yum soup, which I tried on our second visit, was wonderfully fiery, with a dangerous red sheen across the bowl, and a good hot and sour balance. Since enjoying Tom Yum in Bangkok, I have been on the lookout for a South African experience which can compare to what we tasted there. This one was one of the better that I've tasted - perhaps too much emphasis on the chili, but I enjoyed eating it immensely.

Having visited the dim sum pages, we moved on to the sushi, and ordered a selection of California rolls, sashimi, something called a 'samurai roll' and the 'tuna crunch' which involved tuna tempura rolled with cream cheese before being tempura battered a second time (purists, look away).

When we visited as a couple, all of the dishes which we ordered were presented on a single plate, which was a nice effect. Generally all of the sushi we ordered on both visits was well constructed, fresh and tasty, although I felt that too much mayonnaise was in use, something which I feel detracts from the fresh, Asian flavours of really good sushi.

On our first visit we bypassed the deserts and ended instead with an apple martini lolly - there are several variants of these alcoholic ices, and they are served in a retro ice lolly shape. Good fun, and a great palate cleanser.

When we did try the deserts, they were out of the chocolate fondant that we had wanted to order, and so I had to fall back on the crème brûlée. It was a pretty good effort, with vanilla seeds spotted through the silky smooth custard, but I still felt a bit disappointed. I think that perhaps crème brûlée has been overdone to the point that only making them at home still holds much appeal - rather stick to the lollies.

With its sophisticated interior, extensive, well executed menu and great wine list, Sevruga is a welcome addition to the Durban restaurant landscape. If they can tone the service down to an unobtrusive level (without venturing into the neglect we experienced on our second visit) and perhaps sort out a few issues with availability there will be very little on which to fault them. Fun for a date night, or an evening out with friends, I rate it worthy of a third helping.

Friday Nights: Little Havana, Umhlanga

A crisp, white tablecloth raises certain expectations of a venue. More formal. More sophisticated. More expensive... At Little Havana in Umhlanga's popular Chartwell Drive, white was the first impression that I felt as I stepped through the doors into this fairly large restaurant of about forty tables. We were seated (on white chairs) at a table close to an open window which allowed in a cool breeze that smelled of rain and the ocean.

Our waiter presented us with the wine list, which met with my expectation of high prices. The list did appear carefully curated and offered some less commonly seen bottles, but sparkling wine choices were limited, so I settled on a bottle of Krone Rosé which I had brought along as a backup. Corkage was R45.

Little Havana has to be commended on their starter options which, unlike their main courses, were varied and interesting. We settled on an oven roasted camembert and pancetta and an intriguingly titled 'deconstructed prawn samoosa'. The camembert was delicious, although the streaky bacon which it was wrapped in, while salty, crisp, and smoky against the smooth cheese, was certainly not pancetta.

The deconstructed prawn samoosa was the best part of my meal. A generous portion, it consisted of a Mauritian-style prawn curry, which was sweet and hot, piled high on a plate and interleaved with sheets of samoosa wrapper pastry that were crunchy on the edges and soft where they were soaked with the sauce of the curry.

Feeling confident that we had found a restaurant of above average quality, we turned to the main courses, and examined the steak options which are essentially a mix and match of cut, sides, and sauce. All steaks are seasoned alike, with salt, pepper, mustard seeds and thyme, and come with the obligatory choices of chips ('shoestring fries'), rice or baked potato. Side options included those horribly uninspired stalwarts, creamed spinach and cinnamon butternut. Feeling good after our starters, we decided that the minimalist menu was indicative of superior, no-nonsense meat, and not simply a lack of imagination on the part of the chef.

I ordered a free-range, grass fed rib eye steak, medium rare, with a side order of onion rings, chips and 'Cuban rum barbecue sauce', which was the most interesting sounding sauce on offer. Service was brisk, with my steak arriving less than ten minutes after ordering, despite the full restaurant.

To be honest, I don't know who is still impressed by the presentation of a steak that sits looking lonely on the middle of a large white plate, with one of those cheap ramekins of sauce as its only company. Yes, the steak was good, but no - it was not able to carry the whole course all on its own. The sauce tasted like catering grade 'BBQ' sauce with a splash of alcohol, and the chips were underdone. The onion rings, which were fluffy, hot and moreish, struggled manfully to rescue the overall impression but didn't quite manage, and the toothpick flag stuck into the meat didn't help to raise the tone of the dish either.

Our second order was a rare rump steak where the quality of the meat was unfortunately not good enough to match the short cooking time and which remained tough and chewy.

The pudding menu continued in the traditional vein introduced by the main courses, and not feeling like another crème brûlée, I settled for a cappuccino and a ten year old Laphroaig, which never disappoints.

Overall, we left the restaurant feeling disappointed. They would do well to infuse some Cuban elements into the cuisine beyond the name of the place and the Che Guevara shirts on the support staff. Where were the citrus flavours, the capers, olives or black beans? Where was the rum? The steaks for which little Havana is known are overrated, and sorely deficient in interest. The promise of the white table cloths was not met, and the commercial nature of the meal denied the revolutionary potential of the name.

More 1990s than 1950s Havana.