Lupa Osteria, Hillcrest

Exciting news! You may have already seen the blog post below on the Taste Detectives page. That's because I am now a contributing taste detective, under the rather cool name of 'The Hungry Hedonist'. I'll still be posting all of my content here, but you'll see it first on Taste Detectives.

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Apparently in Italy there is an eating out hierarchy which goes something like this: an 'osteria' is a simple place to grab a glass of wine and a bite to eat, often at shared tables. Next comes the 'trattoria', which serves reasonably priced meals in a slightly more formal environment, and finally the 'ristorante', which is a full service establishment complete with long menus, snooty waiters and elegant decor. Lupa Osteria in Hillcrest is probably selling itself a little short then, as the food, the decor and the service are all well above your average neighbourhood dive.

First of all, there's a fully fledged bar at the entrance to the restaurant which serves up some of the tastiest cocktails that I've enjoyed in Durban to date, as well as stocking an array of local and imported wines and plenty of craft beer too. The cool, grey interior and warm lighting draw you inwards toward a seat at the bar, or at one of the high tables to enjoy a drink before your meal - which is exactly what we did. The 'Lupa' - a shaken concoction of Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey, bitters, lemon and orange wedges is a good place to start.

The best part about the bar though is the glass full of parmesan dusted grissini (breadsticks) that are placed on the tables. Seriously moreish, you'll end up fighting over who gets the last one, and possibly stealing them off the tables next to you too.

Moving into the body of the restaurant, tables are scattered through a large, inviting room which is busy, but still manages to feel somehow intimate with a few carefully placed pieces of furniture dividing up the space. Pretty much every table is full, so its the kind of place that you want to book at least a day in advance.

It's a good restaurant to eat out at with friends, as the menu is extensive and is backed up by a chalkboard showcasing the days specials. There's a lot to choose from, and we ordered a selection of starters and main courses for the table to share - perhaps the easy going enjoyment of the food here is what inspired the use of 'Osteria' rather than 'Ristorante'.

Portions are definitely on the generous size, and some of the starters looked almost big enough for mains. We tried out the beef carpaccio, decorated with thinly sliced mushroom, parmesan, rocket and (score) more breadsticks - delicious. After that came a bowl full of fragrant mussels in a rich tomato sauce and topped with a slice of crusty bread. The dishes kept coming, and soon we were enjoying more bread (there's a theme developing here) heaped with spicy chicken livers - I enjoyed these, and I don't normally even eat liver. The final starter was a selection of juicy meatballs in a creamy sauce (plus more bread). We're all leaning over each other to tuck in by this point, and the flavours are mingling as plates fly from one side of the table to the other. 

Antipasti done, we moved on to the primo, where I was seduced by the offer of gnocchi with a pulled pork ragu. It's a deceptively simple dish, but the combination of endlessly simmered pork with pillowy soft gnocchi, wine, tomato and fresh herbs is devastatingly effective - it's instantly one of my favourite dishes. 

Another main course of calamari is also enjoyed, tubes and heads are coated in (apparently) pretzel dust, which sounds rather cool, but is not really distinguishable from your regular batter. Either way, it's tasty calamari, fresh and soft, and not too oily. Served with cheesy linguine, marinara sauce and mustard mayonnaise, it's almost too rich, but that might just be the previous courses talking.

Not quite defeated yet, we ordered a sundae with caramel popcorn, peanuts and sugar cone, and - the Italian classic - tiramisu. The waiter warned us that this particular batch of tiramisu didn't turn out quite right and might be too coffee drenched for everyone's taste. He's kind of right, its a little bit soggy, but we were warned, and we enjoy it all the same. The sundae is adequate, but after the fun of the first few spoonfuls there's a lot of rather bland vanilla ice cream to get through. The affogato looks like a good alternative - alongside the ice cream and espresso, you get a shot of Amarula too.

So - great cocktails, addictive breadsticks, carbo-loading goodness, Italian classics, and I haven't even tried the pizzas yet. Lupa is named for the she-wolf in Rome's foundation myth, but it could equally well refer to the way you'll keep looping back for more.

Parc Cafe, Glenwood

Two weeks ago we were enjoying breakfast at the excellent Glenwood Bakery when we realised that there are actually two amazing venues squeezed into the intriguingly named 'Oslo Building' on Esther Roberts Road. Like Glenwood Bakery, the adjacent parc café (parc-cafe.co.za) is surprisingly understated in announcing its presence. There are no signs outside, and initially I mistook them for an extension of the Bakery. After peering inside for several moments, however, I noticed their simple chalk drawn name on a black feature wall, largely given over to their extensive and tempting breakfast and lunch menus.

It turns out that parc café has been around since May last year, and is run by a brother and sister team, Brett and Lara Gentles (Brett was previously at 9th Avenue Bistro). I was excited to try them out, and we managed to get back to Glenwood last weekend for a Saturday morning breakfast.

On arrival, you can instantly feel an arty, hipster vibe which in true Durban style manages to remain completely unpretentious. The waiters are fun and friendly and the clientele range from young locals arriving on fixed gear bicycles to out-of-towners who park their hulking SUVs alongside the small tables which line the pavement.

Being Durban, it's already pretty warm by nine in the morning, and we ask our waitress if she can find us a couple of iced coffees.

'It's just espresso and milk over ice', she warns us. 'We don't crush it or anything'.

We assure her that we are fine with that - the coffees at Parc are made from beans supplied by Colombo Coffee (of Factory Café fame) and when they arrive they are delicious - cool, silky-smooth and full bodied.

We pick two of the breakfast options off the chalkboard and order. Reluctantly, we omit the 'Not-so-Benedict' (bacon and poached eggs with hollandaise on next door's rosemary potato bread) - I am still cherishing the memories of my last Eggs Benedict, and it would feel like a betrayal to be moving on so soon. Luckily there are plenty of other exciting sounding options, and before long we are presented with two plates - one holding a toasted scone topped with poached eggs, bacon, roast red peppers and wholegrain mustard cream, and the other piled high with corn and zucchini cakes, poached eggs, halloumi, lemon and olives with a tomato and vanilla relish.

In situations like this, the time honoured tradition of 'eat half and pass on' is enforced, and I can't decide whether to be happy or sad at half time, as each dish is wonderful, and both are so fresh and unusual. The 'eggs on scone' comes first - eggs are perfectly poached, bacon crispy and mushrooms joyfully sautéed. The mustard cream pulls the dish together, and the scone base is a great idea - plenty of room to soak up all of the juices. This particular scone is a little hard, but with the quality of the other ingredients I'm hoping that this was a once off error. 

Next arrives 'eggs on corn and zucchini cakes'. The cakes are basically a stack of fritters, lightly bound corn and zucchini just fried through - warm and moist. The lemon and olives are not the first things I would think of when it comes to breakfast, but they work together beautifully, in harmony with the eggs, the fritters and the halloumi (my only request here is for MORE halloumi).

Our waitress tells us that she doesn't have Tabasco sauce, but she does have chilli sauce. A simple bowl of blended chilies arrives - the perfect accompaniment to eggs, and one that leaves a warm glow after the table is expertly cleared and the bill promptly delivered.

On the way out, we popped into the Glenwood Bakery for a couple of bagels - heavenly!

Glenwood Bakery

Glenwood Bakery (398 Esther Roberts Road) is the kind of place that you hear about from a friend - and having been there, the kind of place you want to share with your friends. Completely unflashy, the bakery sits in a quiet suburb of leafy Glenwood in a two storey building topped with a red tiled roof, like so many Berea houses. With no prominent signage, the only indications of its presence are a small 'open' sign in a window sporting a tasteful Glenwood Bakery logo and a collection of three small tables that line the open pavement. Looking into the light, airy space, a central communal table fills most of the room, while a bookshelf filled with well thumbed books lines one of the walls. A wire rack holds the days offerings - biscotti, grissini, wholemeal sourdough, croissants, and other freshly baked treasures.

Because it's a Saturday, Eggs Benedict and Eggs Royale as well as a variety of toasted sandwiches are also being served. Apparently you can get pizza on a Monday night, and the rest of the week sandwiches are available. It's pointedly more a bakery than a restaurant, but that only makes the limited offerings all the more desirable.

We sit at one of the small mosaic tiled tables outside and order two Eggs Benedict and two glasses of homemade iced-tea. Within ten minutes our food arrives. Naturally, the eggs are served on the bakeries homemade bread - one of their dark sourdoughs. A sliver of finely sliced cured meat (possibly Chuck & Bob's prosciutto?) rests beneath two perfectly poached eggs, which must be from the most organic, free-ranging chickens in KZN, as the yolks are an almost startlingly orange and taste like happiness and sunbeams. The whole creation is cloaked in a soft yellow blanket of hollandaise, which is rich, buttery and contains just a hint of lemon to holds the flavours in check and keep the dish as fresh as the dusting of bright green chives scattered across the plate.

It's the kind of food that you would make yourself the morning after a late night out - if you were a master-baker capable of whipping up a quick mother-sauce, and always kept a leg of dry-cured ham hanging in your larder.

Oh yes, and we also took a rye bread sourdough home, which made delicious toast and sandwiches.

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.

Weekend Wrap-up: Waxy's, Mali's and Afro's

As I mentioned in my previous post, there are a ton of great places to eat out in Durban. Just this weekend we hit three spots that we hadn't tried before and loved all of them!

On Thursday we decided to get the weekend started early, with beers and burgers at Waxy O'Connors, or as everyone seems to call it - Waxy's. Waxy's is in one of my favourite streets in Westville, Jan Hofmeyer Road, where the dining options include La Storia, Le Thai and Foon Lok Nien. It's one of those faux Irish pubs that you find all over the world, from Thailand to Dublin, so the decor, as expected, involves a lot of dark wood, dark green and the occasional shamrock. What seems to set Waxy's apart is the energy that pours out of it and into the packed car park - even on a Thursday the place is bustling, and empty tables are hard to come by.

The burgers seem to be the main attraction - we tried the Paddy Sanchez (beef burger with a nachos and guacamole topping) and the Molly Malone (chicken, avo, bacon, feta). Both were good, although the chicken burger was better than the beef, which was a touch dry. Chips were hot and fresh, and there was a generous portion of onion rings, which we enjoyed. Apparently every week there is a 'Waxy Wednesday' special involving two burgers and two 500ml draughts for R100. No wonder it's popular...

On Friday we headed out for part two of 'The Great Friday Night Bunny Chow Experiment', which involves digging through town for the dodgiest dives serving the best bunnies with a big group of friends and friends of friends. Last time round we did the Brittania, which is rightly famous, and seemed like an appropriate place to start. This weekend, I suggested Mali's - a fairly new restaurant on Smiso Nkwanaya (Goble) Road - which turned out to be a complete flop, as it wasn't at all dodgy, served amazing curries, and featured super cheerful waiters, who were rather offended when we asked if they did bunnies.

This is definitely somewhere I will be eating again soon - it's at least as good as Little India, and possibly better. Arriving late, we were in a bit of a rush to order and so stuck to the tried and tested, but Mali's menu shows a lot of promise waiting to be explored, and doesn't stick to the same old dishes that all of the other Indian restaurants in Durban are offering. 

A nice touch was the small bowls of chickpeas served as a snack, with hits of jeera and chilli, that had us eagerly awaiting the arrival of our main courses. Despite the fact that the restaurant was humming with patrons and there were about 15 at our table, the service was quick and efficient, and we were all tucking in within twenty minutes of ordering. The paneer tikka masala was the best that I have ever tasted, and the dhal makhani was excellent, although a little thinner than I am used to. The depth of flavours was evident from the first taste, and the heat was ever present without threatening to overpower. Mountains of fluffy white rice and various naans and rotis were passed around, and everyone forgave me for suggesting a place that doesn't do bunnies.

On Saturday mornings we like to head down to the beachfront for a 5 km run with about 600 other Parkrunners. Feeling virtuous after our workout, we headed down the promenade to South Beach where Afro's Chicken have set up shop in a funky converted container painted an eye-popping yellow. The waves were looking good, and groups of surfers were waiting for burgers, chicken strips and coffees. It's a simple menu, with breakfast offered until 9 am and chicken thereafter, and the two ladies in the container were working hard getting out the orders.

The service isn't the fastest, but there are table and chairs in the shade to chill at while you wait, and Paul Simon's Graceland was playing on the little sound system inside. The lemon and herb, and peri-peri chicken strips are worth the wait, tender, succulent and served in a beautiful little cardboard boxes with brown paper. The chips are fantastic too, but I gave them a miss, as I didn't want to undo all the work of the run. Definitely gonna get them next time though!

Market Revisited

With over 300 restaurants to visit in Durban (according to Tripadvisor) I am always excited about where I am going to eat next. My mental top ten list, is constantly updated based on reviews, comments, recommendations and new places opening up (I'm looking at you The Wok Box). With so many places to go, and a limited number of opportunities to eat out, there aren't yet many Durban restaurants that I've visited twice.

One restaurant that I've been to more than twice is Market. There's a lot to like about Market. It's in a beautiful courtyard just off Gladys Mazibuko road, so it's easy to get to. It's next door to Shoppe, which is my favourite place to peruse for gifts and arty objects for the house. The waiters are among the best in Durban: friendly, informed, efficient. And the food is obviously very, very tasty.

So far, we've eaten at Market for breakfast two or three times (This little piggy went to Market) and for lunch on several occasions, and it hasn't let us down yet. I went there for my birthday. I took along my parents AND my parents-in-law. So I was really excited to head over for a day-after-Valentine's dinner and see what their night time fare was like.

As I expected, the place is magical at night. When we arrived, the sound of South African Jazz welcomed us into the courtyard, where the trees were draped in gently glowing fairy lights. Inside, naked bulbs hung from high ceilings and shed a soft glow on the tables below. We were seated on the veranda area and enjoyed the benefit of the breeze outside.

  

Our waiter Simphiwe was great fun, guiding us through the night's specials, guessing (correctly) what we were going to order, and suggesting an excellent bottle of wine which we hadn't tried before - the 2011 'Bamboes Bay' Sauvignon from Fryer's Cove (5* from Platter's: WineSA). Before starters, a simple platter of hot fresh bread was brought to the table and Simphiwe anointed plates with olive oil and balsamic which he poured theatrically from a height, laughing infectiously.

Sadly, the magic didn't last. For starters we had the fish cakes and the ostrich carpaccio - and while both were tasty enough, they lacked the imagination and flair of dishes we had enjoyed in the past off the lunch and breakfast menus. The carpaccio was presented with little thought in a subdued heap and adorned with halved cherry tomatoes and wilting rocket. The fish cakes flavours were overwhelmed by potato filler and the dips (soy and sweet chili), uninspired.

For mains we tried the duck confit with butterbean mash and tomato and bean compote. The duck was quite tasty, the mash was alright, and the compote was either so minimal that it eluded detection, or quite possibly was completely absent. We also ordered the ostrich fillet served on polenta bread and finished with a port and whole-grained mustard sauce. The fillet was tough and underdone, which was a shame, as it was a generously sized portion of three large medallions. The port and whole-grained mustard had, by some mysterious alchemy, turned to green peppercorn sauce, and the polenta 'bread' turned out to be just fried polenta really, which was also kinda disappointing.

Striving to hit at least one high note, we risked ordering two desserts, one - Market's famous chocolate brownie which I had enjoyed twice before, and two - a baked lemon cheesecake. On the previous occasions that I have ordered the brownie, it was served with a delicious homemade vanilla ice-cream. Sadly this portion arrived with what I am 90% sure was Country Fresh Vanilla Flavoured Frozen Dessert* with vegetable fat. The cheesecake was equally bland, I think one of those Woolie's ones in the little plastic container might have been nicer. At least the coffee was great - and served with one of those crystallised sugar stirrers, a nice touch.

The final one-two was the arrival of the bill (expensive) followed soon after by stomach cramps and nausea.

The next day I sent an email to the manager to let him know how disappointed we were with our meal, and its after effects. I got an auto-response informing me that he was on leave. A case of the sous chef blues? Here's hoping our experience was a once off - but I won't be back in a hurry.

Quo Restaurant, Gillitts

'You simply have to try this baked potato, Brandon! Whether you like it or not. It's out of this world!'

The obnoxiously loud woman at the table alongside ours was haranguing her friend to take a taste of her main course. Having recently poured the dregs of her table mates' wine glasses into her own while they were on a smoke break outside, her tone was increasingly belligerent and higher pitched.

'I've never tasted potato like this!' she enthused - waving a crisp skinned roast potato with a soft and moist interior in Brandon's face. Her generosity I imagine was wine fuelled - at Quo, the food is almost too good to share, and more easily inspires jealous protection than such open handed largesse. Luckily for me, I have a standing sharing arrangement with my dining partner, which doubles the number of dishes that I can enjoy, and allows me to drop my guard against the kind of opportunistic fork that approaches unbidden from across the table.

We had found our way to Quo up a rather dark and winding road to the imaginatively named Gillitts Shopping Centre at the intersection of York and Clifton roads. It's a nondescript mini-mall that houses a pizza joint; a shop selling sexy (tacky) dress up items; a pleasant courtyard, and Quo Restaurant, the creation of chef Jonathan Jones.

The decor is different from most Durban restaurants, with a simple, modern interior. The lighting is quite bright, but softened by the addition of candles on wall sconces. There is a broad stripe of duck egg blue on the walls, and tables have either simple plastic chairs or deep leather wingbacks. The focal point of the room is an impressive collection of about 20 flowering orchids in white, pinks and yellows that line one of the walls. Either someone has quite the green fingers, or they must be spending a lot of money on bringing in fresh plants every other week. The photo below was taken at the end of the evening - every table was full while we were there, although we managed to get a booking that morning for the same night.

The service was brisk, and we soon had a bottle at the table from the brief but reasonable wine list. Quo's menu doesn't really do the food justice, being a single laminated page, with dishes presented a little haphazardly. Starters are described as 'light meals or starters to share', which I wouldn't really agree with - I easily managed one on my own, and they are reasonably priced in any case. The style of the food could be described as modern fusion with an Asian influence, but there is no real cohesiveness to the offerings, with salads, sea food and Italian inspired dishes rubbing shoulders.

No matter - the food, which arrives promptly is great. We started with an Asian fillet bruschetta which combined fresh French loaf with tender strips of rare fillet cooked in a fantastic sauce that might have been oyster sauce based - dark, rich and sweet/salty. Deciding we had space for another starter, we then shared the calamari pan fried in a pad Thai sauce and were very glad that we had - the calamari tubes were tender and simply cooked, but the sauce was even better than the last, with hints of sweet and sour tamarind and lemon, salty shrimpy flavours and fresh coriander.

The main courses, like the starters, are a bit of an eclectic bunch, featuring sections for baguettes, linguini, and beef fillet as well as a handful of others. The special of the day was pork belly, but we opted for the lamb cutlets, and a beef fillet and prawns combination. 

Both dishes were excellent - the lamb cutlets were moist and pink and served with an Asian style basting. The fillet was sliced into quite thin medallions and topped with juicy deshelled prawns. Both main courses were served with the aforementioned baked potatoes - which really were out of this world. Again, there was plenty of fresh coriander garnishing the meals, which I love, but may not be to everybody's taste.

During the meal it was great to have the chef visit our table on more than one occasion to see that we were enjoying ourselves. While some restaurants skip this nicety completely, and others overdo it with intrusive commentary on every course, Quo struck a good balance, and I felt like I could have brought up any issues, had there been any. As it was I merely enthused as to the quality of the food and the sauces (mostly in gestures, as my mouth was generally full).

The dessert menu was fairly short, and we opted for the 'bread and butter' pudding (made with croissants - which sold it for me) and the Turkish nougat served with dark and white Belgian chocolate. The bread and butter pudding is something of a signature dish there it seems, and was pretty good, and not something that I have ever ordered before. The croissants are baked (with butter, one imagines - as well as chocolate and cranberries) in an individual portion, and were crisp on the outside and soft and warm on the inside. The dish went well with the vanilla icecream, which I suspect was homemade.

The nougat was probably the weak point of the meal, simply pieces of nougat served with bowls of melted milk (not dark) and white chocolate, and too sweet to really enjoy. It would probably be better with a dark chocolate, but might be one to share if you just want a little something with your coffee at the end of the meal.

Quo has recently moved to the top spot on Tripadvisor's recommendations for Durban Restaurants (on the strength of relatively few, but very positive reviews) and you can see what people like about it. The decor is attractive, service efficient and friendly, food tasty and imaginative and prices reasonable.