Although we are busy, we wanted to try this new
restaurant in town, of which we have had good reports. Chef Frank Marks worked
at La Colombe, The Test Kitchen, Pot Luck Club and Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck,
so he has a good pedigree! The restaurant is on The Hans Strydom Avenue face of
the new blue Portside skyscraper which fills the block bounded by Buitengracht,
Bree, Mechau and Hans Strydom. We had a lovely meal and hope to go back soon
Their signage
is inside, above the restaurant Pass
They do need
some signage outside, as it is difficult to spot from the road. We both walked
almost right around the building to find it
Simple, clean,
rather industrial decor doesn't disappoint
They haven’t
yet been granted their wine licence and so they didn’t mind us bringing along
something good from our cellar: Bouchard Finlayson’s Kaaimansgat 2009
Chardonnay, nicely matured, smooth as silk, with great body and so good with
food
The simple
lunch menu. R145 for two course, add others and you pay the menu price
Head Chef Frank Marks and Sous Chef Steve at the pass
We like the
open kitchen concept, and this is another quiet disciplined kitchen with
everyone knowing what to do and getting on with it
We both had
the same starter. Beautifully prepared gravadlax salmon, topped with rich cream
cheese, pickled beetroot, a soft and slightly sweet lemon curd and the best
idea ever, slivers of preserved lemon – one to be copied soon. Lynne now wants
to make gravadlax again. Neither of us is very enchanted by pickled beetroot
but this so worked with the dish which needed a kick of something earthy and
acid to contrast with the salmon and the curd. Wish the rocket had been more
peppery, but good rocket is so hard to find in the Cape
No Banting
today. Reading the menu, Lynne figured this dish would be Asian influenced and
she was right. Such memories of London Asian food. It was al dente linguine
with tender pork in a sweet soy, 5 spice(?), ginger and garlic sauce (and
probably much more) with peanuts and bean sprouts for texture, spring onion
shreds and sugar snap peas. Absolutely moreish
John had the
deconstructed “Coq au Vin” on tagliatelle which looked quite dry but wasn’t at
all. The noodles had soaked up the wine sauce and the chicken was moist and
tender
We took photos
of another dish that a friend of ours, who was there, ate. These are the
fishcakes, which he said are super
and John found
a slice of the lemon tart waiting on the pass for a customer and took a photo.
If you have a sweet tooth, this looks like something to try
Sara, the Danish waitress, was charming and very efficient
We quote from the Borage website: "Tucked away in the chic Portside Tower, Cape Town’s tallest building- Borage is the latest upmarket brasserie to introduce fine-dining excellence to breakfast and lunch.
Entrepreneur Christian Vaatz and head chef Frank Marks, teamed to establish an avant-garde eatery reflecting Cape Town’s innovative, multi-cultural and cosmopolitan style. Frank is a protégé of Luke Dale-Roberts, and has refined his craft in 4 of the world’s top hundred restaurants including Dinner by Heston Blumenthal.
Frank harnessed his inner culinary skills at Silwood Cooking School, after which he worked at La Colombe for 2 years, followed by a stint at The Test Kitchen under the guidance of Luke Dale-Roberts. Thereafter, he went to London to work for Heston Blumenthal at The Fat Duck and at Dinner By Heston. Frank returned to South Africa to work for the Pot Luck Club and The Test Kitchen before opening his own restaurant.
See more at http://www.borage.co.za/
