Restaurants, coffee shops and special menus, Spring Art Tour 2009: (Please note: Booking essential during tour times. Check website for contact details.)
The Cape leg of the Spring Art Tour, encompassing the Cape Town city centre as well as Stellenbosch, promises to be a gastronomic delight from beginning to end. On October 1, after taking in the multitude of gallery openings planned for the evening from 6pm, you will be able to sample a delicious basted Summertime burger, consisting of homemade beetroot relish and satay sauce with a fresh apple and mint shake, at Sascha Berolsky’s Royale Eatery on Long Street. If you prefer a more colonial ambiance, where a Ginger Rogers or a Grand Pimms can be sipped while enjoying the seaside view, then the Grand Café in Camps Bay is definitely worth a visit. The chef will be preparing a special grand art menu on which fresh line fish or a springtime pasta primavera will feature. La Perla on Beach Road have whipped up an incredible marinated tuna carpaccio, which can be finished off with a pear and chocolate tart as part of the special Spring Art Tour menu.
Caveau on Heritage Square and Boo Radley’s will also feature on the lineup of restaurants for Cape Town. Caveau, listed on the Conde Nast US list of ’35 coolest international night spots”, is well known among the locals for its extensive and innovative wine list. Caveau presents the tour goer with unpretentious fine dining at its best whilst Boo Radley’s smokey, New York style atmosphere would be an ideal place to pop in and enjoy a mussels in white wine, mascarpone cheese and garlic while absorbing one of Cape Town’s most enlivened cultural districts.
The Neighbourhood Bar at 163 Long Street will be playing host to the Grolsch Spring Art Tour launch party on Saturday, October 3, from 9pm. With a beautiful big balcony overlooking Long Street, the bar has an extensive speciality burger and pasta menu. Tickets for the party are available at all participating Cape galleries and Grolsch Greenlight outlets but are very limited and are given on a first come, first served basis.
Keep an eye out for the special Frauke Stegman ceramics exhibition at Bird’s Boutique Café on Friday the 2nd of October. The Café is included on the list of recommended lunch venues for the Cape Town leg of the Spring Art Tour and is located in an old 18th century home. The food, coffee and wine are produced from fresh, organic ingredients and the low key, homely atmosphere is sure to please art and craft enthusiasts. VIDA E Caffe on Kloof Street, The Kitchen, Mugged on Roeland and Giovanni’s Deliworld all provide exquisite coffee blends as well as fresh and tasty sandwiches made from the choicest veggies, meats and cheeses.
Stellenbosch art fundis will be treated to sumptuous, specially prepared menus and wine of exquisite quality (as to be expected in one of the world’s finest wine producing regions) for the duration of the Stellenbosch leg of the tour. De Wijnhuis in the Dorpsmeent building on Church Street provides farm fresh ingredients sculpted into light Mediterranean dishes, accompanied by your favourite glass of red or white. Expect a starter of delicious marinated venison carpaccio with a main course of Cape linefish in banana and fresh mussel veloute. If you prefer a freshly baked focaccia sandwich with Parma ham on the way to a gallery opening, an artist’s talk or a special performance, pop in to Pane E Vino, run by Elena Dalla Cia.
Delaire Graff Estate will be hosting lunch-time talks on the Sunday at their beautiful restaurant designed by David Collins, combining indigenous African architectural influences with the Cape Dutch style and overlooking the lush Helshoogte mountains and valleys. Please book ahead for the special set menu of buffalo mozzarella with red pepper jelly, seared salmon trout with zucchini flowers, frozen strawberry nougatine and a welcome glass of Delaire Graff Estate Sauvignon Blanc. Guests will be seated at 12.30pm to enjoy talks by Dylan Lewis, Pierre Bories, Derick Henstra and Rob Angell.
Glen Carlou, nestled in the breathtaking Paarl Valley, has generously agreed to open the Hess Art Collection to the public for guided tours on October 3 and 4. One of the largest privately owned collections of contemporary art in the world, guided tours will be conducted, after which you can sit beneath the exposed wooden beams of the tasting area or out on the terrace. Expect a tempura prawn starter with avocado puree and marinated tomatoes, a main course of pan-seared fillet with béarnaise sauce and a dessert of vanilla pod crème brulee with tuille biscuit and berry coulis.
Starting on October 10, Jo’burg tour goers can expect a variety of delicious dishes prepared by 44 Stanley establishments, like Marc Letzler and Brian Green’s comfortable little Italian bistro Il Giardino Degli Ulivi, the Asiatic Saigon pho and Salvation Café. Bean There, VIDA E Café in Parktown North, Nice, Lulu’s, Boat at 44 Stanley, Service Station and Greenside Café are listed as participating coffee shops for the duration of the Jo’burg Tour.
The Troyeville Hotel, run by Lawrence Jones and well-known for its extensive menu of traditional Portuguese and Mocambican fare, will be cooking up a delicious hot pot of prawns, mussels and calamari, along with a platter comprised of grilled piri-piri chicken, trinchado, spicy chourico sausage and much more, which can be enjoyed while overlooking Ellis Park and Ponte.
You’ll be able to share a tapas platter or two at Fino in Parktown North or a brightly coloured salad at Lulu’s, while perhaps stopping in at Nice on the corner of 4th Avenue and 4th Street in Parkhurst with its Provençal inspired décor for a delicious dessert or freshly prepared sandwich.
Those planning on attending the exhibition of paintings and monotypes by visiting Dutch artist Toon Verhoef at Arts on Main in Doornfontein on October 8 or the Bettina Malcomess walkabout on October 10 at the Goodman Gallery project space at Arts on Main can look forward to the cuisine of Canteen at Arts on Main or Narina Trogon in Braamfontein.
Situated within a building dating back to the 1920’s, Narina Trogon prides itself on the fresh breads, cakes and muffins that are baked daily. The restaurant itself serves as a canvas for local design talent, while patrons can sample some of the best vintages from smaller local farms.
Service Station on the corner of 9th Avenue and Rustenburg Roads on the edge of Melville offers a bountiful supply of delicious quiches, fresh salads and pastas heaped on to a central table that you can help yourself to and then pay by weight. Keep in mind that they open early for breakfast but close in the late afternoon. The Greenside Café will also be providing refreshment to tour-goers desperate for a good cup of coffee, while those attending the talk by Willem Boschoff on October 11 at The Cradle Restaurant can have lunch at the beautiful stone, steel and glass structure designed by Anna Claude Bailey and Enrico Daffonchio.
With a mix of old favourites as well as haute cuisine, the restaurant at the Monarch Hotel is sure to delight, with chef Keith Frisley’s menu allowing you to decide between a seven course tasting menu or a la carte. Enjoy a meal in the old world charm of the dining room while tapping your foot to the upbeat playlists created by DJ Damian Armstrong.
Keeping to the concept of breaking the barriers between art, design, food and fashion, Artlogic hopes to formulate the Spring Art Tour lineup around the melding of different disciplines.