Luke Dale Roberts needs no introduction on these pages; we’ve written about the near-legendary chef twice and the accolades keep rolling in for him and his Test Kitchen.  He could have spent December basking in the afterglow of his Chef of the Year award; instead he was putting the finishing touches to his brand new venture situated right next to the existing restaurant, The Pot Luck Club.

We were a group of 5 lucky friends visiting the restaurant recently; all huge fans of The Test Kitchen.  We could order almost all the dishes on the small menu; we were not missing out on a single plate!

This is no ordinary plate of food served to the unexpected visitor, or food just anyone can  contribute to a pot luck club; Chef Luke’s small plates are carefully developed by him and his team – individual dishes are even named after them: “Ash’s Tuna Tartare” (R60) was one of our favourites along with “Ivor’s crispy duck spring roll” (R30).  “Ash” is of course Sunday Times Young Chef of the Year for 2011; attesting to the calibre of staff in Luke’s kitchen.

The crispy curried celery leaves (R20) were eaten with gusto by The Navigator.  Yes, he ate leaves and he loved it!  The leaves were crispy, not overly spiced and not oily at all, just incredibly fragrant, even refreshing on the palate.

There were firm favourites among us:  we all agreed the steamed scallops with grapefruit (R60) were simply exquisite; with the grapefruit adding a most interesting zing to the dish.  I thought (at that moment) that it would be my dish of the evening…then the Pork Rib (R60) made Chinese style with dark beer and doenjang glaze arrived: a triumph of balance between sweet and meaty had us licking our fingers.  The crispy pork belly (R45) with Luke’s XO dressing had The Navigator smiling from ear to ear and five of us all reaching for the last morsel on that plate.

I can write a whole paragraph about the smoked beef fillet (R80); you know it’s smoked, so it will be fantastic but noooo, they added the most elegant, rich and decadent black pepper and truffle “café au lait” sauce (take note “sauce” is far too common a word to describe it).  I will eat that fillet 7 days a week and still lick the plate, every time.

There’s also dessert: Wesley’s tapioca, passion fruit sorbet and toasted coconut (R45) and Fresh summer berries with fig leaf ice cream (R50).  The cocktails are different and wonderful;  the wine list hip and happening – all not outrageously priced.

Décor is clean and understated , service is efficient and Chef Luke wanders out from behind the kitchen counter chatting about the food.  This is the pot at the end of the rainbow and it’s filled with plates of heaven.

www.thepotluckclub.co.za

021 – 447 2337

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We’ve wanted to sample the gastronomic delights on offer by husband and wife team Laurent Deslandes and Cyrillia van der Merwe for quite a while. A De Toren wine tasting in the area was just the incentive we needed to make a reservation.

I actually feel overwhelmed trying to write a piece describing this restaurant.  Our dining experience was so special, so out of the ordinary that it actually left us speechless and after all the wine, a little teary eyed.

We’ve eaten at quite a few top-rated eateries in Cape Town and I can say without reservation that this was the best meal I’ve ever had.  This is not about the ambiance (intimate) or the service (crisp and friendly); it’s all about the food.

We started with beef tartare (R65) and Artichoke and Scallop Baragule (R92).  The Baragule was light, yet full of flavour.  The scallops were perfectly done and were complimented by the artichokes and vegetables.  The steak tartare was fresh and well seasoned, served with home made crisps.  The starter portions were not what you’d come to expect from a fine dining establishment – two starters will be enough for a decent sized meal, especially taking the richness of the ingredients into account.

There was wine!  We brought our own: Our favourite Chenin Blanc from Jean Daneel (corkage R40).  The wine list at Bizerca is very interesting and not formulaic.  Discussing the wine choices with the owner/chef, Laurent, he revealed that he often chose wines after meeting the producers themselves.  He wants to know the story behind the wines (that’s what we love) and only serves wines that he has tried himself.  They also have an ever changing by-the-glass black board giving you interesting pairing options for your meal.

Bizerca’s menu changes along with the season and as fresh ingredients are available.  Some perennial favourites remain fixed, like the Braized Pig Trotter (R105) served with seared scallops and truffle oil.  I was concerned about the look of the dish but the friendly waiter belayed my fears “there’s no mileage on the pigs feet”…

This was the first time I tasted truffle oil that did not overwhelm the whole dish – it combined to give an overall richness to the dish.  The meat was perfectly prepared, moist and not over cooked with the scallop perfectly done.  Needless to say, Hennie cleared his plate.

I ordered the Pot au feu (R135) from the black board after hearing the description of the dish: a french beef stew where the ingredients are poached.  This Pot au feu had beef fillet and brisket with vegetables and a divine piece of bone marrow (still in the bone).  Look, anything poached is going to look a bit pale (just a bit) but the taste was beyond belief!  The fillet was prepared rare as ordered and tasted like…meat; not basting, not sauce but like good meat.  Perfect.  Just perfect.

Then came dessert (I know, bad writing style here, but it was a momentous event).

We ordered the soft centred chocolate pudding with white Crème Brulee (R50) to share.  Dessert  Bizerca style is a threesome of tangy raspberry sorbet, cold chocolate lava pudding and white chocolate crème brulee.  We are both huge fans of the Crème Brulee, and this version left us speechless (and we had a spoon fight over the last bits).

Talk is indeed cheap, and writing about a restaurant experience easy (in retrospect), but just once… actually GO to Bizerca and experience the FOOD.  The food is special.

Bizerca Bistro
Jetty Street, Cape Town

Tel: 021 418 0001
www.bizerca.com