Rick Stein would approve of Willoughby's

 26 May 2022

 

Willoughby’s

V & A Waterfront, Cape Town

 

The wife and I met her brother, his wife and their daughter, fresh off the plane from the UK, for a late, quick catch-up lunch before they crashed from exhaustion.

 

Us locals haven’t been to Willoughby’s since probably 2019 but it could’ve been last week, as it was instantly familiar and welcoming and as busy as it ever was. 

 

The wife’s sushi dish was the rainbow reloaded,

I ate the teriyaki chicken ramen

and the other three shared the “local” seafood platter,

plus 6 fresh oysters. The adults drank a lovely Graham Beck Rosé and the brother and his wife shared a carafe of chardonnay to accompany the oysters.

 

The wife said her sushi was nice enough, if not soul stirring. I loved my ramen, with yummy, crisp chicken nuggets, al dente noodles and a superbly flavourful broth with a piquant hit of chilli. Very satisfactory.

 

The seafood platter was served in a large skillet and was visually impressive and, from  the exclamations, culinarily impressive too. They left one prawn, which I ate, and a couple of pieces of calamari tube, which the wife and I shared, and they were delicious.

 

The comment on the oysters was that the flesh was delightfully creamy and pleasingly evocative of the sea. They disappeared tout suite down appreciative gullets.

 

The kid happily downed a bowlful of Lindt chocolate ice cream while the adults drank coffee.

 

The bill came to R1810,00 (a bottle of water, alcohol, food, dessert and coffee) before tip.

 

Willoughby’s is not a cheap eatery but the quality of the food has always been of a high standard and never disappoints and that’s still an experience to treasure.  Our guests were relieved that Cape Town is not a gastronomic wasteland and that there are places that present seafood Rick Stein would approve of.