Artful dining at The Skotnes Restaurant

9 July 2023

 

THE SKOTNES RESTAURANT

4 Steenberg Road,  Tokai, Cape Town

 

I’ve no idea whether Cecil Skotnes was a gourmet cook or simply loved chowing down on toothsome vittles, in addition to his extraordinary skill and inventiveness as artist, but if he weren’t, the restaurant still conjures up his artistic spirit both in the open, elegant design, with huge windows and lavish views, and a menu that ranges from the simple to the sublime, well, the quite good.

 

We’ve been here a few times before, but probably not for a year or more, and thought it was high time to revisit it for a late lunch seeing as how we go to sleep so late at night on weekends we find it challenging to rise in time for brunch. It was life-affirming to be in a snug car with a soundtrack of sunny John Denver tunes while it was bitterly cold outside all the way to Tokai.

 

We arrived after 14h00 and quickly found a good table next to the huge side windows. The other patrons were just winding down their Sunday lunch and there were more of them than I’d expected in a city where the locals allegedly don’t care for going out in harsh weather. The Skotnes is that worthwhile.

 

The wife’s starter was the beef carpaccio and Parmesan shavings salad (R110)

and mine was the crisp Szechuan calamari with pineapple and home-made mayo (R100).

 

The carpaccio was buttery, the Parmesan dry and slightly salty to complement the meat and the greens were fresh and delightful. A very good salad. Although the calamari was perfectly cooked and the batter crisp and featherlight, there was nothing of the chilli heat I associate with Szechuan food, which was disappointing.

 

The wife’s main was a crumbed chicken burger, with a generous amount of avocado and potato wedges (R135,00)

and I had grilled sea bream with a cold quinoa salad (R200).  It was refreshing that Kingklip wasn’t the line fish of the day. 

 

The chicken was also perfectly cooked and still moist and tender, and the Panko crumb was as delicate and lovely as that on the calamari. The buns were brioche style and light as helium. The wedges were well cooked, perhaps too salty, and weren’t as crisp as one would expect from a proper French fry.

 

The exterior of the well-cooked sea bream fillets reminded me of the blackened fish fad of the mid- to late Eighties, except that the fillets had no spicy crust, just the colour.  They  were well-cooked, if not exceptional, and the quinoa salad was a good accompaniment.

 

When doing the first overview of the menu, two desserts caught my eye. The first one was the tapioca and almond pudding (R75) and the second one was the prosecco poached pear with a flourless almond cake and clotted cream (R100).  The wife had eyed the latter, so I chose the former.

 

The pear, served room temperature, was perfectly poached, with just the right value of al dente resistance and the cake and clotted cream combo was a ménage à deux made in heaven.  I had about half of the wife’s dessert.

 

The tapioca pudding was, for me but not for the wife, not on the same level. For some reason, I associate tapioca pudding with sago pudding, but with larger orbs, as the one seems interchangeable with the other pudding-wise.

 

However, this tapioca was cooked down into a smooth, glutinous mass with no taste. The caramelised merengue on top melted in the mouth and the toasted almonds and popcorn piled on top of the gloop provided the vitally necessary textural contrast.  I ate half of this too but simply because “waste not, want not” was drilled into me by my parents.

 

The coffee we finished with, was first-rate.

 

The bill, including a bottle of sparkling water and a glass of bubbly, came to R928, before tip.

 

On an icy day the large, spacious interior was remarkably cosy, the food was quite satisfactory and the service efficient and friendly. 

 

It’s well worth travelling from the City Bowl to dine in a relaxing atmosphere at The Skotnes, whatever the  atmospheric conditions.  You’ll leave with contentment.