Election day lunch at Café Paradiso

 29 May 2024

 

CAFÉ PARADISO

110 Kloof Street, Cape Town

 

Café Paradiso has survived the vicissitudes of the Cape Town restaurant scene for decades now as a Kloof Street veteran that we know well. It was the venue where the wife (then the colleague) and I had our first “after work drinks” just over 20 years ago.

 

It’s been a while since our last visit, though and today’s lunch hadn’t been preplanned. It was a perfect, hot and sunny and mostly wind-free day and we’d been out and about looking for a suitable eatery where the Yorkies would be welcome, while revelling in the mid-week public holiday that was election day. 

 

The first couple of places we’d passed by had been packed but not only did we quickly find a good parking sport on Kloof Street but it also seemed that Café Paradiso was our destiny because the open-air front area was quiet enough for us to find a table easily.

 

The interior of the restaurant is still pretty much as I recall it, old-fashioned and cosy, but what used to be the garden has a disconcertingly shabby, run down feel about it. The once gravel covered surface has been paved with bricks that give the area a low budgie vibe especially because the paving is in dire need of repair and maintenance. I was reminded of a couple of dismal English beer gardens I’d had the misfortune to visit.

 

At least, there is still shade from the trees and if you sit at the edge of the area, close to Kloof Street, the view of Table Mountain is still splendid.

 

The wife had two coffees and a Kir Royale and I had a beer and an espresso with my dessert.

 

We kicked off with Camembert fritters, beer battered and with a basil pesto and Napolitano sauce (R99).

Okay, se we’ve tried the fritters and never have to speak of them again. They weren’t bad but they also weren’t the traditional baked Camembert where the contrast between crisp crust and oozing warm cheese is the je ne se quoi.  These fritters were just soft, cheesy doughnuts; a crustier batter would’ve elevated them into the realm of delectable. 

The wife had her heart set on the slow roasted lamb and aubergine salad only for her hopes and dreams to be crushed when the server told her they’d run out.  This is not good; if it’s on the menu, it should be available or the server should inform one up front of the unavailability.

 

Her alternative was the tagliatelle with pan fried veal strips, mushrooms, cream garlic butter and white wine (R215).  I’ve never seen such broad tagliatelle ribbons. The dish was intensely flavourful and with perfectly cooked fresh pasta. The menu description failed to mention a chilli element but the dish was strewn with chilli flakes that brought a subtle yet lingering heat. It wasn’t a bad thing but unexpected. All-in-all, very enjoyable.

 

I vacillated between the roasted cauliflower on pita and the North African rice pilaf with butternut, figs and cumin spiced almonds (R176). The latter was the first dish I ever ate at Café Paradiso and remained my go to until it was removed from the menu some years ago. It was a pleasant surprise to see it restored. 

 

Obviously, I had to have it for old times’ sake.

 

This iteration of the pilaf looks different and, if memory serves, tasted differently to the beloved version I doted on back in the day. The plating was different; in the original version, the rice was plated in a dome shape. The contemporary version is spooned into a bowl. The other difference is that the current flavour profile is mostly tomato with zero taste of fig.  The beloved version balanced the savoury and the sweet elements, with the textural contrast of crushed nuts too, and this pilaf had no such balance. It was tasty and full of flavour but not how I remembered it.

When it came to ordering desert, it was my turn to be devastated when the server told me that the vegan apple crumble had been taken off the menu. 

 

No, it hasn’t; it’s printed right there, the first item listed under desserts.  

 

This is very poor. It’s one thing that an item has been sold out but if you’ve completely removed it from the menu, you really should adjust the menu accordingly or, definitely, inform patrons up front. 

 

My alternative was a second tiramisu dessert (R77) in two days. The wife opted for the lemon meringue tart (R77). 

 

The latter seemed to be the proper combination of tart and sweet.

Unlike the freshly made tiramisu of VIXI Social House, this version had clearly been premade, was served at room temperature and the portion was also more generous. It was very good, with alcohol and coffee infused (and fully absorbed) spongy biscuit and just the right level of sweetness. 

 

The bill came to R868,00 before tip.

 

I wasn’t very gracious about the ambience of the garden setting, mostly because it no longer seems much like a garden, but it was still very pleasant, relaxing and joyful to be there on a warm day, the food was good, the portions were generous and the service was slightly absent-minded but passable.