Travelling the east coast on one of my bi-yearly visits to the restaurants of the coastal towns of Knysna and Plettenberg Bay – very popular stops for visitors and therefore important for the restaurant guide. But we are behind schedule due to the weather.
And the surf. The sea claimed a solid day of our attention, and by the time we got to the first restaurant, Lush in Knysna, we were very hungry indeed. Knysna is also home to the Loerie festival, otherwise known as the pink Loerie for its gay credentials and could be that Lush was designed for this market, it’s OTT and very theatrical – red hues, curlicued wall paper, feathers and studded leather but rather tasteful even though it may not sound like it.
Of course the proof is really in the eating, and the prices are at Cape Town levels, R100 for mains. Once we had negotiated the near pre-vocal waiter who was in dire need of the most basic training, we encountered ordinary starters, greased by stale olive oil. Not promising. The mains did come to some form of rescue, clean meats and sides that had not been given too much of a work-over and were the better for it. A lesson in the less is more, especially from kitchens that are stretched just to stay consistent. A good wine along the way, without vintage (as is the wont of the wine list), Marcel de Reuck Shiraz.
Breakfast was at the legendary Ile de Pain. A masterclass in quality and integrity, this is South Africa’s home of world-class bread, decent coffee and plates of tasty food that consistently over-deliver for the price.
The owner and baker extraordinaire (he would say ordinaire, in reality-based world) couldn’t shake our hands. He’s recently taken up surfing and banged it up against some rocks.
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