It was a bit of an inauspicious start. The front desk at Maze appeared slightly bewildered when we walked in an announced we had booked a table for two on a winter’s evening. But thankfully there is a global recession and there were plenty of tables available (they phoned two days later to confirm our reservation for Saturday).
Once seated the service was seamless, efficient and helpful (and thankfully without the sneering superiority that could intimidate a relatively unsophisticated African such as myself).
The smart but not snooty atmosphere was further enhanced by the attire of a lone foodie at the table next door: he looked dressed for a construction job.
I eagerly took up the offer to look at the aged beef on offer. First it was South African and Namibian. This was followed by the Japanese Kobe-style beer-fed and massaged Wagyu breed, though from Australia. The little strands of fat in the Aussie chunk, keeping the cut moist and hence tender, differentiated it from the rest.
For an alleged video demonstration on this spa treatment for cattle go to: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSU5Iu9Z9qI
But does the idyllic sounding diet of lager and a masseuse really keep the meat tender or is it simply characteristic of the Wagyu breed? If not it is at least a good story. But at R750 a pop for the overseas steak I went for a rare rib-eye from Nam. It was a resounding beefy success, and in stark contrast to relatively tasteless supermarket fare. But the star of the main course was a good horseradish sauce.
My girlfriend – who has recently taken to environmental issues like a dog to a bone (and is frighteningly considering vegetarianism) – harped on about the air miles to get the Antipodean beast here and what she found as general wastefulness of the hotel. That the One and Only is any less environmentally friendly than the average hotel chain I do not know.
I started with the soft shell crab in tempura batter, accompanied by a creamy mayonnaise with a spicey bite, while my partner went for two starters. She doesn’t like fennel but found the bulb’s roasted liquoriciness, combined with port-soaked pear and biltong a winner. The biltong was pink yet dry, which sounds like a contradiction in terms but is a formula more butchers should try to emulate.
She also dislikes parsley (how can anyone hate something as innocent as parsley) but found that the Italian variety floating in butter to combine well with her mussels. They were good but did not trump a traditional sauce of white wine and cream.
A scoop of Madagascan vanilla ice cream showed why the real thing beats the artificial flavourant in a tub. The chef was easy on the sugar too, capturing the heart of this dessert deserter. A spoonful of basil sorbet was the perfect way to cleanse the palate at the end. BUT there was more: petits four and macaroons on the house and a creamy hot espresso.
Service went to sleep in the second-half when we lost our waiter to a bigger table.
The hotel is well put together and finishing is to a high standard but lacks any of that resort-type bling Sol Kerzner is renowned for. There is no way I would pay to stay here if I was a holidaymaker in Cape Town. The styling is more business executive. Convenient if you are attending a conference up the canal at the convention centre.
And no Japie, they don’t steal your car after the valet whisks it away in the porte-cochere. You can also wear your ‘jean pant’.
At R550 for two, including a fat glass of delicious Black Oystercatcher sav blav and a smaller glass of something else, it didn’t break the bank. But then we weren’t in the market for a bottle of red at just under R3 000 from one of the Bordeaux chateaux.
Brand Kerzner will be loathe to let this branch of Maze meet the same sorry fate as some of Gordon Ramsay’s other eateries. Come the 2010 World Cup this place will pump through the Southern Hemisphere winter. By the summer season that follows hopefully the world will be out of the big R.
I will be back to try that marbled Wagyu.
Tom Robbins
August 20, 2009
Maze
One and Only
Tel: +27 (0)21 431 5222
www.gordonramsay.com/mazecapetown/
email: maze.reservations@oneandonlycapetown.com
Dock Rd, Victoria and Alfred Waterfront
Cape Town
Tags: 2010 World Cup, beef, Black Oystercatcher, eat cape town, eatcapetown, Kobe, marbled, maze, One and Only, soft shell crab, steak, Wagyu, World Cup
