Pillowy slices of pizza, fresh Italian flavours, and a happening vibe.
Club Kloof isn’t shy about colour. Cardinal-crimson walls, burnt-orange banquettes, a lemon-yellow Amalfi-esque bar in the back courtyard and slate tiles on the floor give a nod to legendary 1970s interior designer David Hicks. The vibey new Cape Town eatery and bar comes from the duo behind Kloof Street neighbourhood favourite, Our Local (and is just up the road, in a heritage building newly restored after a fire).
Chef Shayne Shutte and partner Michael Carter modestly call their cuisine “Italian-ish”. “We’re not going to pretend we are Italian, but we’re doing a great version of Italian,” Michael says. Their long love affair with La Bell’Italia (Michael lived and studied in Milan and Rome) has inspired a fresh-flavoured take that is true to the spirit of the original. They focus on simple but excellent ingredients in small-plate sharing format, majoring on pillowy but crisp sourdough pizzas with a difference.
Pizza action
We’re so used to thinking of pizzas as thin and crisp, or at most blistered and puffy around the crust, that it’s a treat to be reminded about the traditional Roman streetfood style of pizza. Pizza in teglia (or pizza al taglio) is a pillowy thick pizza traditionally baked in huge steel trays in Italian bakeries and sold by the square, wrapped in paper to snack on as you stroll around the piazza.
Shayne has collaborated with Lance Littlefield of Motherdough to recreate that chewy sourdough bite (and satisfyingly crisp underside) with a descendant of Lance’s legendary 103-year-old sourdough starter. The pizza dough is fermented for 48 hours as tradition decrees and baked to perfection in a blisteringly-hot wood-fired oven.
At Club Kloof you can buy the pizza of the day by the slice, or order mini pizzette – side-plate-sized puffy pizzas with simply beautiful toppings – mortadella with mozzarella and green-olive butter; anchovy, smoky tomato and capers; garlic confit with fresh tomato and mozzarella.
Add a few salads (we recommend the tomato and nectarine with goat’s cheese), a plate of grilled prawns on skewers, beef fillet and fries, or a single extra-large arancino in a dollop of tomato sauce. Plus a cocktail or two and you’re all set for an afternoon or evening of retro 70s-style Italian(-ish) dolce vita.
Good to know Shayne makes an array of pastries and sweet treats using the sourdough starter too, so morning coffee on the street-facing verandah is another attraction.
Opens 25 March 2023, 12pm
Opening times Tuesday – Saturday, 12pm –11.30pm
Sunday, 12pm – 5pm
Contact 072 415 3752, contact@clubkloof.com
Where to find it 84 Kloof Street, Cape Town
Book through DinePlan
