Chef, co-owner of Edge Africa, and a bold voice in African cuisine, chef Vusi Ndlovu isn’t just cooking; he’s rewriting the narrative. From top kitchens in South Africa and Europe to the 2018 San Pellegrino Young Chef finale, he’s been working towards this point. Alongside business partner Absie Pantshwa, he champions African ingredients through smoke-laced, flavour-packed dishes. But where does this culinary trailblazer go when the apron comes off? We sat down with Vusi to chat about his favourite restaurants, wines and weekend getaways – and his best-kept Cape Town secret.
On restaurants…
I only go fine-dining about once a year, and when I do, I go to Salsify. I’m very good friends with Ryan Cole, the executive chef and co-owner, and the two managers – Eden Danda and Sydwell Mayika – are like older brothers to me. Lunch may be two hours, but we end up sitting there for four hours and thinking, “How did this happen?” I don’t mind spending money at Salsify, because I know it’s always going to be good. The tasting menu is based on what’s in season, so it’s always changing – but the last time we were there, the pork jowl cooked in rice wine was really special. I don’t know if they still have it on the menu… but try it if they do!
My favourite breakfast spot is Butter on Loop Street. It’s very chilled and they’re the sweetest people. It’s not fussy, it’s not trendy and it’s not too hipster. It’s just cool. I recommend ordering the grapefruit paloma, the eggs Benedict or – my personal favourite – the breakfast bun, which comes with an egg, bacon and some cheese. No fuss, no nonsense. I’m a simple guy.
The best place for a burger is Frankie’s Burgers above House of Machines. I’ll have the Smash Burger 2.0 any time, no questions asked – it’s just a matter of fries or no fries. The best thing about this burger is that there’s some pork inside the patty, so you don’t need to add bacon or anything – two birds, one stone. They also have Burger Fridays, when they always come up with something different… but for me, the original burger is just as delicious.
My go-to pizza place is Yard at the Time Out Market, in the V&A Waterfront. The chef, Eugene Smith, is a super-cool guy who built himself up and really cares about his craft. Everything is important to Eugene – the kind of flour you use, the fermentation of the dough – and I always ask him when I need pizza dough for an event. Yard’s pizzas are also huge, so you know you won’t be finishing it in one sitting. When I’ve got friends over or it’s just a lazy weekend at home, nothing beats cold pizza – although the missus doesn’t agree!
Top tip: Try the Meat Supreme (with pepperoni, slow-roasted chicken and pulled pork) for a hunger-buster that hits the spot every time.
While you’re at the market head over to How Bao Now for some really delicious food. Former Test Kitchen chefs Carla Schulze and Matt van den Berg are the owners and they’re such cool people. We trained together as chefs and it’s great to see everyone doing so well and creating their own products.
There’s a little place called Bouchon, just down the road from us on Hout Street, and I call it a great Wednesday night restaurant. On Wednesday nights, we don’t want to cook at home, so we go down to Bouchon, order three or four sharing plates, enjoy them and go home. Everyone’s happy. They have these great little arancini that never let you down, and we had an octopus carpaccio there, which is hard to get right. When it’s there, it’s definitely worth having.
I’m very fussy about steak. For a great steak restaurant, go to Iron Steak on Bree Street (and tell Justin Barker, the chef, I say hi). The place just works; they get a whole side of meat and write the different cuts on the board, so nothing is pre-packaged and it’s fun to choose the cut you want – ribeye, sirloin and so on. Their wagyu fat popcorn is also quite a hit; it’s cooked in wagyu fat and it’s really luxurious.
Top tip Ask for an ice cream token (or a few) at the end of your meal – if they don’t just give them to you. It’s a nice little touch and we always give them to friends and to our staff.
Another personal favourite is Belly of the Beast. They’ve got the techniques and the style of fine dining in terms of the food, but I’d put them between fine dining and casual dining. Neil Swart and Anouchka Horn are such quality people; they’re salt-of-the-earth, family people and you’ll always find one of them there. The other one will be manning Galjoen, where they also recently added a little surf and turf café called Seebamboes, which is on the mezzanine level.
On weekend getaways…
After a long week, we like to get away. We recently went to Robertson, where there’s a small, no-frills restaurant called Kapokbos, which is run by a local couple and is definitely worth a visit. I also love Madre in Stanford – again, just super-cool, very straight to the point, no nonsense. I find places like that quite refreshing.
I like Stanford because no one knows who you are, and everything is about 10% cheaper. After a nice weekend, you can just go to the local pub, where everyone drinks a brandy and Coke special – which I don’t drink, but sometimes you don’t want to be a stranger or a tourist, you want to partake in the traditions of the town. When we go to Stanford, we like to do as little as possible – but I enjoy talking to the local people and visiting the vintage shops, where I sometimes find antiques for the house or for the restaurant. It’s always fun to discover little finds there.
There’s a place we’ve been trying to get to called Gite, just outside of Franschhoek. It’s got little cabins made out of corrugated iron. There’s no TV but there’s a wood-fired jacuzzi, and it’s on a working farm, so it’s very chilled. That’s next on our bucket list; when I don’t have to be anywhere and no one needs me, that’s where you’ll find me for sure.
We also love Fazenda in Swellendam. It’s close to Cape Nature’s Grootvadersbosch Nature Reserve and when you’re there, it feels like you’re not even close to the Western Cape. The cabins are on a farm, so you get to see animals – which I love – and they’ve also got some great nature trails. You can spend the evening in your cabin by the fire, you can take a hike in the morning or you can just chill and play in the water.
We often go to Paternoster and we always stay at a great guesthouse called Kliphuisie. When you go to Paternoster, you must always eat at Wolfgat [named Best Restaurant in the World in 2019], Gaatjie and Jolly Roger. If you want something simple and straightforward, go to Jolly Roger for prego rolls. Gaatjie is just a simple restaurant on the beach, where we love to get a bottle of wine and chill with the locals. Everyone is just so cool in Paternoster; I think I should move there when I retire.
On wine farms…
We’re big fans of wine farms – especially Robertson Winery in Robertson, and Remhoogte Wine Estate in Stellenbosch, where Vuur Restaurant is. They’ve got a beautiful wine range called Free to Be, as well as the Honeybunch Chenin Blanc. The Free to Be orange wine is just up my alley, and the Honeybunch is sweeter and more buttery than a traditional chenin (hence the name). Every time we go to Vuur, we end up leaving with a box of Free to Be or Honeybunch.
If you’re looking for something surprising – in all the right ways – visit Paserene in Franschhoek. The owners are really good friends of ours and it’s not a commercially popular wine farm, but people who end up there are always surprised at how fabulous it is. Martin, the winemaker, is a very cool, humble guy from Worcester with no airs and graces. We recently had a cab sav there called The Midnight, which was delicious, and the chardonnay was also lovely.
The top wines on my list are Pas de Nom from Beau Constantia, Ghost Corner and Aslina. The Aslina Sauvignon Blanc is my go-to when I’ve got friends from overseas, because the owner, Ntsiki Biyela, is the first black female winemaker in the world. I like a good story, so we sell Aslina whenever we can at the restaurant.
You can’t have just one wine for a special occasion – it depends on who you’re with – but if I’m with someone I don’t know, I’ll give them the Black Elephant Vintners MCC. It’s a real crowd-pleaser; if someone is fussy about a particular thing, they won’t be offended by the Black Elephant MCC. Whatever your preferences may be, this wine kind of covers everything. It’s a nice ice-breaker, if you will. Meanwhile, Secateurs – the chenin blanc by A.A. Badenhorst – is my favourite everyday, easy-drinking wine – no frills, no fuss.
Other places of interest…
I love Milnerton Flea Market. I don’t know if it’s a tourist attraction or anything, but I just like being there. You never know what you’re going to find or who you’re going to meet. It doesn’t matter who you are; everyone is just there to find a bargain. It’s just a chilled space where everyone can relax and be cool.
The Company’s Garden is always great, too. I love seeing how everything changes with the seasons. It’s always well-maintained and people just go there to take a nap. I’m not that brave, but maybe one day. On weekends, they’ve got all these different musical groups singing and playing along, which is fun – plus it’s close to places like Gorgeous George, so you can sit there and smell the flowers, take a nap, and then head up to the rooftop bar for a fun time. You may not know, but Gorgeous George also does dry-aged meat – and in such a cool setting.
Another place I love to go (because I’m older and don’t really want to club anymore) is La Trip, above The Athletic Club & Social. The owner, Athos Euripidous, is this crazy, short, Greek man who’s just so cool. There’s quite a vibe upstairs… and there, again, you think you’re heading away from the public, but when you get there, you see everyone you know.
It’s always nice to show people a different side of Cape Town. The Blue Room is a great place to have a drink, watch a jazz show and have dinner afterwards. Or you could go downstairs to the basement at The Athletic Club & Social, where they have jazz from Wednesdays to Saturdays. You can also order some delicious food there, or you can just have a glass of wine or a cocktail. Happy days.
One of Cape Town’s best-kept secrets is Reverie Social Table in Observatory. It’s quite intimate – like a downstairs living room in your house – with a long communal table and delicious, honest food that delivers on every promise. They change the menu regularly – but if you’re there, you should definitely ask Julia Hattingh, the chef and owner, for advice. She’s a sweet lady who doesn’t take herself too seriously, but cares about what she does. In Cape Town, everybody gets caught up in the “fanciness” of everything, but I always say it’s just food. We’re just cutting onions, that’s what we’re doing. And Julia just minds her own business and plays with her dog – after service, of course!
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One Response to “Chef Vusi Ndlovu’s Little Black Book of Cape Town”
Luyolo Llewy Mateza
Such great suggestions, thanx Vusi!