We know Cape Town dining is world-class. Grub & Vine restaurant, in the heart of the CBD, now has accolades to prove it, writes KIM MAXELL.
Visually arresting, eaten with your eyes first. The Grub & Vine dining experience is more than just pretty food on plates, though. British chef Matt Manning is friendly and approachable; a lot like his food. Care is taken to put ingredients together tastily, using classic recipes.
Grub & Vine has been trading upstairs at 103 Bree Street since December 2018. The bistro serves “relaxed yet refined fare from a small, seasonal menu”. It’s ideal for elegant drinks, followed by a treat dinner. But it would make a great pick too for a one-on-one business lunch.
Thanks to fantastic local ingredients and solid culinary talent, many modern South African restaurants are now considered world-class. Grub & Vine recently received some international accolades. The restaurant was selected as Best Gourmet Bistro in Africa at the Haute Grandeur Global Awards, regarded as “the pinnacle of achievement in global hospitality”, and Manning was declared Best Chef. A local Haute Grandeur team assessed the restaurant on their experience of a five-course dinner.
Do awards matter? “At the end of the day, we don’t cook to win awards. It’s about just doing what we do and letting it speak for itself,” says Manning. “So, these kinds of accolades are something I take with a pinch of salt, but it is nice to be recognised.”
Still, Haute Grandeur Global Awards are on an international platform, and that brings reservations from patrons near and far. As any restaurant knows “it helps to let people know you’re there”, especially when you’re operating in a post-pandemic environment.
GREENERY IS SCENERY
The restaurant also walked away with the Best Scenic Setting in Africa accolade. So let’s hear it for cool urban interior design. Capetonian Monya Eastman of Stokperd injected comfortable glamour and a plethora of lush plants in The Green Room, a wine bar that extends into a calming conservatory.
She also added curved mirrors and plant boxes in Grub & Vine’s light-filled dining space. If you want to appreciate what the judges appreciated, take a window seat at lunchtime or early on a windless summer evening, to catch a bird’s eye view of Bree Street’s urban bustle below.
Many diners opt for two courses at Grub & Vine but stay for three or five if time allows. If you can be persuaded, sip a wine taster with each dish. Manning loves wine so has surrounded himself with staff such as waiter Christian Nkulu, or sommelier Keize Mumba, to introduce the Cape’s lesser known labels, such as B-Vintners Fire Heath Chardonnay from the Sondagskloof, for instance. A delicious match with roast potato gnocchi, and intensely umami flavoured, frothy “cauliflower cheese” – Manning’s clever take on cheese sauce – with hazelnuts and kale crisps.
If snacky is more your mood, tasty nibbles are available in The Green Room. That’s the place to be on Wednesday wine evenings, where winemakers pour complimentary tastings from 16h00. Or on your monthly First Thursdays urban pedestrian route. On Saturday from midday, there is bottomless bubbly with arancini balls.
HOW IT STARTED
There’s a story about Manning being on holiday in Toulouse with his South African wife and going down a side street to find lunch. They ended up at a very welcoming restaurant. The lunch experience was so memorable, the couple modelled their future Grub & Vine dining concept on it.
“We found this little bistro, an unassuming hole in the wall. It didn’t even have a name, just a chef standing outside having a smoke, with his apron on,” recalls Manning. “It was unpretentious, with good cooking and good wine. Ultimately that’s what it should be about. And I thought: that’s what I want to do in Cape Town.”
What makes him happy about cooking, he says, is seeing people enjoying his food. “I enjoy cooking the food I’ve trained in: French cuisine, but obviously highlighting excellent South African produce.”
“My style is honest, not too fussy. When you have quality stuff, you don’t need to mess about with it.” In summer, heirloom tomatoes sourced from Franschhoek could be sliced and combined with local burrata cheese, figs, and salsa verde. Delicious.
MORE WINE PLEASE
Culture Wine Bar opened at the end of October, in a beautiful upstairs space, metres from the Grub & Vine doorway. Manning says the decision was a no-brainer when it was vacated by the previous tenant. Bar manager Chris Groenewald is on board, creating a comfortable, accessible space for serious wine enjoyment, or for sipping a casual cocktail or whisky. An old staircase leads up to a wine library.
Stokperd’s Eastman helped transformed the bar interiors too. Original exposed red brick walls combine with banquette seating, freshly reupholstered in a russet tone. The bar feels cosy and warm, welcoming.
As a business owner, Manning is pleased that Cape Town’s local restaurant scene is looking more lively. “Our dinner trade has a nice mix of people in their late twenties to sixties. Some are only after a two-courser on a Thursday night.”
Come Fridays, a current carnivorous offering is côte de boeuf from Outshoorn. It’s a prime rib to share. “We’re using dairy cows that have spent their life eating grass. It’s got this beautiful layer of fat on it, with nutty cheesiness. I bring it to the table and carve it in slices. It’s theatrical, it’s cool.” Diners see the glorious steak being presented. And invariably change their orders. It's the Manning effect.
IMAGES: Grub & Vine