Beluga. Beluuuuuuuga. BeLUga. BELUUUUUGA!
Just the name has people either scowling in resentment or drooling with desire. For a city that is so laid back, it’s managed to become one of Cape Town’s more controversial restaurants between the Whale Cottage debacle of 2009 and the Shaun Oakes saga of 2012, among other scandalous tit-bits.
The Black Sheep
I’ve always liked it. I like sitting in the sun, drinking their pretty darn amazing Bloody Marys, munching on Edamame beans, nibbling on Dim Sum and gorging on Sushi. Sure, it’s not the FANCIEST sushi in town, but it’s affordable (half price everyday) and in my experience, consistant. In my 6 years in Cape Town, eating there very regularly, I have never left disappointed BUT I have also never eaten anything off the regular menu.
This needed to change.
The Beluga Autumn menu got me flustered with happiness. R120 for a 2-course lunch or R160 for a 3-course lunch/dinner – score.
Bloody Mary in hand, I wasn’t relinquishing that old favourite, I gazed upon the menu struggling to both choose and to stay away from the sushi. The fact that I could have a 24-piece Samurai Plate AND a starter for the normal price of one Samurai Plate – almost threatened my resolve, but I was strong.
To start I had steamed mussels with a Thai Red Curry “Velouté” and home-made garlic bread. A traditional French Velouté is a sauce made with stock of the protein in the dish with a dash of cream etc etc. This version was Thai-inspired and was acidic, sweet and spicy and although delicious, over-powered the flavour of the perfectly cooked mussels.
My friend’s starter was a baby calamari salad with a lemon vinaigrette, sweet miso gastrique and coriander. Another twist on a French recipe, a gastrique is traditionally made by deglazing caramelised sugar with vinegar and wine. This version was light and aromatic and was complimented perfectly by the vinaigrette. The baby calamari, which sat delicately atop baby greens, coriander, carrot, spring onion and cucumber, rejoiced in these flavours. A light sprinkle of sesame seeds added a lovely nutty flavour, which rounded the dish. It was perfect.
For mains my friend had perfectly cooked, slow-roasted shoulder of lamb on buttery mash with roasted veg and a lamb reduction. It felt like home. The gravy was rich and the lamb was tender. The veg seemed steamed rather than roasted, but either way, they were crisp – no one likes a soggy bean – and delicious.
As great as her meal was, she, and the table next to me were quite obviously eyeing my plate jealously. I had what is called, “More than A Beef Wellington” and wow, I wasn’t expecting the quantity of food that appeared before me. Fillet steak, caramelised onions and duck liver pate, wrapped in puff pasty and topped with a beef reduction. The fillet was pink and melted like butter, the duck liver was perfectly smooth and the sweetness of the onions balanced the peppery, meaty beef reduction. What I didn’t realise was that on the side came 3 croquettes on a sweet butternut puree and a mound of skinny onion rings. The fact that I took a doggy-bag home to eat later (ie, about 20minutes after I got home) made me beam like a happy toddler.
It has taken me 6 years living in Cape Town to eat anything other than sushi but this has changed my mind. Many say that their food isn’t cheap but this really isn’t much of an argument. If you are looking for affordable, the half-price on sushi, Dim Sum and cocktails is a brilliant deal (did I mention the Bloody Marys?) and there is absolutely no doubt that this is Autumn menu is brilliant .
Whether you love it or hate, whether you bad-mouth them or not – the restaurant is always full and from the looks of things, always will be. They must be doing something right. I’ve heard the stories and the scandal but I keep going back. Why? Because I don’t really care what other people say, Beluga has always made me drool.
PS: I did a mini-poll on Twitter/BBM/annoying everyone everywhere, while I wrote this review, asking people’s opinions:
Love: 39
Hate: 14
Indifferent: 8
Interesting…..
