9th Avenue Bistro

9th Avenue Bistro

This Hallmark event is an awful night for restaurateurs - all these tables for two taking up twice the space and needing twice as many waiters. And then you get the non-foodies who order a salad and a coke and gaze lovingly into each other's eyes all night, or go for steak tartare and won't eat raw meat… But I digress. Ignorant of this commercial schlock, we just wanted a good meal. The only reason we got a table is that there were four of us. And despite the restaurant being packed to the rafters, the food was exceptional and service exemplary. And the wine flowed. But then 9th Avenue Bistro is like that. It's won numerous awards - including a Top 100 listing in this magazine's dine guide.

Starters are exciting. McDonald and I had quite a debate and sent the waiter away while we pondered. The spicy tomato gazpacho with poached prawn tails, corn and black bean salsa and avocado ice-cream came out tops on our last visit. We debated the tried and tested, but decided to break fresh ground. The goat cheese cheesecake with candied fennel tempted, as did roast butternut raviolis with Madeira, wild mushrooms, sage, candied pecans and parmesan. Or even fish cakes with prawn and pork dumpling wrapped in Savoy cabbage.

Salads are a cut above the rest. The more conventional gorgonzola, pear and candied pecan salad worked last time, but a Caesar with a twist - with roasted garlic and olives added - might do the trick. Then there's fresh asparagus, prosciutto and poached duck egg with truffled hollandaise.

McDonald opted for seared duck breast on crisp basmati rice cake which, with pickled vegetable salad, plum sauce and parsnip chips, was superb. The duck skin crisp, the meat pink and juicy. My choice can only be described as a take on sashimi: three rolls of smoked salmon, one filled with Alaskan crab, then tuna, and then Scottish salmon, dressed up with cucumber and daikon radish salad, caviar and wasabi mayonnaise.

Main courses each have their own exciting array of vegetables and sauces to complement the meat. I'd enjoyed the roasted loin of veal previously although this time it was served on a mushroom and pea risotto. There's steak au poivre with grilled asparagus, crispy roast duck with gingered sweet potato and fresh salmon with saffron potatoes, roasted peppers and pea puree. The seafood sausage with seared scallops and basil mash sounded tempting, as did the duo of pork - roasted belly and prune encrusted fillet. There's even a spaghetti "carbonara" with squid heads, chourico and crispy fried oysters.

My springbok loin was the pick of the evening. Chargrilled a perfect medium-rare, it was paired with a prune potato galette and ginger whipped carrots, sauced with vanilla, port and the pan juices. Who would have thought the humble carrot could pull so much weight? McDonald's mustard crumbed rack of lamb with braised lamb cannelloni, minted pea puree, pearl onions and rosemary jus was enjoyable, although he felt the cannelloni was a little bland and didn't add to the dish.

Dessert was just up my street - vanilla pannacotta with fresh summer berries and berry compote. It's simple, fresh, not too sweet and, after all that food, not too rich. I hear some people groan "boring", but when the pannacotta is made with real vanilla and the berries include blackberries, gooseberries and blue berries - all those delicacies we never bother to buy ourselves - it's anything but. This is a restaurant that specializes in the home-made dessert. The pear bread and butter pudding is worth trying.

The winelist has been kept simple. This is not a flashy affair that goes out of its way to impress the Diner's Club snifferatti. The focus is on five or six varietals, chosen to complement the food - and many are under the R100 mark. You can have your Meerlust Rubicon, Warwick Trilogy or Paul Cluver Pinot Noir, but there's also the more reasonable Du Toitskloof Shiraz, Beyerskloof Pinotage or Hartenberg Cabernet Sauvignon. Dessert wine is available by the glass.

Average price of a three-course meal, without wine: R170

 

By Frank Chemaly

Address: 9th Avenue Bistro. Avonmore Centre, 9th Avenue, Morningside. Tel: 031 312 9134. Open Tuesday to Friday lunch, Monday to Saturday dinner. BYO R25.
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