Empire Cafe
Published: 01 Dec 07
Category: Casual comfort
But things got even more out of hand than usual at Empire Café in Muizenberg. By the end of the evening, Patrick had morphed from Simon into Chris (?) and our waitress was calling me Jo, presumably after misreading JG Simon on my credit card. Not that I mind my name being shortened (I'm Jo to most of my friends, "friends" perhaps being the operative word). But J could just as easily have stood for Julia or Jennifer, so let's just say that Chris, I mean Simon, I mean Patrick and I found it all quite amusing - where other customers might not.
We ate at this loft-style space overlooking False Bay (and a carpark) on the night of the Rugby World Cup semi-final between England and France. Only two other tables were occupied: one by a couple of holidaymakers who vowed to return for coffee and cake the following morning; the other by owner-chef Dave Jones and his newspaper. (At least, we're pretty sure it was Jones based on his resemblance to the huge portrait of a bestubbled chef glowering over this otherwise rather stark space, with several knives painted behind his right shoulder as if to warn customers against making any complaints about the food. Not that we had any...)
The chalkboard menu is small, comprising just three starters and four mains plus a couple of pastas. Patrick kicked off with the Basil and Tomato Soup (R20) - light and summery, with fresh herbs wilting rapidly in the intensely flavoured purée of roasted tomatoes. It was exactly what I felt like too, but in the interest of WINE readers I opted for the Feta and Butternut Salad (R42) - and knew I was in trouble when I saw Mrs Holidaymaker enjoying it as her main course. Sweet crisp butternut shavings and tart creamy feta balanced each other perfectly, obviating the need for any dressing on the greenery beneath. It was delicious but enormous - and my heart sank further (or was it my belt pushing my stomach upwards?) when the main that I'd chosen as a "lighter option" turned out to be anything but...
This was the beef fillet stir-fry with linguine and roast vegetables (R75), lubricated with a splash of coconut milk and flavoured with Thai spices (making a bowl of Parmesan on the side seem rather a cultural mismatch). It was very tasty with just the right amount of heat but, again, I wished I'd chosen Patrick's superb Lamb rump steak on a bed of spinach with chickpeas and raisins (R85) - especially when our waitress observed that I must be "very full after all that food".
Just for the record, I didn't actually eat "all that food" but left a reasonably large space for dessert - and the frozen yoghurt (R18) was not only the lightest option in a long list of decadent-sounding cakes and tortes, but shared between the two of us. A flurry of choc chips, dried fruit and flaked almonds whipped in cream, this was probably the highlight of my meal, apart from occasional mouthfuls stolen from Patrick's plate.
It was all washed down with a bottle of Fairview's very quaffable Goats do Roam Red 2006 (R100), arguably the most interesting wine on a chalkboard winelist comprising just two whites, five reds and a rosé. Next time we eat at Empire Café, we'll almost certainly bring our own.
Average price of two courses excluding wine: R110
br />Address: 11 York Rd, Muizenberg
Open daily for breakfast and lunch; Thurs – Sat for dinner.
BYO R15
Tel: 021 788 1250
Food:
Wine list
Ambience:
Service:
Value:
But things got even more out of hand than usual at Empire Café in Muizenberg. By the end of the evening, Patrick had morphed from Simon into Chris (?) and our waitress was calling me Jo, presumably after misreading JG Simon on my credit card. Not that I mind my name being shortened (I'm Jo to most of my friends, "friends" perhaps being the operative word). But J could just as easily have stood for Julia or Jennifer, so let's just say that Chris, I mean Simon, I mean Patrick and I found it all quite amusing - where other customers might not.
We ate at this loft-style space overlooking False Bay (and a carpark) on the night of the Rugby World Cup semi-final between England and France. Only two other tables were occupied: one by a couple of holidaymakers who vowed to return for coffee and cake the following morning; the other by owner-chef Dave Jones and his newspaper. (At least, we're pretty sure it was Jones based on his resemblance to the huge portrait of a bestubbled chef glowering over this otherwise rather stark space, with several knives painted behind his right shoulder as if to warn customers against making any complaints about the food. Not that we had any...)
The chalkboard menu is small, comprising just three starters and four mains plus a couple of pastas. Patrick kicked off with the Basil and Tomato Soup (R20) - light and summery, with fresh herbs wilting rapidly in the intensely flavoured purée of roasted tomatoes. It was exactly what I felt like too, but in the interest of WINE readers I opted for the Feta and Butternut Salad (R42) - and knew I was in trouble when I saw Mrs Holidaymaker enjoying it as her main course. Sweet crisp butternut shavings and tart creamy feta balanced each other perfectly, obviating the need for any dressing on the greenery beneath. It was delicious but enormous - and my heart sank further (or was it my belt pushing my stomach upwards?) when the main that I'd chosen as a "lighter option" turned out to be anything but...
This was the beef fillet stir-fry with linguine and roast vegetables (R75), lubricated with a splash of coconut milk and flavoured with Thai spices (making a bowl of Parmesan on the side seem rather a cultural mismatch). It was very tasty with just the right amount of heat but, again, I wished I'd chosen Patrick's superb Lamb rump steak on a bed of spinach with chickpeas and raisins (R85) - especially when our waitress observed that I must be "very full after all that food".
Just for the record, I didn't actually eat "all that food" but left a reasonably large space for dessert - and the frozen yoghurt (R18) was not only the lightest option in a long list of decadent-sounding cakes and tortes, but shared between the two of us. A flurry of choc chips, dried fruit and flaked almonds whipped in cream, this was probably the highlight of my meal, apart from occasional mouthfuls stolen from Patrick's plate.
It was all washed down with a bottle of Fairview's very quaffable Goats do Roam Red 2006 (R100), arguably the most interesting wine on a chalkboard winelist comprising just two whites, five reds and a rosé. Next time we eat at Empire Café, we'll almost certainly bring our own.
Average price of two courses excluding wine: R110
by Joanne Simon
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Open daily for breakfast and lunch; Thurs – Sat for dinner.
BYO R15
Tel: 021 788 1250
Food:
Wine list
Ambience:
Service:
Value:
