Platine
Platine is a mature restaurant in a city with very few. For all its charms, Cape Town is gastronomically still a (promising) teenager. Back in the day when I used to work at the CPI House directly opposite Platine, the existence of this cosmopolitan restaurant with its high-quality cooking right on my doorstep would have suited my visions of Cape Town being modern and chic: the new Sydney, the African Barcelona.
But Cape Town is at heart still a curious tavern of the seas, not ultra-sophisticated but rather earthily sensual, over-whelming in its natural attractions, and youthful – also in its restaurant culture. This is a challenge for places with the mature disposition of Platine, which offers a discreet, rather serious dining experience where the emphasis is on the plate through a menu that is described as “modern French cuisine” on their website.
Chef Matthew Kneipp and partner, co-owner and host Catherine Calcott-Stevens clearly have a vision of Cape Town as a modern, chic city. They came here after working in Australia and the UK, where Kneipp was senior sous-chef at Marco Pierre White’s L’Escargot.
But, unfortunately, Cape Town seems to be largely indifferent to Platine’s charms. On each of my three visits, it has been emptier than it deserves to be. Perhaps it’s because Platine is an unassuming restaurant in a city that celebrates the sexy and sea-viewed, but, open a good few months now, it has yet to be visited by many of my foodloving friends. Many don’t even know it exists.
The interior of this double-storey townhouse with its Oregon pine floors and large rooms takes itself rather seriously in restrained monochromatic hues of taupe and sober browns – making you feel like either a city banker or an extra in a European interiors magazine. Tablecloths are linen and decked with good-quality flatware and glassware. Most certainly a by-product of how quiet things are, the service tends to be too plentiful (something I never thought possible in Cape Town) and rather anxious, but the menu knowledge evidenced by Calcott- Stevens, who is always on the floor, is very good.
A symptom of their “wrong city” predicament shows in the fact that they used to offer a chef’s menu with variations of three or four courses, with or without wine, but have now defaulted to the usual à la carte. Even now, the menu is pared down and focused; as is the winelist with its well-selected, individualistic options that display keen interest on the part of the owners. The chief varieties are covered, and prices are friendly with many whites between R100 and R150 and reds under R200. There is also a selection of Champagne, including vintage bottles, and Cape Ports by the glass.
On the menu, Kneipp does a marvellous job of making the food sound telegraphically appetising, and his visual interpretation on the plate is highly accomplished. This is a chef of skill and experience, and you’d pay a good deal more for this experience anywhere else in the world. Meats are succulent, fish is delicate, sauces are vibrant with flavour. Velouté is creamy but not unctuous and desserts are suitably decadent. Plus the coffee is very good. Yet, measured strictly, there are niggles.
While the quail breast I ordered was moist, the ravioli of confit quail was starchy and dominated by raisins that would have been better as bit players, and the welcome hazelnut flavour stood on the sidelines. Meanwhile, the lovely angelfish was chaperoned by heavily panned herb gnocchi instead of light clouds, and a green olive sauce (part of the appeal in ordering the duck) turned out to be merely sliced pieces of naked olive.
But objections like these only serve to indicate the high
level of cuisine that is being explored here. Platine should
be high on your list if you care for good, modern food –
and if you share a vision of a more contemporary city.
Address: 6 Watson Street,
Gardens,
Cape Town
Tel 021 424 6696
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Website: http://www.platine.co.za
