Alas, we are in our final week for Restaurant Week (month), but let’s just say, I think we might have saved the best for last. On Thursday, my business partner and I made our way to The Waterfront to dine at the beautiful, scenic restaurant, Pier. We were greeted by very smart-looking hostesses, who escorted us upstairs to our table. To our surprise, it was so lovely and warm with it being the first taste of a winter’s day in Cape Town. It was absolutely beautiful, from the décor to the stunning view of the Harbour and those fancy yachts that might just be on my ‘one day when I’m big’ bucket list. We were seated at a table next to the window, so we had beauty all around us. The interior is very sophisticated, with white tablecloths and modern beach house finishes.

After a few moments of taking it all in, our waitress arrived with our menus. We had a quick look at all the deliciousness we were about to eat, ordered a bottle of sparkling water (I was driving), and we opted for the Restaurant Week menu, which was R895 per person.

"This is hands down one of the best meals I have ever eaten."

Now, a fun fact about me. I am an absolute sucker for bread. In all honesty, when deciding on a restaurant, a large majority of my choice is based on the bread course. I do my research beforehand, looking at menus and photos. This one really caught my attention, and here is why. Our waitress was coming our way, but she was not alone. She was pushing a cart that had bread, of course, as well as a copper dish with a curry sauce in it, and next to this dish was a mini braai with a delicate piece of hake on top of it.
She then proceeded to break up that hake into the sauce, making a rich fish curry. Yes, my mouth was watering too. Finally, everything hit the table, and it was time to tuck in. I broke the massive sourdough bread roll in half; it was steaming and smelled amazing. I dipped it into that silky curry and took my first bite. It was heavenly. This is definitely one of the best curries I have ever had. It was perfectly spiced, creamy, and with a hint of that Cape Malay sweetness. It was definitely one of the highlights of the day. Accompanying the bread, there were also two other dishes. There was a cultured yeast butter, which I didn’t try as I’m not a fan of butter, and then a mussel and chorizo pâté. The pâté was almost as good as the curry. It was smooth and salty; it reminded me of chicken liver pâté, which I thoroughly enjoy.

After leaving barely any room, the next dish arrived. I ordered the Tandoori yellowfin tuna. Honestly, I wasn’t such a big fan of this course. It was presented beautifully, and all the ingredients were of great quality, but it just lacked seasoning for me. I almost want to say the tuna was such good quality, it had little flavour. I really enjoyed the crunchy mix that was accompanied by it to sprinkle over the dish. It added a good amount of texture, but all in all, it was quite bland.

Thankfully, it was time for a little break from eating. We were told to make our way to the bar for our palate cleanser. I really enjoyed the idea of leaving the table for our next course. It felt super immersive, and I really needed to get a few steps in before mains. At the bar, there were three drinks for us to choose from; again, I was driving, so I opted for the mocktail “shot”. I really liked the fact that they had a nonalcoholic option to choose from. Tumi and I cheersed, and drank our shots, and followed it up with a lemon wedge filled with lemon sorbet. It was all super tasty and fun.

We made our way back to the table, and soon enough, our next course arrived. Oh my word, let’s just say, I am still dreaming of this meal. Perfectly cooked and herb-crusted lamb, braised lamb neck, silky smooth purées, and a bursting-with-flavour truffle jus. This tasted like a sophisticated Christmas dinner. This is hands down one of the best meals I have ever eaten. The meat was incredibly tender, perfectly seasoned. Everything about this dish was out of this world. It was so well thought out. They got it right. That’s all I can say.

After what felt like one of the best moments of my life, I thought to myself, can life get any better from here? Yes. It was time for dessert. Normally, I wouldn’t go for the dessert that was on the menu, but after the curry and lamb, I was actually looking forward to a lighter dessert. An absolutely stunning plate arrived. It was so delicate and beautifully crafted. It consisted of strawberries that were actually sugar shells filled with elderflower mousse, whey ice cream, sponge, and a few other components. It was light, fresh, and still had some body from the creamy ice cream. I thoroughly enjoyed this dessert; it might have even changed my mind about fruity desserts.

We have almost made our way to the end of our time here. But before the show was over, our waitress was making her way back and yet again, she was not alone. This time she was wheeling over a chest. I was super excited, in that chest was our final course, the petite fours. She opened it up and told us all about the four different options. I decided on four. I thought that would be the perfect amount so I didn’t seem too greedy. After plating our chocolates, she took our coffee orders and off she went. In all honesty, I was a little disappointed. Unfortunately, the chocolate didn’t taste like good-quality chocolate, but some of the fillings were nice. The miso caramel one was enjoyable, as well as the crème brûlée biscuit. However, the hazelnut truffle and the tiramisu were not. The chocolate itself was too sweet, so it was just all too overpowering. I was very grateful for my coffee afterwards to balance out the sweetness.

Overall, I had an amazing experience. It was a great way to end Restaurant Week. I can highly recommend the lamb, it is truly phenomenal. I would also recommend going with the quail option as opposed to the tuna for the second course. Tumi said it is one of the best dishes he has ever had.

Thank you, Pier.

Till next time!