Bored of the same damn mall restaurants, niche cafes or snooty fine dining establishments?

Spend a Saturday in a hotel curled up close to one of the forgotten edges of Cape Town’s harbor. They’ve got…a supper club!(I’ll explain what that is, just now)

This past weekend I had another foodie escapade after trekking to Constantia to dine at Bistro Sixteen82 on Friday; So say hello to: Tobago’s Restaurant at the Radisson Blu Hotel Watefront.

Tobago’s Restaurant hosts what is known as a Supper Club.

A supper club is where you theoretically get together with other like-stomached individuals, to enjoy exciting food concepts you could be cooking, or eating with a glass of wine. The most renowned supper clubs across the world, have one prominent feature: A clear concept.

“Chef Norman designed a menu of wholesome, hearty, winter warmer dishes, which are carefully paired with selected wines. Each event will feature a different wine farm. Relaxed & rather intimate atmosphere…R 345 pp includes 3 course dinner & wine…Every last Saturday of the month”

I do believe Tobago’s Restaurant is in the throes of working out what sets them apart, tastefully.

Why would somebody take the time to visit the Radisson Blu hotel, to dine there? What’s so good about the food – is it quantity or quality, or both?

We all want to feast on enviable food, without wastage. This is where preparation, and the kind of diners, comes into play.

So let me tell you about what I experienced at their supper club.

My Meal

Guests arrived to a secluded welcome area, with the wine maker of the month, Remhoogte, Chenin Blanc ready to wet our palates.

The first taste of what Tobago’s Restaurant was made of, began with Pumpkin Soup canape and Smoked Salmon. The soup was irrevocably the best cup of goodness, of the night. It was perfectly creamy, and needed only the slightest granules of interesting seasoning, to make it perfection.

I tasted none of the salmon, when I bit into the Salmon-based morsel offered in my canape. It was very much like eating the result of something overcooked.

The Remhoogte 2014 Aspect Merlot matched with the main meal, went down well. No dry burn, so “Yay!”

(high praise from one who doesn’t love red wine that much)

The starter was a Braised Oxtail Soup, Petit Yorkshire Pudding, and Chive Creme Fraishe, teamed with the Remhoogte Wines’s 2015 Vantage Pinotage.

I would have preferred the canape pumpkin soup being my starter. Not to say the braised oxtail soup was bad, but I’m one of those diners that doesn’t always want a home-cooked vibe, when I have the expectation of dazzling fine dining.

The Main Course meal for tonight’s Supper Club, was a rich Steak and Guinness Stew, creamy Mustard Mash, and slow-roasted root vegetables.

For the most part, this main dish did not impress. The meats moisture seemed to have been lost in the cooking process. The stew sauce lacked character & I did not taste the celery, thyme or garlic, which the ingredient lists carried.

The mash was yummy. I would not mind another serving.

That being said, I did finish a significant enough portion of the meal for the course to have done its job – feed me.

DESSERT

Tobago’s Restaurant triumphed with their dessert: a Dark Chocolate and Banana Brownie, Bacon Ice-Cream and dried banana.

The Remhoogte 2013 Estate Wine was not my favorite of the night, lacking the social niceties and liquid smoothness of its predecessors. So abrasive!

Verdict?

For all the food details which Tobago’s Restaurant need work on in order to bolster a sustainable appeal to their supper club, it is the wide blue Atlantic ocean at ones table’s edge, which bears the highest regard. You’ll be remiss to find a location better positioned for average-to-good seaside lunches, dinners, quiet drinks or captivating sunsets.

*P.S: The bread from the restaurant, is AMAZEBALLS! Beg them for a piece.

For now, Tobago’s Restaurant get’s a 5/10.

What about the health nuts & vegetarians?

You’ll have to contact the restaurant folk, in order to find out whether substitutions are made for their weekly supper menus.

…And if you’re looking for vegan & vegetarian nirvana, I do not think you’ll actually find it there.

The food has been known to be healthy at Tobago’s though, so that’s nice.

What of the drinks & booze?

Not quite a comprehensive offering for non-wine lovers, but there is a selection to quench your thirst.

I wanna work my way through their cocktail menu. Guys, its got such potential(to get me drunk).

By the way: There are soft drinks, juice and water for the non-boozers.

Tobago’s get’s an all-round 6/10

(…thanks to the service, views and bread)

Tobagos Restaurant

Radisson Blu Hotel Waterfront, Beach Rd, Granger Bay, Cape Town, 8002

Tel: +27 21 441 3414