Cape Town, South Africa
Contemporary fine dining in Cape Town
Dined
in December 2013
UPDATE:
THIS RESTAURANT IS NOW CLOSED
This was to be my final day in Cape Town after 6 wonderful days of experiencing everything the Western Cape had to offer from fine dining, wine tours, shark cage diving, and national parks. They say third times a charm, so finally on clear summer day with no storms or high winds; I was able to go up to the top of Table Mountain. I met an American lady there on a tour, and we decided to spend the day doing some tours, visiting the V& A Waterfront, and then I invited her to dinner. I had already made the reservation for one person months before, so the restaurant was very accommodating by adding one person for me. This was my proverbial ‘last supper’ in Cape Town before moving onto Kwa-Zulu-Natal, Fugitives Drift, and then Leopard Hills Private Game Reserve in Sabi near Kruger National Park. The restaurant of recommendation was The Five Flies.
Follow Wine, dine, and Play:
Star
ratings chart:
5 stars
|
Extraordinary
|
4 stars
|
Outstanding
|
3 stars
|
Exceeded
expectations
|
2 stars
|
Above
average
|
1 star
|
Average
|
No star rating
|
Basic,
poor, or appalling
|
Review basics:
Star rating by Wine,
Dine, & Play:
|
2 of 5
|
Quality of food:
|
7 of 10
|
Presentation:
|
6 of 10
|
Wine selections by
region:
Scroll below the main review section to see the tasting
notes of the wines chosen.
 |
7 of 10
Old world:
1.
France: Champagne
2.
Austria: Weinviertel
3.
Italy: Toscana, & Abruzzo
4.
Spain: la Rioja
New World:
1.
South Africa: Cape Peninsula, Constantia, Stellenbosch, Paarl, Western Cape, Walker’s Bay, Citrusdal
Mountains, Franschoek, Cederberg, & Hermanus
|
Customer service:
|
8 of 10
|
Ambiance:
|
7 of 10
|
Corkage fee’s:
|
South African Restaurant standard is R80.00 per bottle
|
Restaurant style:
|
Casual
|
Dress code:
|
Business casual, Smart casual,
or Conservative attire
|
Reservations:
|
Recommended
|
Walk-ins:
|
Accepted, but not guaranteed
|
Child policy:
 |
The Restaurants reviewed on
this site may have a child’s menu or cater to them; however for full
enjoyment of food and wine, it is recommended for children not to be in
attendance. Hire a Babysitter. Alinea Baby Gate
|
Cuisine style:
|
Contemporary, Bistro, Lounge, South African, French,
Seafood, Organic, Mediterranean, Fusion, & Vegetarian
|
Music styles:
|
Background instrumental
|
Experiences:
|
Place for foodies, Lounge, Business parties, Romantic, Hot
spot, Great bar, Classy, and a Neighborhood gem.
|
Gratuities:
|
South African standard is 10% added to parties of 6 or
more
|
|
Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Diner’s,
|
Parking:
|
Street parking
|
Transport options:
|
Bus, taxi, limousine, personal vehicle, and walking
|
 |
The restaurants reviewed on
this site may have Wi-Fi, but do not require you to go online, because the
excitement of the food and wine alone will keep you too entertained instead
of checking your social media and emails.
|
Noise level:
|
Low
|
Smoking:
|
Nonsmoking restaurant
|
Patio:
|
No
|
Chef:
Dylan Jacobs
Food price per person (excluding gratuity)
Price chart:
$£€ - Under 50.00
$£€ x 2 - Under 75.00
$£€ x 3 - Over 100.00
$£€ x 4 - Over 200.00
$£€ x 5 - Over 400.00
My food bill:
|
Currency :
|
Price chart :
|
R350.00
|
ZAR
|
|
$32.19
|
USD
|
$
|
£19.61
|
GBP
|
£
|
€23.80
|
EUR
|
€
|
$35.37
|
CAD
|
$
|
$36.58
|
AUD
|
$
|
¥196.97
|
CNY
|
¥¥¥
|
د.118.50
|
AED
|
د. د. د.
|
Visit these sites to
get up to date currency rates:
Or visit:
Scroll down below the main review to see cost of wines and tasting
notes.
From restaurants home page:
Five Flies is housed across 2 buildings which is a National
Monument. We have many different areas that can cater for many sized groups.
For large sized groups our restaurant caters for 120 people downstairs and 100
people upstairs. With smaller and more adjacent rooms catering for groups from
12, 20 and 40 people according to your requirements. You also have the use of
the lounge/bar area for private bar functions and welcome drinks. Alternatively
you can book a romantic table for two in our wine cellar.
Main review:
The day was coming to a close, and it was my last dinner
meal in Cape Town accompanied by my American lady friend, what her name was I
do not remember, but so be it, back to the food. After having a few drinks at
the bar it was time to be seated. The restaurant was in a historical building
in the Government and financial districts of Cape Town, tucked away, while one
street over was the party area with bars, small food joints, and hostels all
over the place. Since seeing the movie Hostel a few years ago, I opted out, no
matter how cheap they are…LOL. Any the building was separated into two dining
rooms, then the bar, with the kitchen in the back. The main dining room was a
sight out of the 1920’s with a checkered floor, and old rod iron chandeliers.
The second dining room where my friend and I sat was a brighter dining room,
with a glass ceiling with the sun shining in, with a cobblestone floor, which
tells me this used to be a patio until it was enclosed.
The server presented bread and went over the extensive menu,
and during this time the Chef also came out making his introductions, and
mentioning that a major overhaul to the menu had just occurred, and he
encourages as much feedback as possible from it. The bread was fresh baked
served with a slightly salted butter, garnished with paprika, and was nice to
munch on while we reviewed the menu. As I looked at the wine list I was very
surprised. This being my sixth day in Cape town, eating at many wonderful fine
dining restaurants to include two from the top 100 restaurants of the world,
Five Flies was the first wine list I saw that offered selections outside of
South Africa with the exception of Campaign, France which most menu’s did
have. This restaurant offered selections from Italy, Spain, and Austria. Now
being that I was on vacation in South Africa, I stayed with South African wines
for my selection.
My starter course prawn shooters, which were marinated in
balsamic and lemongrass, served in a spicy tomato and celery cocktail with a
garnish of baby salad. Now this dish did surprise me, because as I read it on
the menu, I was expecting them to come in multiple small shot glasses, where
you could swallow the dish in one gulp, like an oyster shooter. When the dish
came out however, there were four massive size prawns laying over the edge of a
martini glass with the tomato cocktail inside. Now back in the United States
when I make this dish, or request it at a restaurant, we call it a Shrimp
Cocktail, or in Europe a.k.a. Prawn Cocktail. So yes I was surprised, and would
have ordered something different if I knew what it was, considering that to me
it is a bland starter, and most restaurants don’t serve it anymore, because
unlike the 1980’s and 1990’s, it doesn’t have the same character and surprise
as it once did to a menu. Now if it was a shooter like the menu said, then it
would have had a “wow” affect. But since it had been delivered, and I did order
it, I ate it.
 |
| Prawn shooter, not a cocktail |
The second course was our salad course, which we most likely
would not have ordered in advance, if we knew that our starters as you can see
from the pictures above came with a large serving of mixed greens, and my
friend would have had a soup instead of the 5 star green leaf salad, with
organic baby greens, elachi
seeded poached pear, butternut crisps, chive black pepper goats cheese, and red
onion with a light vinaigrette. Elachi, also known as cardamom spice, funny
enough in the Sci-fi world is the name given to a race from Star Trek. (Amazing what pops up on Google when you’re looking for more information on food spices!!)
My salad course was not a salad per say, so even though I
had a large helping of greens with my starter, this course was a classic
Italian dish of a Caprese Salad, with pesto, olive oil a Buffalo Mozzarella.
Now as another first, as our salad course was being
presented, it is very common to have the server crush some pepper from a
pepper-mill onto your salad for you, so you can enjoy fresh ground black pepper
with your meal. What I did not expect to see, was the server brink over a large
pepper mill that was about two-three feet long, a nice little touch that added
to the uniqueness of this restaurant.
For the main entrée course my friend had the 250 g. (8 ounce) pepper crusted beef
fillet, sitting on a rosemary Swiss potato Rösti, topped with
mushrooms, Mizuna greens, chili
crusted Fleur cheese and a
red wine jus.
I enjoyed the Dukkah
rubbed Ostrich entrée, which was a rub of fine Egyptian spices known as Duqqa.
The dish was served with a parsnip puree; rooibos infused dried fruit flambéed with
Cointreau, grated dark chocolate, garnished with sweet potato chips and a red
wine jus. I had mine cooked to a perfect searing medium-rare and the taste was
wonderful.
We decided to skip dessert as it was getting late, and we
were completely full. I thanked the chef for a good meal; and we left for the
evening. All in all not a bad meal, with my only concern being the wordings in
the menu and the mass amount of salad garnishes offered on most of the dishes.
For these two reasons only I rated The Five flies at a 2 of 5 instead of at a
3.
This Restaurant reminds me of:
Of my experience from all the restaurants I ate at while in
Cape Town, The five flies to me compares with restaurants like EccoRestaurant, Atlanta Airport and Dunes Restaurant in Haut Bay.
Cost of wines and other
alcoholic beverages:
R400.00
Tasting
Notes:
Wine & Grape:
|
Nose (Bouquet):
|
Palette Experience:
|
Blend of Syrah (70%); Cabernet Sauvignon (13%); Grenache
Noir (10%); Cinsault (6%) and Viognier (1%). shows massive floral perfume
with underlying redcurrant, cedar, black pepper, coriander spice and hints of
Turkish Delight.
|
The macerated red fruit carries through onto a palate
layered with marzipan, minerals and a superb velvety structure. Textured,
composed and seamless in style.
|
Restaurant address:
14 Keerom St,
Cape Town 8000,
South Africa
Cross streets:
Dorp & Leeuwen
Contact Information:
Maître d, reservations
|
+27 21 424 4442
|
Website:
|
|
Email:
|
|
Online
Reservations :
|
|
|
Lunch:
Mon-Fri: 12:00 am - 3:00 pm
Dinner:
Monday
|
6:00–11:30 pm
|
Tuesday
|
6:00–11:30 pm
|
Wednesday
|
6:00–11:30 pm
|
Thursday
|
6:00–11:30 pm
|
Friday
|
6:00–11:30 pm
|
Saturday
|
6:00–11:30 pm
|
Sunday
|
6:00–11:30 pm
|
S. African Standard Time (GMT +2:00)
Review by:
Chef Sean Overpeck (CFE) in Bordeaux 2010
.jpg)
Chef Sean cooks for soldiers in Afghanistan, 2012:
"Culinary perfection
consists not in doing extraordinary things, but in doing ordinary things extraordinarily
well."
TTFN
