Best known as the figure behind Potluck Club and The Test Kitchen, two of Cape Town’s most popular and critically acclaimed restaurants, British-born chef Luke Dales Roberts is now making waves with The Shortmarket Club. From its quaint side street location just off buzzy Bree Street, to the heritage building it sits inside, the restaurant presents a rounded dining experience in which every single facet has been carefully curated.
The menu is led by chef Wesley Randles who has worked closely with Luke since the opening of The Test Kitchen, and here confidently turns out innovative plates that offer updated riffs on classics from an open kitchen. Standouts include an asparagus dish modernised with a hazelnut and miso hollandaise, porcini puree and parmesan wafer, while steak becomes a talking point when served with an experimental café au lait sauce.
Working hand-in-hand with the menu are the interiors by Dale-Roberts’ wife, Sandalene. Here, an opulent old-world vibe comes courtesy of vast banquettes, an unrestrained used of velvet and leather, and a rich palette of blacks and deep aubergine. Sip on a preprandial cocktail in the bar while watching the action from the open kitchen, before heading through locally crafted stained glass sliding doors to the restaurant, where two skylights illuminate a wall of framed butterflies by artist Mark Rautenbach – certainly a conversation starter while waiting for your food.
ADDRESS
88 Shortmarket Street
-
Duyi Han’s immersive psychedelic installation in Shanghai is like ‘seeing the world from a higher dimension’Chinese artist Duyi Han on ‘Visions of Bloom’ in Shanghai, his reimagination of a secret Chinese garden through a psychedelic video and furniture installations
-
One to Watch: designer Valerie Name infuses contemporary objects and spaces with historical detailFrom vessels to furnishings and interiors, New York- and Athens-based designer Valerie Name finds new relevance for age-old craft techniques
-
Cora Sheibani celebrates unexpected diamond cuts in a new jewellery collectionCora Sheibani's latest collection, ‘Facets and Forms’, marries her love of history and science
-
Singita Ebony Lodge celebrates 30 years of wild beautySingita Ebony Lodge in Hazyview, South Africa, begins a new chapter with a refresh by Cécile & Boyd
-
A refreshed Cape Grace hotel embraces the best of South African heritageCape Town’s Cape Grace hotel reopens its doors following an extensive and playful renovation by international interior design studio, 1508 London
-
Cape Town: 8 things to do and see for the design-minded travellerCape Town is a capital of art, design, food and wellness; local resident Sean O’Toole on the best things to do and see, from a Bree Street meander to a Constantia wine route
-
Villa One at the One & Only Palmilla — Los Cabos, Mexico -
Martim — Wroclaw, Poland -
Tattersalls Hotel — Armidale, Australia -
KLoé Hotel — Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -
Casa Hoyos — San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
