Posted on: October 28th, 2008 RLA: Aubergine : Not Worth it’s Weight

TH: *** ½
GS: ****
RL: ***
BH: ***
Average Rating: *** ½

Ahhh, the time had come. After planning for our hopes, our dreams, our aspirations, we had finally come to the point of making our first Featured Restaurant visit. It had to be special! It had to be memorable! So, after much deliberation we finally settled on Aubergine, a long-standing Cape Town establishment that regularly features in the country’s Top 10 list of restaurants. Needless to say, we had great expectations for the evening.

Disappointingly, the one word that comes to mind when we think back on Aubergine is “subtle”. Normally, being tasteful individuals, we would consider subtly a good thing, but, from its unassuming exterior to the subdued decor and understated elegance, little about Aubergine stood out, including the food.

On arrival, the building is, aside from the neon purple signage, unremarkable. For a restaurant with reputation, we were a little disappointed by the lack of drama or fan fair but this was quickly forgotten once we stepped inside. As our coats were taken, we took in the delicate interior balance between contemporary African chic and old world cottage comforts. We couldn’t help but notice another cosy and private dining space in the mezzanine loft above our own seating area.

On the subject of seating, they could have sacrificed a little style for more comfort - the woven leather-backed chairs were a perfect fit for the room, but not for the human body, or, oddly enough, the tables.
Now that we were seated however, it was not long before we were presented with the always difficult task of choosing our meals for the evening. The wine list boasted an impressive variety of both local and international wines, including an amusing section of wines produced by South Africans living abroad. Our only criticism would be that the wine menu did little to help us in our choice, being light on detail, but this was forgivable, given the presence of the sommelier.

In the end though this didn’t matter as, being in the mood for an indulgent evening, we chose the Degustation Menu, a 5 course set menu with wine pairings. As many of us were hesitant towards the Veal Tongue starter, we were pleased and impressed to find that variations were easily accommodated. That versatility extended to the sommelier chosen wine pairings that accompanied each course - one of our party is unable to drink to reds, and this presented no problem at all.

Shortly after placing our order, the amuse-bouche arrived, a common trend in Cape Town’s more upmarket establishments. In spite on being described as a delicate combination of this-and-that served with a salad, it looked a little more like chicken sandwich meat and some grated cucumber. That said, it was a nice combination of flavours and well presented, which we hoped was a sign of things to come.
Alas, the starters were disappointing with only the Aubergine Soufflé standing out. As it is one of the restaurant’s signature dishes, this was to be expected, but we had hoped to find the same dedication to the other choices. While we enjoyed the selections and appreciated the wine pairings, none were particularly memorable.

This tone continued throughout our meal. Although there were high points in the form of a Crustacean Soup with prawn skewer, fresh Kiwi Sorbet palette cleansers and Ostrich Medallions, we soon realized that the problem with these sorts of menus is that your meat is generally served as the chef recommends, a dilemma for those who don’t like their dishes on the rarer side, or in this case, near living. That said, each dish was beautifully presented and the Ostrich incredibly tender.

The “Cheese Platter”, a course we were all looking forward to by the waiter’s description, was anti-climactic as is was neither a platter nor the expected cheeses. Much like the rest of our experience the two phyllo pastry parcels of gorgonzola and a blue were fine, but not particularly note worthy. The same could be said of the dessert. It was…nice. And we hate that. Dishes in an expensive and sought after restaurant should be extraordinary. They should blow your mind, and leave you dreaming of, and craving, a particular flavour for weeks!

Although the food wasn’t remarkable and the wines, while from notable wineries, unexceptional, we were, on the whole, content. Service had been excellent, the ambiance enjoyable and the dining acceptable. And so, we asked for the bill. Our mistake really, we should have known better. This was, in fact, the most memorable point of the whole evening.

As the rest of the set meals are priced at around R500 per person, we were expecting the bill to be about R2000 for the four of us, more than we’d usually be willing to pay but, seeing as this was a special occasion we’d thought we’d splash out. The bill came in at R2600, excluding tip. Let us say that again – R2600! What the hell? Naturally, when you get a bill like that, it tends to jade your experience. You start reviewing the meal, weighing up if the experience justified the cost. After some discussion, we decided that while, overall, the meal was fine and the wine well-matched, neither were so notable that we’d find ourselves excitedly reminiscing of the flavours of the sauces, textures of the meats or complexity of the wines. In other words, no, it was not worth its hefty price tag. Don’t get us wrong, we would have paid the amount happily and still boasted about the place had we felt it was deserved, but as it was, we handed over the credit card with a somewhat bitter taste in our mouths.

Would we recommend Aubergine? Sadly, the answer is no. While it might deserve it awards and acclaim in some eyes, we feel the hype is unmerited and the prices aimed exclusively at tourists and those who are trying to impress future parents-in-law or wealthy clients. Two weeks later, we can barely remember what we ate.

Ambiance: ****
Service: *****
Food: **
Wine: ***
Bathrooms: ***

The Aubergine Restaurant / 39 Barnet Street / Gardens / Cape Town / Tel: 021 465 4909 / www.aubergine.co.za

4 Responses to “A: Aubergine : Not Worth it’s Weight”

1. Michele Says:
   December 4th, 2008 at 1:10 pm

   I have to disagree, having been to Aubergine twice I found the food to be outstanding.
   And I liked the subtle decor and atmosphere, it was a lot more welcoming than most top restaurants which are often overly pretentious.
   It’s definitely one of my favourite spots!
   But then I wasn’t paying, had I been, I might be of a different opinion.

2. Jeanne Says:
   January 12th, 2009 at 8:33 pm

   I’m afraid I also have to disagree - I had a great meal at Aubergine, but then maybe it helped that I ordered a la carte? I tried most of my fellow-diners’ dishes and although there were a couple that didn’t totally excite me, the majority did - the little beef cubes with different crusts, and the ostrich in green Thai curry stand out. I found our service to be professional and knowledgeable, which is often a hard thing to find in South Africa. Maybe we went on a good night and you hit a bad night (which, I know, is not really an excuse in a restaurant of this calibre) but I hope you give them a second chance (right after you take out that second mortgage on your house

3. TheWoman Says:
   October 27th, 2009 at 12:12 pm

   Thanks for a refreshingly honest review! I haven’t been there myself, but have heard and read about it - always with high praises. In some cases though, you can’t help feeling that a restaurant is only praised, because everyone else is praising it. It’s a little bit like the Emperor with no clothes on…

4. Eat Out Nominee’s Announced | Eating Alphabetically Says:
   September 28th, 2010 at 7:22 pm

   [...] our favorite, but in a year and half I’m sure things have improved, Eat Out think [...]

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