A prize marble
Marble Cape Town is the latest addition to a brand whose culinary signature of live-fire cooking and glam dining has made its Joburg restaurant among the most sought after in the City of Gold. Here’s what you can expect.
There are high expectations for Marble in the Mother City. There was talk it would be more focused on fish, but “Marble is Marble for a reason. We sell meat. In Joburg, 75 percent of what we sell is meat,” says chef and co-owner David Higgs, who adds that the Cape Town proportions skewed to meat are even higher. “For us to come to Cape Town and have a fish restaurant doesn’t make sense.”
In the V&A Waterfront’s historic Union Castle Building, with incredible all-round vantage points and natural light flooding its interiors, the view takes centre stage. It’s aided by the natural beauty of the surrounds visible through floor-to-ceiling glass walls, and complemented by artworks, and ceilings that evoke shimmering water. Differences in the interiors between Marble Cape Town and Marble Joburg exist. Here, there’s a play on blue, with serviettes and crockery with Delft-inspired designs adding a subtle dimension. Another difference is that the restaurant is built atop a heritage site (which is partly why it took longer to build than planned).
Higgs talks of how the prime reason for being in the Cape of Good Hope is the Spice Route, the historic culinary trade movement from the east to Europe and back. “For me, it’s important to tell a bit of a story, a bit of history.” He likes an open kitchen that allows for synergy between the front and back, so chefs are not shut in the back kitchen but more involved in the buzz of the restaurant, and are therefore more accountable.
Meat is obviously a big focus and the range of steaks is tantalizing. These (like a wood-fired Chalmar ribeye) are sourced mainly from local producers, but also imported. Less than five percent of the meat comes from the US, and one can order wagyu beef from Idaho, for a price. There are nostalgic meat options on the menu, like the Marble Carpetbagger, a surf ‘n turf steak with mussels inside. Higgs reveals that the Boerewors ‘Braaibroodjie’ is one of the most popular dishes.
There are sharing options too, like a Meat Tasting Plate, or Selection of Grilled Seafood, both for two. And, of course, there are fish options, and my jospered salmon was sublime. Rumour has it the Snoek Pate with magwenya (vetkoek) and the Mussel Paella are equally delicious.
While the restaurant might be largely about meat, vegetables play a part too. The asparagus starter, with miso tofu and spinach salad, could make anyone sing. There’s also a focus on preserves, pickles and cures, specifically of fruit and vegetables. “Fruit in Cape cooking is massive, it’s a large part of Cape Malay heritage, along with spices,” Higgs says. Our Marble Bites offers a particularly fruity inclination – apricot and game sosaties, skilpadjie with onion relish, and salted lamb ribs with meebos.
Renowned chef Karen Dudley is behind the cheese and preserve offering as Higgs asked her to curate the cheese trolley. “She cooks in a completely different manner to the way I cook. It’s a lovely adventure, and almost contradictory to the space; we’re almost wheeling her kitchen to the restaurant, to the table.” Her cheese trolley really is a visual feast, as well as a mini gastronomic adventure.
Higgs is from Cape Town, though is very much a Joburg boy who loves the energy, hustle and diversity that the City of Gold has to offer. He grew up in Sea Point in the eighties at a time when Sea Point Main Road was known for its steakhouses – Buzbey Grill (a landmark for decades), then further along Watney Girls, the Seven Spur, Mike’s Kitchen and clubs such as Charlie Parker’s. Today’s is a different era but Higgs carries on the tradition of grilling at the coast, certainly in a larger, more upmarket space, one with sexy Joburg vibes.
www.marble.restaurant/capetown/
