Dinner at The Grand Cafe Camps Bay

Lets just say, I know The Grand Cafe very well. Like many of you.
So, I was happy to tootle down Geneva Drive on a warm windless Atlantic mirror evening.

I parked in that impossible side road where you always somehow find parking.
I snuck quietly into The Grand, and settled at our table for four next to the staircase that´s perfect for people-watching. And though it's true that we did watch the ex-gogo dancers swanning around the bobo interior, I was there for the food.

The Caesar salad was eaten before I arrived, but apparently the bacon and croutons were perfectly crisp, the dressing classic, the salad was judged a little too small all in all.

Main course for my friends was the very fresh Tuna Tagliata, which is a tuna fillet cooked whole and then sliced, and then dressed with a light sauce of soya, lemon, ginger, chilli, garlic, mint, baby and roast tomatoes. Accompanied by rocket and some parmesan shavings, the end result is a deceptively simple dish with all the lovely flavours in the sauce enhancing the fresh tuna.

I had my usual here, because I know its the best one I'm going to get in Cape Town!
The Fillet Bernaise. Medium Rare. Cooked to perfection, a truly wonderful, relaxed, delicious (best basting sauce) piece of fillet. It was accompanied by finger size chips that are cut from actual potatoes, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and they actually taste like potatoes. To round it off: a bernaise sauce on the side, light, not a lot of herbs but perfect with the steak.

To befriend all this good food, we chose the Peter Falke 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon, which is a good choice to go with the fillet with its strong berry flavours. Interestingly, Peter Falke is the same man who makes those wonderful hiking socks, and he has a wine farm here in Stellenbosch (see for yourself).

Service by Gunter was warm and informed, the restaurant was full but not crowded, and the music selection was good - with the exception of one or two weird tracks that had absolutely no place in the playlist.

The Grand Cafe remains for me a classic choice for great food, good atmosphere, assured service, and the smell of the sea.