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» F1 Columns » Restaurant Reviews
| RESTAURANT REVIEWS CAFÉ 1999
Silvervause Centre, Berea There is just something about a full restaurant that gives you a wonderful sense of security – if all these people are here then surely there has to be something good about this place, right? Well when it comes to a stalwart such as Café 1999 you just can’t go wrong. The restaurant is loud and vibey with a bit of a glimpse into the hard-working kitchen. The décor is simple with an urban café feel to it. A comprehensive menu along with some evening specials provides a feast for the taste buds. Café 1999 is renowned for its olives. Black, plump kalmata olives stuffed to bursting with a delicate mixture of ricotta cheese which are then thinly crumbed and deep-fried until gloriously golden. The warm, crusty olives are served with a vampire-vanquishing garlicky mayo which makes you want to order more and more. There are also olives marinated in honey, lemon and herbs. Green olives, black olives – take your pick ‘cause they are all equally good! The rest of the starter menu consists of tapas, mixed platters, dips and other luscious titbits perfect for sharing and eating with your hands. We ordered prawn tails lashed in garlic butter and accompanied by a mayonnaise that was tinged the slightest shade of green from wasabi. An antipasto platter of grilled calamari, mussels marinated in sweet chilli and mango also found its way onto our table – not that it lasted long enough for us to admire the presentation or anything else! The mains options are also quite vast with choice of small or large portion – an unusual innovation but one that perhaps more restaurants should grab onto. My partner in crime for the evening opted for calamari tubes stuffed with oxtail in a pinotage sauce. Two opaque calamari pockets floating on a glossy, dark maroon pond of goodness were greeted with excited anticipation. The oxtail stuffing was meaty and beautifully succulent; the sauce an intense mixture of wine and meat juices – yum! I opted for a main of lemon and thyme crusted rack of lamb. The lamb was cooked perfectly to a nice delicate pinkness and was presented on a bed of lusciously tomatoey ratatouille. We ordered some roast veg and sweet potato crisps to go with the meal and both were very good. Other mains include line fish, fillet steak, pasta, chicken and something for the non-carnivores. The pudding menu sounds decadent and includes a triple chocolate brownie (which I suspect may lead to a serious chocolate high), honey and pecan tart, a cheese board and mom’s choice for the evening of panna cotta with a berry jelly. Because Durban is ferociously humid jellies tend to be stiff enough to bounce off a wall but not this one. It wobbled slightly as if in animated expectation of being lavished with warmth and tenderness. The sweet heaviness of the cream was offset by the fuchsia coloured jelly which was just the slightest bit sharp to curb the intensity of the sugar. As if that wasn’t enough the plate was artistically splattered with a berry coulis.
After a meal as exquisite as this one the coffee would always be a letdown regardless of how frothy the steamed milk, or how strong the beans but it was a good way to complete a scrumptious experience. This isn’t a family-oriented restaurant where the kids are welcome to run amongst the tables – it’s a place for those young at heart who adore a great meal and have superb hearing!
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