9th Ave Waterside
Where:
2 Maritime Place, Durban Harbour
Open
: Tuesday to Saturday noon to 2.30pm, 6pm to 10pm, Sunday noon to 2.30pm
Call:
031 940 4628
It has been many months in the planning, but Durban’s 9th Ave Bistro has a new home.
Rebranded as 9th Avenue Waterside, it fills the void left for many years by the Cafe Fish at the yacht mole. So one of Durban’s top restaurants finally has a top position, with wonderful views of the harbour.
The interior is stylish, but has been kept very simple and minimalist. It’s warmed up with blonde wood, white drapes and retro chairs. Some serious effort has been taken to keep sound levels down in a space which doesn’t have much in the way of soft furnishings, making the dining experience pleasant - intimate, even. I liked what had been done to the space.
Upstairs is a functions room and a small bar and deck, while the main dining room flows onto a wooden deck, which in beautiful weather will be lovely. And as always with 9th Avenue, the service is slick.
The menu is much as the restaurant’s many loyal customers would remember, with the addition of a few more seafood options in a nod to the setting.
Starters include the excellent duck liver parfait with onion and rosemary jam and pickled apple. This has to be one of my favourites and it took courage not to order it again.
The shellfish with baby langoustines and lemon foam is another popular one, as is the roast butternut ravioli with Madeira cream, mushrooms, candied pecans and Parmesan. There’s a calamari salad, the classic gorgonzola pear and pecan nut salad, and options with pork belly or lamb riblets. New on the menu is a traditional French-style fish soup. I was headed in that direction.
But my foodie friend had cracked the nod to one of their trial runs the week before, and waxed lyrical about the oyster mushroom and artichoke risotto, with shaved pecorino, crème fraiche and truffle powder. These are two of my favourites. Listed as a main, I asked the kitchen if they would do a starter portion. When the answer was yes, I had no problems deciding. The soup would have to wait.
The dish (R95) was delicious. The risotto was perfectly cooked, rich and creamy and the mushrooms and artichokes generous, their wonderful natural flavours lifting the dish.
“I told you it was sublime,” my friend said.
She opted for the gin-cured salmon with crème fraiche, dill cucumber and trout roe with home-made seed loaf (R125). It was beautifully presented with little edible flower leaves, pickled pieces of dill and little blobs of crème fraiche. The salmon was silky smooth and beautifully fresh. Another winner.
The linefish of the day was swordfish, and grilled queen prawns with Thai Penang spicing, and a seafood platter take in the seafood options.
I settled on something new, a squid ink linguine with prawn tails in a tomato and fennel sauce, chilli pesto and rocket (R230). It was an enjoyable dish although the sauce could have done with a little more seasoning or the chilli pesto pack a little bit more of a punch, but the rocket lifted it nicely.
The foodie’s crispy roast duck (R240) was magnificent, the breast cooked perfectly pink and succulent, the skin beautifully crisp. There’s an art to that. It was also coated in a really tasty port or red wine jus. There were finger-licking marks on the plate afterwards. It was served with glazed carrots, green beans and a mushroom and lentil cream.
Dessert lovers will be pleased to know that the famed apple, pear and raisin bread and butter pudding is still on the menu, as is the dark chocolate tart, and a very good crème brulee. We opted to share an interesting sounding “gin and tonic” (R80). This was ginger and juniper sorbet, toasted meringue, lemon curd and gelee, a posh name for jelly. We really enjoyed it, the lemon curd being exceptional. Another plate licked clean.
A good double espresso completed the evening.
9th Avenue Waterside is reapplying for a liquor licence, so at the moment there is a bring your own policy, with a small corkage charge. By the time you read this, the licences may have been issued. Please check with the restaurant.
Food:
4
Service:
4
Ambience:
4