The Silo District at the V&A Waterfront has become one of Cape Town’s trendy food and lifestyle hubs.
Located in the centre of this culinary hotspot is the very trendy OUI Bar and KTCHN at the Radisson Red Hotel.
Oui is a French word meaning yes and the spelling of kitchen is intentionally spelled without the i and the e.
The hotel restaurant is a great space where guests can enjoy unpretentious meals in a family friendly, casual setting. Parts of the decor and design inside the restaurant resembles the nearby shipyard from the slanted images on walls to the rustic lamp shades in the shape of crayfish nets.
Camera lights and flashes around the restaurant and oversized couches gives the feel of a photo studio, the good lighting creates the ideal setting for Instagram #foodporn worthy snaps.
Selfie lovers will particularly love the giant selfie wall at the bar entrance, where they can can upload their images to social media.
Chef Morné Botha explains the concept of the menu, which is designed to be “easy, uncomplicated and comfortable”.
Morné describes the food as “honest, simple and nothing
complicated”.
“It’s an easy menu, I’ve never done and never liked complicated food. It’s not pretentious.”
The menu is indeed easy to read and uncomplicated with each dish categorised into sections including balls, salads, something serious and sweet stuff.
The balls consists of deep fried dishes which is great for sharing.
For starters my dining partner and I had a half portion of cheese and jalapeño and a half portion of the beef and pesto.
I was pleasantly surprised when I bit into the beef and it tasted like real beef.
The ball was juicy and meaty, like a meatball should be.
The pesto added a real flavour, but not taking away from the succulent meatball.
The cheese and jalapeño was also really good and had just the right amount of kick, which even my sensitive palate could handle.
I really had to pace myself with the starters because I was looking forward to my main course.
MAKE A MEAL OF IT: A(vo) B(acon) C(heese) Burger
For the mains I had the signature (A)vo (B)acon and (C)heese burger, towered with fried onion rings.
In Morné’s words, “there is no dignified way to eat a burger” and that statement proves true with this huge burger.
If you love real beef, don’t mind getting your hands a little messy and you’re not afraid of potentially dislocating your jaw, then this is the meal to have.
My partner went with something more dignified, the duchess sirloin, a 125g grilled sirloin served with mushrooms, pepper sauce and chunky fries.
Both dishes were exactly what was promised - uncomplicated and unpretentious.
With no unnecessary toppings and sauces, we could taste and enjoy the whole meal.
Other offerings include the fish and chips which is hake, battered deep fried and served with chunky chips and brown vinegar, a chicken and mushroom pasta with just enough cream to bring it together and if you crave something sweet, you must try the read and butter pudding with croissants and banana bread.