Lou Lou’s Bar in the trendy Cape Quarter Lifestyle Village is suave, it’s smooth and it brings the vibe to the already vivacious square it’s situated in.
It was a perfectly glorious sunny afternoon in the Mother City as I walked into the middle of a buzzing square at Cape Quarter for my first tastes of Lou Lou’s.
The first thing I noticed was that the deck was full of people basking in the afternoon warmth. Then the inviting beat of summer dance music permeated my ears as the friendly host guided my partner and I to our table in the middle of the action.
After we’d been seated, our waiter was happily running us through the menu. An enthusiastic gentleman who knew his stuff, he offered recommendations for starters and mains.
Starters
For starters our waiter recommended the mushroom and truffle risotto balls in a creamy parmesan sauce, the pork belly with spicy rice and hoisin and ginger dressing, the seared spiced tuna with lime mayo, or the beef carpaccio with parmesan, mushrooms, rocket and capers. It was a no-brainer for me – I chose the carpaccio; my partner chose the pork belly. And what excellent choices.
The pork belly was deliciously soft and lightly dressed in the delightfully sweet hoisin and ginger sauce, which curbed the spicyness of the rice wonderfully – a rather generous portion too. My carpaccio was the right balance of lightly refreshing and salty. A small squeeze of lemon over my rocket added a lovely zing to the dish – it tasted like summer.
Mains
The waiter read my mind when he recommended the Norwegian salmon with roasted baby potatoes, cauliflower and peas for mains. Along with that was the penne pomodoro with cherry tomatoes, basil and feta, linguine al gamberi with Argentinian prawns, napolitana sauce, cream, chilli garlic and parsley or the Cape Malay chicken curry with basmati rice, poppadum and onion and tomato sambal. I leaped at the Norwegian salmon, while my partner went simple with the Jack Daniels beef burger with bacon and avo and truffle fries.
If I thought the starter portions were generous, it was nothing compared to the humungous burger and fries. Lightly dusted with parmesan, the truffle oil gave the fries a distinct taste that kept you wanting more, while the Jack Daniels basting on the burger was a wonderfully sweet accompaniment to the bacon, rounded off to perfection by the avo and red onion garnish. My salmon was perfectly seared and the potatoes, charred cauliflower and crushed peas added a great tone to a meal that was filling without being overwhelming.
Proof that Lou Lou’s does casual and fine dining equally well.
Desserts
The waiter cleverly gave us a good rest between mains and dessert. When I was ready, he ran through the desserts for the day – they aren’t on the menu as they change often. They had sticky toffee pudding, chocolate brownie with ice cream, tiramisu and baked cheese cake also served with ice cream.
I opted for the tiramisu, which was a light, fluffy and not too sweet end to what had been a truly great meal experience – the mascarpone cream almost bubbled in my mouth against the poignant coffee soaked sponge for a good caffeine kick. My partner chose the cheesecake, another generous portion with vanilla ice cream and granadilla and strawberry garnish – smooth and satisfying.
Lou Lou’s Bar has a lot going on with daily happy hours, live DJs, pink bingo evenings with Lilly Slaptsilli, village drinks and networking. Be sure not to miss their New Year’s Eve party on 31 December. Dance under the stars to live entertainment and dine on fabulous food and premium drink.
All in all, it was an afternoon well spent. Balmy weather calls for nothing other than a lunch on the deck, surrounded by a beautiful Cape Town vibe and sensational summer beats. It’s the epitome of Mother City living.
P.S.: Lou Lou’s runs a daily lunch special from 11am until 2:30pm where all starters and mains are R65 only. Bargain!
Directions to Lou Lou’s
Cape Quarter
10 Jarvis Street
Green Point
Cape Town
8051
021 418 0015
