{"id":104289,"date":"2023-06-28T11:05:16","date_gmt":"2023-06-28T11:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/?p=104289"},"modified":"2023-07-07T08:41:54","modified_gmt":"2023-07-07T08:41:54","slug":"new-galjoen-restaurant-sustainable-local-seafood-with-an-inner-city-vibe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/new-galjoen-restaurant-sustainable-local-seafood-with-an-inner-city-vibe\/","title":{"rendered":"NEW! Galjoen Restaurant – Sustainable Local Seafood with an Inner City Vibe"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was recently asked by someone travelling from the UK to Cape Town, where to go for great local seafood, and honestly, I was stumped. Given that we are coastally situated, this should have been an easy question to answer, however, local and sustainable are two elements missing from many seafood restaurants in this town. I am happy to say, however, that the opening of Galjoen restaurant ticks these boxes and more \u2013 offering an unforgettable dining experience that showcases flavour and innovation through a sustainably-minded and exclusively local menu.\"Galjoen<\/p>\n

Faces Behind the Fish<\/h4>\n

Galjoen restaurant is the brainchild of Neil Swart and Anouchka Horn, chef-patrons of another inner-city favourite \u2013 Belly of the Beast<\/em>. Galjoen\u2019s location, just a hop and a skip down from Belly<\/em> in the East City Precinct, doesn\u2019t necessarily scream \u2018seafood\u2019 but what it lacks in ocean views, it makes up for with subtle coastal d\u00e9cor elements and food that speaks for itself.<\/p>\n

\"Chefs<\/div>
<\/div><\/div>\n

The interior space was designed by Annelise Vorster, owner of Studio NAN, and Yolandi Vorster of YV Ateljee. Taking an industrial space in the city centre and giving it a coastal nod is not an easy feat, but the duo achieved this through subtle nuances like the ship\u2019s hull lighting feature and ceramic fittings modelled on buoys used by local fishing boats. The beautiful balcony mural by Adele van Heerden also brings a bit of the Cape coastline to this urban landscape. \"Interior<\/p>\n

We also had to run our hands along the glazed bricks that clad the pass \u2013\u00a0 created by local ceramicist, Amelia Jacobs, their green and black veneer shimmers differently depending on where you\u2019re standing and almost mimic a galjoen gliding through the water. Jacobs is also to be credited for the gorgeous crockery used in the restaurant \u2013 a canvas that styles each dish like a work of art.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all in the Name<\/h4>\n

Galjoen (derived from the Dutch word for a galleon sailing ship) is one of the things that you won\u2019t actually find on the menu \u2013 the reason being that it is, in fact, a red-listed fish<\/a>. You may find it a strange choice of name, however, that\u2019s exactly the point \u2013 Swart and Horn want it to be a conversation starter. Yes, galjoen<\/a> is South Africa\u2019s national fish but it is also on the endangered list; once prolific along the coastline, its numbers have dwindled, resulting it in now being protected.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This forms the basis for the restaurant\u2019s \u2018raison d’etre\u2019 (reason for being) \u2013 to provide a completely local menu featuring sustainably caught seafood. This premise keeps head chef, Isca Stoltz, and her team on their toes.<\/p>\n

Catch that comes in is largely from Abalobi<\/a>, Greenfish<\/a>,\u00a0 self-employed artisanal fishermen and other sustainable vendors and is wholly dependent on what the ocean offers up on the day. The menu will evolve and be tweaked according to this. So, dishes like their \u2018fish & chips\u2019, will remain on the menu, but the fish used in the dish may change. Trust me, this vis en tjips<\/i> won\u2019t resemble anything like what you\u2019ll get down at Mariner\u2019s Wharf!<\/p>\n

Says Stoltz, \u201cWe cook the fish, whatever is fresh that day, over open coals with lemon butter. It\u2019s a plate that\u2019s meant to transport you to eating on the quayside, with all those wonderful flavours of salt and vinegar and fish and potatoes.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Diners won’t find any seafood from exotic global locations on the menu, everything featured is local, sustainably caught and consciously cooked and that is the difference.<\/p>\n

Stoltz draws heavily on memories of childhood holidays in Mozambique, with shellfish foraged on the shoreline and fish fresh from the local market. Building layers of flavour, and with no shortage of creativity and technique on each plate, each dish ensures that fresh seafood is the hero.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith every single plate we really put the focus on the ingredients,\u201d says Stoltz. \u201cEverything we do in the kitchen is to make them shine.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Dining at Galjoen Restaurant<\/h4>\n

The concept at Galjoen matches its sister restaurant, Belly of the Beast<\/em><\/a>, in that the same set menu is served to everyone during specific seatings. Vegetarians and pescatarians can be catered for but substitutions and \u2018dislikes\u2019 are regrettably not.<\/p>\n

During a recent lunch, I experienced a number of the dishes on offer and course by course I was impressed.<\/p>\n

The fresh Saldana Bay oyster appetiser with vierge dressing, grilled pineapple salsa and lemon-black pepper emulsion was an absolute flavour bomb, with perfectly balanced salinity and sweetness.<\/p>\n

\"Oysters<\/div>
\"tuna<\/div><\/div>\n

The dish of Yellowfin tuna sashimi dotted with roasted garlic aioli, caramelised ginger dressing and Scarborough-foraged nori was another favourite.<\/p>\n

The \u2018bread\u2019 course \u2013 beautiful and tasty enough to convert any carb avoider \u2013 was also a standout; a lightly curried snoek roll, delicious on its own or slathered in fiery Kashmiri chilli-infused butter. Fire-roasted garlic buchu flatbread was torn and dunked into the delicious white wine and parsley sauce of the accompanying mussel dish, dressed with a drizzle of bright green parsley oil and delicate fennel flowers. Galjoen offers a curated wine list and can offer pairing suggestions with each course \u2013 my favourite of the day was the Glenelly Chardonnay<\/em> paired with this course.<\/p>\n

<\/div>
\"mussels<\/div><\/div>\"Bread<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s call it as it is and admit that while fish is meant to be the ingredient of the hour, when it comes to good ol’ vis en tjips,<\/i> it’s the golden slap chips, slathered in salt and vinegar, that are the true hero. At Galjoen it was no different. Of course, the fish part of the dish was beautifully cooked, however, the crispy pomme anna with salt, vinegar and brown sauce was the highlight. Layers of wafer-thin potato compressed together, meltingly soft on the inside and fried to perfectly crunchy on the outside \u2013 dangerously good.<\/p>\n

Book your Seats<\/h4>\n

Galjoen pays homage to local seafood in a way that not many other restaurants I can think of do. The commitment to sustainability is obvious and the team has created a menu that doesn’t feel like it is missing anything, specifically not any seafood that has journeyed through the sea, as well as in a box from the other side of the world. Expect a delicious meal from an accomplished team that truly practices what they preach.<\/p>\n

Lunch: R550 per person : 12h30pm : Wednesday to Saturday
\nDinner: R750 per person : 18h45pm : Tuesday to Saturday<\/p>\n

Galjoen Restaurant – 99 Harrington Street, Cape Town<\/em><\/p>\n

galjoencpt.co.za<\/a> | Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was recently asked by someone travelling from the UK to Cape Town, where to go for great local seafood, and honestly, I was stumped. Given that we are coastally situated, this should have been an easy question to answer, however, local and sustainable are two elements missing from many seafood restaurants in this town. I am happy to say, however, that the opening of Galjoen restaurant ticks these boxes and more \u2013 offering an unforgettable dining experience that showcases […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":923,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4098],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"acf":[],"brand_slug":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/923"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104289"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104289\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":104581,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104289\/revisions\/104581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}