The gentle swell of the ocean lapping into rock pools, a cool ozone drenched breeze on a hot summer’s day, views across the bay to Hout Bay’s Sentinel mountain, sailing boats and pinprick distant surfers tackling the Dungeons break point, the ocean shifting between turquoise and darker blue in cloud shadow, the vibe at Tintswalo Atlantic is already magical before you even get started on the Chefs Warehouse tapas for two.

The kitchen is headed up by Chef Braam Beyers, only 25, who having risen through the ranks with Ivor Jones at Chefs Warehouse Beau Constantia, was ready to make his own mark. The classic Chefs Warehouse tapas for two format, which I remember being three courses of three dishes each, is now four courses of two dishes each. This feels right for the location which is all about long leisurely lunches, special celebrations and romantic escapes. Once you’re here you want the afternoon to stretch out forever. It also gives the chefs a chance to play even more than usual - for example our confit carrot dish was testimony to how creative you can get with the humblest of vegetables, presented on three separate dishes almost overwhelming in miniature magnificence.

But I’m leaping forward. This was a special occasion for us, my mum finally able to visit from the UK in January for the first time in two years, having had to cancel her Christmas visit due to the Covid red list. It was also my late father’s birthday, so we thought we’d mark it with a toast and a celebratory splurge. And what a place for a celebration. From the moment you leave your car in the top car park off Chapman’s Peak Drive and plunge down the vertiginous single-track road in the hotel shuttle bus, you feel you’re stepping out of the everyday into a bubble out of time. The long open deck of the restaurant is right on the rocks, rock pools and waves just below your feet, reflected sunlight sparkling (tip - wear sunscreen at lunchtime - even under the shady awning I caught the sun from that reflected UV light).

People around us were opting for oysters to start. We dived straight into the tapas for two set menu, knowing from past experience that it would be more than enough. Especially when it kicks off with a kitke roll, brioche bread warm from the oven, with the comfort factor of dessert when slathered with butter and dipped in colourful powders of beetroot, smoked tomato and curry leaf.

The advice from the chef as to the order in which to eat the dishes – often counterintuitive – made perfect sense once we tasted it. The convention of fish then meat was turned on its head in the first course, when our waiter Ollie firmly told us to start with the aged beef sirloin tartare - rich with barbecued shitake mushrooms, miso cured egg yolk shavings and confit celeriac, it was topped with slivers of black truffles, a truffle and gruyere custard on the side and little English muffins to mop up the custard. The yellowtail sashimi dish, zesty with jellies of shiso, verjuice and apple, a light shiso and coconut broth poured over tender strips of fish, was designed to cut through all the rich creaminess of the first dish and leave your palate refreshed and ready for another round.

In this setting it’s appropriate that the menu is dominated by seafood, it couldn’t really be otherwise when you’re breathing in ozone-fresh sea air and eating to the soundtrack of the constant swell and rush of the waves below. Our second course was confit Cape salmon with Mediterranean flavours in tomato, caper and olive dressing and a tarragon sabayon, and confit rock lobster in a Cape Malay cashew and coconut curry, each one playing with different flavour profiles. As we happily devoured them we discussed whether my father would have enjoyed the meal himself, deciding that he would have loved the location, but that he didn’t actually enjoy seafood. We drank a toast to him and hoped he was enjoying it vicariously nonetheless. Chefs Warehouse offer an alternative full vegetarian menu and do ask about dietary requirements at the beginning of the meal (as well as on booking) so I’m sure they can substitute the odd dish if you’re not a seafood fan… but here and now we’re loving every mouthful and wouldn’t change a thing.

Nothing is hurried and for me the timing was perfect - lots of time to chat, stare out to sea, digest, before the next course arrives.

I’ve already mentioned the third course featuring a carrot trio. We loved how the humble carrot can be elevated into such a delightful series of complex flavours, smoked walnut dressing, burnt thyme foam, caraway dressing, marbled carrot ricotta, pumpkin seed tuile crackers. The second plate of this third course was a pretty-as-a-picture seared tuna with heirloom tomato salad and roast onion miso mousse, simple and perfect, a nice balance to the complexity of the carrot.

Risotto is a trademark dish at all the Chefs Warehouse restaurants, and it arrives in the fourth course, rich and creamy with a crunch of compressed cauliflower shavings. And then the most extravagantly plated dish of all, springbok loin served on popped grains with beetroot mousse mille feuille, gorgonzola puree and pink peppercorn jus, a grand finale.

As always the menu is beautifully timed and balanced so that at the end of four courses you are satisfied, but not overfull. We could have ended quite happily there, but when do I ever say no to dessert? And the over-indulgent chocolate one it had to be – manjari mousse with chocolate torte, hazelnut praline and malt ice cream – sharing it between us it was more than enough to take me over the line to officially stuffed, but I’m not regretting it for a moment.

At R850pp for the four course tapas for two menu, the CW Tintswalo Atlantic is rather more expensive than its sister restaurants, justifiably so with the seafood focus and the incomparable location, so it’s definitely somewhere for that special anniversary or celebratory splurge. One thing for sure it’s a meal that we will always remember.

Where And When

Tintswalo Atlantic
Chapmans Peak Drive
Hout Bay
Cape Town
021 541 0165

Website

https://www.chefswarehouse.co.za/cw-tintswalo

Opening

Monday to Sunday, 12h00-14h00; 17h00-20h30

Disclosure

We visited unannounced in January 2022 at our own expense.