Durbanites may have despaired when Aubergine closed, but Chris Black and Guy Cluver have attracted quite a following at their Kloof restaurant, Bellevue Café.

Chris now reveals that on 1 March they’ll be opening up a brand new Italian restaurant in Hillcrest called Lupa’s. “It’ll be a 3rd millennium trattoria,” says Chris. This means Roman-style pizzas and fresh pasta, made in a custom-built air-conditioned pasta room.

“It’ll be fully staffed by three people and we’ll make all the pasta there; nothing will be bought in,” Chris says. He has even imported two pasta machines from Italy.

Want to get an advance taste of some of the Italian food that’ll be on offer? Chris is currently trialling some of the dishes already at Bellevue Café.

We love the sound of garganelli, a kind of rolled pasta made on a special garganelli board, served with mushroom ragu with button, cremini and porcini mushrooms, and cream, chilli and ricotta. Another traditional dish on the menu is vinci grassi, a lasagna with over 20 layers, made with cured meats, salami, mortadella, chicken livers, parmesan and layers of white sauce, and topped with sautéed porcini mushrooms. It might sound rich, but Chris explains that it's served in tiny portions. 

For dessert, we hear rumours of black cherry and amaretto ice cream, and roasted pistachio and ginger.

Can't wait for March? Check out what our reviewer had to say about Bellevue Café.  

By Katharine Jacobs