Like many Capetonians, I have a love-hate relationship with Camps Bay. The backdrop of the Twelve Apostles and sparkling, palm-lined sea are certainly glorious, but many of the restaurants, consequently, fall into the tourist trap bracket. Offering mediocre and/or overpriced food and indifferent service, they seem to get by on looks alone, pulling in the tourists with five-star views of the sunset – and sitting empty, forsaken by locals, over the long winter season, as a result.

The latest addition to the strip, Umi at The Marly Hotel, is being marketed as something a little more ambitious: a competitor to Nobu, complete with Japanese chefs and five-star produce. So does the food measure up?

The people

Australian chef Scott Hallsworth, who has worked at Nobu London and Nobu Melbourne, came on board for the menu development phase, and the kitchen is now run by Julian Gabriel, who’s done time at The Cape Grace, Delaire Graff and abroad, including a stint for John Torode of British MasterChef fame.

The menu

The menu is extensive: new-style sashimi, sushi, tempura, grills and seafood with an Asian twist – think dashi-infused crayfish with yuzu butter; Norwegian salmon with teriyaki, soy and asparagus; and black cod with misoyaki. It’s a little tricky to narrow down the options, so we dutifully follow the waiter’s recommendations.

The starter of lobster rice paper rolls with avocado, spicy mayonnaise and a lone tempura cocktail tomato is a little forgettable – not as fresh and fragrant as it could’ve been, though the tiny circles of jalapeno add a little kick. The rock shrimp tempura (little battered balls of shrimp) are firm, crunchy and yummy enough with a spicy mayonnaise.

The baby spinach salad with truffle oil, yuzu, dried miso and crispy leeks shows a bit more class. With simple yet full-on flavour, it demonstrates some considered balancing of sour, umami and salty flavours. The beer-marinated beef fillet with a trio of sauces is a triumph. Juicy and tender, it’s so full of flavour that it barely resembles fillet, which can sometimes be a little bland. It’s a small portion, but topped with exotic mushrooms, it’s intensely umami-rich and so fragrant when paired with the sauces, particularly a spicy Peruvian anticucho, that I barely notice its size.

The marble yuzu cheesecake with vanilla ice cream is a bit of a let-down after this stellar performance. Bland and un-inventively garnished with a couple of berries and cheesy mint leaf, it calls to mind the cheesecakes of shopping centre cafés. I eat it mostly because it is in front of me. (There’s also a Valrhona chocolate fondant with green tea ice cream on the menu. Perhaps I should’ve ordered that.)

The drinks

There’s a very large and well-balanced (but pricey) wine list, and a cocktail list of similar proportions. I spot some gorgeous crushed-ice drinks being sipped at neighbouring tables, but I’m less impressed by my peach and ginger mojito.

Ambience

Located in the old Pepper Club at the Beach space (which was Summerville, once upon a time), the restaurant boasts a first-floor view of the sea from the outdoor tables. The inside of the restaurant has been given a five-star treatment, although the buzz and traffic noise from Victoria Road below creeps in and tends to deflate the intended ambience a little.

Service

Friendly, if not totally polished. The food comes flying out of the kitchen: we’re warned as we order that it will arrive as it’s ready, not necessarily in sequence, which is fine, but this lends itself more towards tapas-style grazing than ordered dining and main meals.

The verdict 

All in all, it’s an okay performance: two and a half great dishes out of five is not a great batting average, but it’s a pass. But here lies the problem: with appetisers around the R90 to R120 mark, our bill for two starters, one salad, one main, one dessert and two cocktails comes in at a devastating R800. It may not be quite as pricey as Nobu, but it’s not as delicious either. And the prices put it into a whole other category: one that includes the likes of The Pot Luck Club or Jordan. It’s a category where every dish on the menu needs to be a win – and they’ve got a little bit of work to do before that is the case.

Have you been to Umi? Let us know what you thought by writing a review.