Review: The Waterside Restaurant

Monday, December 11th, 2023

Food
Like its big sister, Pier, upstairs, The Waterside combines two of Cape Town’s biggest drawcards: haute cuisine and ocean views. It’s billed as the casual alternative to Pier, which means they’ve ditched the white tablecloths and created a terrace perfect for lazy summer lunches but retained the impeccable service and experiential dining. The kitchen at The Waterside is headed up by Roxy Mudie. Fun foodie fact: it was while dining with her parents at the original La Colombe at Constantia Uitsig that a 15-year-old Roxy decided being a chef was the career for her. With a preference for Asian-fusion cuisine, it’s not surprising that Roxy has created a menu with a decided slant towards Asian (Thai, Korean, Chinese, Japanese) and Middle Eastern flavour profiles. However, there is a slight nod to local food heritage with a little smoked snoek here, and a dash of Cape Malay apricot there. In addition to a seasonal lunch special and Chef’s Menu, The Waterside offers diners the choice of a slightly more compact (and below the R1000 mark) Reduced Menu. Vegetarian alternatives are available on request. A showstopper that straddles all three menus is the mushroom dumpling course – a rich, spicy, umami affair inspired by the chef’s travels to Hong Kong. The delicate, silky pan-fried shiitake-and-king oyster dumplings are served with pickled shimeji and pickled kohlrabi, while the dashi – poured at the table – has a hint of porcini. Also look out for the cauliflower risotto (with curry leaves, smoked labneh for extra creaminess, and delicious crunchiness from roughly chopped, roasted hazelnut) and the succulent lamb served two ways.

Drinks
The “no BYO” won’t be a problem at The Waterside, thanks to a just-about-novel-length wine list. There are some very exciting pairings, should you choose that option (though it will set you back nearly the price of your meal).

Service
This is a tightly run ship. It’s obvious that the whole team at The Waterside takes pride in their restaurant, which makes for lovely, enthusiastic service. Servers are knowledgeable about both the food and the wine.

Ambience
There are few things more relaxing than making your way through a multi-course meal with the ocean mere metres from your table. If you can, snag a seat on the terrace in the sunshine to watch the comings and goings of yachts – and the odd curious seal.