AS winter in the Cape tightens its grip, restaurateurs Neil Swart and Anouchka Horn of Belly of the Beast fame are giving hungry Capetonians a new reason to brave the cold, with the opening of the exciting new seafood restaurant, Galjoen.
Horn and Swart are well known as chef-patrons of their intimate inner city restaurant Belly of the Beast, and have fast grown a loyal following for their curated set menu experience. At Galjoen, set just a short walk from Belly, the pair has brought that same sense of culinary focus to Galjoen, where the spotlight falls squarely on sustainably caught South African seafood.
“People come to Cape Town and eat imported seafood, and that just makes no sense to us,” says Horn. “You should be eating the fish that’s from our own oceans, so from the beginning we decided we’re not going to cook with anything that’s imported. No prawns from Vietnam. No salmon from Norway. No calamari from Argentina.”
While Horn and Swart have created the concept – as at Belly, a set menu served to all tables – and guide the culinary philosophy for Galjoen, the kitchen belongs to head chef Isca Stoltz.
In creating the menu of elevated seafood-focused cuisine, 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.
“With every single plate we really put the focus on the ingredients,” says Stoltz. “Everything we do in the kitchen is to make them shine.”
Galjoen will offer a set menu, with the number and composition of courses changing according to the whims of the weather, and what the boats bring in, leaving Stoltz to create new plates and tweak signature dishes according to what’s fresh.
To ensure a steady supply of fresh produce Galjoen has partnered with some of the Cape’s leading seafood merchants, ensuring they support both environmental and socio-economic sustainability. Farmed mussels come fresh from the waters of Saldanha Bay, while Abalobi and Greenfish merchants provide a range of fish caught largely by self-employed artisanal fishermen.
Perhaps ironically, the one fish you’ll never find on the menu is the namesake. Galjoen is red-listed by SASSI, and cannot be sold commercially, but for Horn and Swart the name was a matter of pride.
“In all of our cooking we really celebrate South African produce and South African recipes, and by naming the restaurant Galjoen we wanted to both raise awareness of our national fish and spark a conversation with our guests around sustainability in seafood,” says Swart.
- For bookings, click here
- Lunch R550 per person, 12.30pm Wednesdays to Saturdays
- Dinner R750 per person, 6.45pm Tuesdays to Saturdays
- 99 Harrington Street, Cape Town
