PICTURE it: GrandWest, November 2022. It was the first Eat Out Awards post the ravages of Covid. As restaurateurs who were still standing, chefs, sommeliers, media and assorted celebrities gathered to celebrate not only excellence in the industry, but survival itself, it was quite the night.
Back then I didn’t crack a plus one so there I was, flying solo and seated at the ëlgr table, the only one not directly linked to the restaurant. I was driving so I couldn’t even drink myself interesting. Instead, I retreated into my shell in my finest display of introverted social awkwardness.
The lovely ëlgr people were having none of it, however, and did their best to include me. They got their two stars and a statuette which they allowed me to hold, and by the end of the night it was safe to say I had fallen in love with all of them. The following year they demanded to know why I wasn’t seated at their table again. Because that’s just who they are.
I believe this has a lot to do with how gorgeous the restaurant is — soon to be was; it closes this Saturday — from the warm welcome and caring service, to the always incredibly delicious food, and the sincere comfort of being there. It was the restaurant I would return to more often than any other, and the one I would always recommend when asked.
This week I went for one last supper, to eat my favourite dishes one last time: toast with lardo and brown anchovies; raw beef with sour cream, red onion, dill, trout roe and potato crisps; and pizza white with guanciale, pecorino Romano, egg yolk and black pepper. If only I had capacity for more…as it was, I brought home half my pizza so I could squeeze in dessert: vanilla ice cream with flecks of chocolate and little bursts of cherries. I drank smoked apricot sours and a glass of house white (Salt Rock, Chenin Blanc, 2024, Stellenbosch) because with such a perfectly compiled wine list, the house wine will still stand out.
Bongi looked after me as if I was a personal friend, and I confess to feeling a bit emotional when I hugged Jesper goodbye, especially when he said I was part of the family since that night at the awards. What comes next is still firmly under wraps so even though this farewell is bittersweet, we can choose to look forward to new adventures, as the memory of this last meal blends gently into the first one of many more.
PHOTO CREDIT: Bianca Coleman ©
