2oceans Vibe

In case you missed it earlier this week, an email exchange between a blogger, his girlfriend, and the owner of Beluga restaurant in Green Point, was leaked online. Shaun Oakes, founder and editor of the infamous shaunoakes.com blog juggernaut, went for dinner at Beluga the other night with is girlfriend. The waiter was a bit of a nightmare and the meal was given to them at no charge. His girlfriend sent an email to the owner, just to let him know about what happened. That’s when the manager replied – in full force. Highly controversial. Let us know your thoughts..

This, from Shaun Oakes:

Upon ordering food and drink, we started picking up a “bit of a vibe” from him, as he openly started questioning the round of drinks we ordered. “Oh, you can drink but you can’t eat,” he said at one point, which annoyed me, as I don’t appreciated my drinking habits being put in the spotlight. (we had had one drink at that point) Eventually we asked him what he thought we had ordered to eat, and it turns out, he had taken our order down as a “bean curd” instead of a “green plate”.

Ha ha okay, honest mistake. Let’s laugh it off and move on then. Instead though, he (perhaps in a failed attempt at humour) kept carrying on about the drinks, and at this point asked for the 3rd/4th time whether The Girlfriend was sure she wanted what she ordered (a Cosmo and a prawn hand roll). The Girlfriend, who by this time was getting annoyed, pointed out that to her knowledge, the waiter wasn’t her father (I was pretty sure of this as well), and requested that he stop questioning her. The waiter, who I can only assume was still clinging on to a humour card even as he must have sensed the train wreck this conversation was turning into, then asked if she “wanted a hug”.

Now, this was a pretty ballsy thing for a waiter to say to a patron, attempt at humour or not. The Girlfriend replied with (and pay attention, because this bit will be important further down the line “What the f**k, you’re our waiter, you need to jack up. I want to speak to the manager.”

He seemed taken aback that we weren’t playing along with him, but then regained his composure and replied with a snooty “with pleasure” and disappeared. Feeling uncomfortable, we then asked someone walking passed our table to grab the manager, and explained the whole thing to him. We requested a new waiter, as things had obviously deteriorated between us. The manager, having listened to the story, apologised and said that the waiter was one of the best at Beluga, and that it was likely an attempt at humour that didn’t work well. He then offered to comp our meal. Fine, we were happy with that explanation.

The Girlfriend still felt uncomfortable and wanted to leave – but I have a rule about accepting free food – so we accepted his offer, had our meal, and then left.

Here Is Where It Gets Interesting

The next day The Girlfriend – who knows the owner, Oscar Kotze – sent him an email explaining what went down, and wanting him to be aware of how certain behaviour from staff can be misconstrued and be turned into a bit of a drama.

Follow the link below to check out the email exchange and the comments. Let us know your thoughts..

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I didn’t know what to expect, to be honest. I spend quite a bit of time at the Planet Bar (Thursday nights a must), which is sophisticated and cool, with a relaxed vibe. It certainly is more ‘mod’ when compared to, say, the world-famous Mount Nelson tea room – just next door. So when it came to the Planet Restaurant, I didn’t know if they were going to hit me with the chilled vibe, or the posh vibe. My expectations were tending towards the latter, to be honest.

I’ve done a fair bit of “fine dining” in my time, both locally and internationally. I find the local offerings stuffy and artificial, often confusing bothersome over-attention with tip-top service. As any good butler or concierge will know, excellent service can stem from doing nothing at all – ie. knowing when to leave the employer/customer alone. There is nothing I hate more than service staff checking-up over and over again to see if I’m ok. “Well, my friend, to be honest I was ok, before you interrupted my train of thought for the third time today, to ask if I was ok.”

Which brings me to the Planet Restaurant - a plush newly-decorated high-ceiling affair within Cape Town’s most grand and famous hotel, the Mount Nelson. Some people might refer to it as fine dining, but it’s not.

In a good way.

When entering the restaurant itself, there is no doubt that you have arrived at an upmarket establishment, where no expense has been spared in its decoration and presentation. The staff are highly attentive and clearly well-trained, with genuine smiles and warmth replacing the ironically clueless stuck-up snooty attitude that we have grown accustomed to in South Africa’s posh restaurants.

The Mount Nelson’s highly-acclaimed chef, Rudi Liebenberg,  has put together a menu to be proud of, with a selection to suit every palette (check out their awesome menu here). I was not surprised that the cuisine itself was beautifully presented and more than delicious, and want to focus more on the experience as a whole. It should be noted that you are also offered the chance to have a glass of wine to pair with each dish, with an expert available to help you make that choice. I gave that a miss and stuck to the De Grendel.

But the thing that got me was this – once our main meal had arrived, we were checked on just once, and then left alone. Now that might seem like a basic thing to you, but I assure you these days it is not. The waiter could see we were in discussion and I watched him out the corner of my eye – as he looked from across the room, gauging for himself as to whether or not we needed to be interrupted. Every now and then our glasses would be topped up, without a word uttered by the young gentleman.

The “fine dining” “silver service” badge kicked in again, as my partner went to the bathroom. She had just left the table when, quick-as-a-flash, her chair was straightened and her napkin placed, neatly folded, over the arm of the chair – prepared for her return. It’s those little special details that I want out of my dining experience. Those are the important things. Not overdoing the attention and checking five times if “everything is ok.”

The Planet Restaurant at the Mount Nelson is where you want to go for a special dining experience. It could be classed as “fine dining” but I would caution such a description, as that particular term has lost it’s cool. Nobody really wants fine dining anymore. If they want something impressive, classy and cool – with outstanding food and top professional service, this is what they’re after.

You’ll leave satisfied, with a smile on your face – something all too rare in the “fine dining” realm..

It’s been a while since we hung out at the Planet Bar. And when I say “hung out” I mean arriving there at lunch time and leaving at midnight. Because that’s what we used to do. Then time got lost and some years went by, and now I see Cape Town’s coolest lounge/champagne bar is back in full force – starting next week with their weekly Thursday night lineup!

If it’s a bit of cool class you’re after, then check this out!

Thursday nights at Planet Bar

Planet Bar is known as Cape Town’s premier venue for after-work week day drinks and the perfect warm up to a weekend night-on-the-town.

Now, Planet invites you to experience Thursday nights, to sample premier beverage brands matched with the soothing sounds of soul and funk integrated with deep house music.

Cocktails are priced from R35,00. Try mind-blowing creations such as Planet’s signature Planet Passion – a mix of Stolichnaya raspberry vodka combined with fresh passion fruit purée, charged with Pierre Jourdan Cuvée Brut and crowned with Chambord black raspberry liqueur.

Make sure to also try out Chef Rudi Liebenberg’s new snack menu offering mushroom empanadas, oysters and a mouth watering range of warm options such as mini ostrich sosaties.

For more details please contact: Tel: +27 (0)21 483 1948 or email: restaurantreservations@mountnelson.co.za

So rad! The DJ plays from 18h00 to 22h00 every Thursday!

And have you seen their “snack” menu? Seriously, don’t even joke…

Find out more about Planet Bar here.

I’ll see you there – MOST of the summer.

Regards,

Friends, by now you’ll all be aware of the sterling social work that 2oceansVibe and Jack Daniels have done over the course of the 2011. Every month, we’ve liberated desk-bound Capetonians from the drudgery and depression of working on a Friday afternoon. Check out last month’s vibe.

And we’re rounding out the year with a flourish.

On Friday 25 November, 100 lucky Capetonians will be treated to a fantastic lunch at the Grand Beach Cafe, courtesy of Jack Daniels and 2oceansVibe. Think the quintessential Grand Feast – an array of mouthwatering platters of linefish & tempura prawns, steak, pizzas and more – all enjoyed to the soulful sounds of Jack Mantis and the thirst-quenching pleasure of chilled Jack cocktails.

THERE WILL BE TWENTY LUCKY WINNERS, ALLOWED TO BRING FOUR FRIENDS EACH:

To Enter:

Tell us your best excuse for getting off work on Friday by:

Mailing us

Tweeting us (use #JackFriday hashtag)

Leaving a comment below.

Enter as many times as you like. The more you enter, and the more platforms you use, the higher your chances of winning.

GO GO GO!

Any foodie worth his/her salt will be well aware of the multi-award winning “Best Country Kitchen” in South Africa, Mariana’s – the jewel in Stanford’s crown. Stanford, for the less-informed, is 15 minutes after Hermanus. On the river.

My family are close friends with owners, Mariana and Peter. My dad gets special pies which aren’t on the menu when we’re at Mariana’s. And when they come round to my folks’ place, you can only imagine (as an accomplished cook herself) the performance my mother throws in the kitchen. It’s quite ridiculous, with much wine and invention. But given our (the boys) fortunate position of being at the receiving end of the production line, we let them maa’ carry on.

Getting more to the point, I’m quite used to these high levels of real cooking (every single thing cooked from scratch), and must be forgiven for not telling you about this earlier. You see, I ran out of my last jar of atchar Mariana gave me, and I haven’t had it for a few MONTHS. But just last week a brand new jar was dropped off for me at the Cape Royale hotel. I took it back to the Safe House and opened it for the first time today.

Oh my good Lord…

I don’t know if I’m even allowed to be telling you about this. For all I know Mariana just makes it for me and my mum. And if that is the case, then I apologise for making you excited. But if she does sell it, I strongly advise you prioritise your shit and get your hands on it with the greatest of urgency.

It goes with anything. Take for example the sandwich in the above photograph. Notice how the atchar has transformed your basic cheese sandwich, into a gastronomical orgasm.

You have never known an atchar like this. When you eat it, it feels like you’re doing something illegal.

When I eat is, I EXPECT to get arrested.

You need to get some of this stuff.

Even if you don’t like atchar, I bet you R1 000 you will love it.

That’s if they sell it.

I doubt they do.

And you certainly shouldn’t expect it to be dropped off at your front door, either.

[mariana's]

We’re not sure who’s behind this raging torrent of satire, but our first guess is that they’re Capetonian. The hitlist includes food writer Dax Villanueva, The Power and the Glory, The Roundhouse, and Beluga. Eina. Find the link, after the jump.

Traditionally, you hear the phrase “surf and turf”, and your brain automatically concludes that instead of getting the best of both worlds, neither the seafood nor the steak will be something special on your plate.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, it is about time you amend your perceptions of reality.

Surf, by Groupon.

Pay R180 instead of R437 for a 40-piece sushi platter at Leaf Restaurant and Bar (save %59)

And Turf, by Groupon.

Pay R99 for two 220g steak fillets served with vegtables at Vanilla, valued at R210 (save 53%)

You see that? That’s a joke, that’s what it is.

Click HERE and HERE to get these amazing deals, in your face, right now.

The Caprice handicap zone supercar parking ticket Venus fly trap..

The Bench, 2oceansVibe Radio‘s popular weekly sports and lifestyle show, will be broadcasting live from Caveau in Newlands on Saturday as part of the build-up to the Springboks’ second Tri-Nations Test of the year against the All Blacks.

One a debonair and clean cut playboy and the other not, Crispin “Chowgaps” Inglis and Howie Kahn have joined forces with Springbok sponsors Canterbury to bring this unique outside broadcast to loyal 2OV listeners which will also be followed up by live Tri-Nations commentary from the Men with Balls, Blokes on the Couch.

Chowgaps and Howie will run their show from 08h00 until 09h30, before Blokes on the Couch take to the microphones to entertain everyone at Caveau.

Members of the public are more than welcome to join in the fun, with Caveau putting on a special breakfast menu for just R50 (English breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, beef sausage, with your choice of a coffee or a Jack Black beer), and with Canterbury Springbok jerseys and store vouchers on offer for those present – not to mention a host of special Rugby guests including Player 23 Malcolm “Jan” Ferreira.

Follow The Bench on Twitter to stay up to date on all the happenings on Saturday morning, and make sure to tune into The Bench on 2oceansVibe Radio or get down to Caveau from 08h00 onwards!

Address: Caveau At The Mill, 13 Boundary Road (next to Newlands stadium)
For reservations, call 021-6855140.

During my time living in Blightly, I cultivated a certain fondness for the ritual around a curry. A group of friends and I would often end the weekend with dinner at the end of the High Street, and it was here that I became well-versed in the merits of the Lamb Rogan Gosh, the pitfalls of the Vindaloo and the careful preparation of the crispy poppadom. Situated adjacent to Greenmarket Square, a mere poppadom frisbee’s throw from Wale Street, Bukhara is an institution in Cape Town and never fails to impress. Last week we decided to reintroduce the sacred London tradition and sat around a table to enjoy a curry whilst rehashing some vintage tales from the underground.

2oceansVibe Radio broadcast the Premier Show on Friday from a cosy Italian spot at the V&A Waterfront called Meloncino. Why would we be broadcasting from there, you ask? We were busy treating one lucky lad by the name of Brendon Bain to an afternoon of jollification, courtesy of Jack Daniels. In case you missed the last few months of fevered campaigning, 2oceansVibe and Jack Daniels are pushing hard to have Friday work hours amended to end at noon.

Naturally, Brendon and the four friends he had selected to enjoy his afternoon of power boating and Jack Daniel Whisky tasting needed a base of operations – preferably one that fed them, and fed them well. Meloncino fit the bill, to the tee. Nothing says “Good Friday Afternoon” like Cape Town’s officially-voted top pizza and pasta.

So the stars have aligned, as they do, to spread the love a little but further than Brendon. Much further, in fact.

Today’s awesome Groupon deal features Meloncino, and their award-winning pizza and pasta. No look, the 2oceansVibe Radio crew, along with Brendon and his four lady friends, is more than happy to attest to the quality of the fare.

Pay R99 for any two pizzas or pasta dishes or one of each at Meloncino, valued at R250. No spice. Promise.

E non è tutto! (“That’s not all.”) You also get 50% off all cocktails between 16h00 and 18h00. That’s what we call “love for your throat”.

This Groupon deal is redeemable for three months, so check out the main landing Groupon page for Cape Town, now!

On Thursday, July 7 at 19h00, The Cape Royale Hotel’s acclaimed eatery, EighteenHundred Grill Room, is offering a four course meal prepared by their talented chef, Jonathan Gargan, which will be paired with Warwick Wine Estate’s flagship wines.

How much do you think a night like that should cost? R500? Nay!

R335 will nab you this experience, which is completed by complimentary aperitifs in the lobby prior to the meal, and a jazz accompaniment throughout the evening.

Waltz into the Grill Room for an evening of selfish, and delicious, pleasure.

Contact the Eighteen Hundred to make reservations via email, or call them on 021 430 0506.

I made my booking at a delightful place – cleverly named What’s On Eatery – situated in Watson Street in the “City Bowl”. Get it? Nevermind. It is a relative newcomer to the Cape Town restaurant scene, in operation for a shade over four months as both a deli during the day and restaurant in the evening. I must confess (even though this is a review), What’s On Eatery is outstanding – no question about it. Follow the link to find out why..

It’s easily one of Cape town’s most famous winter specials. Almost as famous as their Sunday nights, the Cafe Caprice 2-for-1 burger special is loved by locals and foreigners alike! I’m going tomorrow night and I strongly advise you get in there soon. Once the momentum gets going you’ll struggle to get a table throughout winter, so don’t be shy to book. Click here if you don’t know about the Dreamy Burger… my personal fave…

This special runs from 12:00 – 20:00 from Mondays to Thursdays from 2 May until 25 August 2011. Bookings can be made by mailing info@cafecaprice.co.za or calling 021 438 8315.
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With all the talk of events in London over the past week, I couldn’t help but feel slightly nostalgic for my halcyon days in the UK. Weekends in Europe, snakebites, wild nights at the Met Bar, Pimms, Linen suits, boat races – my, they were good days. Not the weather, mind, but the first world nature of it all.

In the never-ending battle for fast-food supremacy in South Africa, it is interesting to note what fast-food fast-food staff eat when they want fast-food! Ow, shaiya the colonel! Continue Reading

I cannot believe how quickly this day has come. And I must say a big well done to those of you who did the right thing and bought your tickets before they sold out. There are only 90 tickets left now, so good luck to your friends who left it to the last minute. They are nothing short of hilarious.

Because of the volume of people and the size of the venue (The Grand Cafe & Beach) we have been able to give you such radical value for money, including weird and wonderful things like a Candy & Chocolate shop (courtesy of The Wings Group), which will be serving free waffles and candy chocolates all day (starts at 12noon). I’ll be taking it easy with those waffles, because I’ll need some space for the oysters, which will be coming out at 6pm. We’ve got enough for 700 people – so you should be cool..

By the way, THE DRESS is beach/bikini chic during the day and anything that looks sexy enough to carry on through to the evening. You should look relaxed but effortlessly classy at the same time. Basically just do what you usually do when you’re being awesome.

The venus for The Vibe 2011 : The Grand Cafe & Beach

It’s oyster city – and you’re the mayor

The first 500 people will get R500 gift vouchers, courtesy of Sunglass Hut and another R600 Brite Smile voucher, courtesy of de Waterkant Health - giving you the Hollywood smile you’ve always wanted!

You’ll need it, as you pose alongside your crew, with your Peroni, Boschendal bubbly or De Grendel wine in your hand – which everyone will be served on arrival. Don’t panic if you don’t enjoy booze, because Ceres will be serving soft drinks for everyone!

If you were wondering about entertainment I should mention that Crazy White Boy will be performing their new single, during DJ Sox‘s set (from 12noon to 6pm). After that we will have Judy Brown from Liquid Sax performing on the beach with her saxophone, followed by drummers, percussionists, more DJs and fire dancers.

We’re even setting up a mini Puma Social Club, just for you!

From 8pm to midnight, DJ Mr. Mo will get the party into full swing with Zip Zap circus and stilt walkers breathing another kind of life into the party. It’s Willy Wonka meets Alice in Wonderland. On an island. In Hollywood. If that makes any sense..

The lighting and decor will completely blow you away and, just when you thought you had seen it all, BANG, pizzas will be served by actual angels at 10pm. That’s your second wind, right there.

Best dressed couple wins a magnum of bubbly, courtesy of Boschendal.

All of that for R200? Please man, give me a break – you’ve blown that on your first few car guards on a Friday night.

To the final 80 people buying tickets – good luck. I hope you enjoy the rush..

CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS TO THE VIBE 2011
BROUGHT TO YOU BY 2OCEANSVIBE AND THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK

CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS

TICKETS WILL NOT BE SOLD AT THE DOOR

CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS ONLINE NOW