CHARANGO PERUVIAN GRILL AND BAR – Rating: Gourmet menus with luxury ingredients – 4 and a half stars
Indulge in a smorgasbord of Japanese and Peruvian flavours at Charango. The menu is designed for sharing and expanding culinary borders, writes JOS BAKER.
114, Bree Street, Cape Town
Lunch Monday to Saturday 12 noon – 3pm; dinner Monday to Saturday 6pm-10pm
Bar menu 12-10pm.
E-mail: restaurant@charango.co.za
GPS: 33° 55’ S / 18° 25’ E
WANT a culinary adventure that extends your knowledge of muchos gustos (many tastes)? Then check out this sizzling new Bree Street hot spot.
For the authentic, must-try menu is dedicated to Peruvian-Japanese fusion, or Nikkei cuisine, a smorgasbord of Japanese and Peruvian flavours that’s the latest gastronomic trend to hit the international scene. Since 2012 some half dozen Nikkei-centred new restaurants have opened in London alone.
The roots of this cuisine rest in the importance both Japanese and Peruvian culinary traditions give to fresh fish. Think about it. Japanese sushi mixes perfectly with ceviche, which lies at the heart of most Peruvian menus. And the fusion melds the best of the delicate, refined Japanese cuisine with Peruvian freshness and spice.
The menu is designed for sharing, aimed at offering diners innovative combinations of fresh finger food while extending their culinary borders. The flavour-driven menu explains every term, and any questions you may have will be answered by helpful, smiling staff. Ours was delightfully ingenuous, looking concerned when she couldn’t recollect an ingredient. “I have to think now!” she explained, counting on her fingers.
Order one of each item – from ceviche to tiradito (fresh fish topped with various spices, similar to sashimi but with a Peruvian twist). Then relax and take time to savour the tasty bites in a clean-lined interior dominated by a striking mural by Faith47.
As I’m allergic to chilli (my lips swell, no Botox required) I was seriously worried about what I‘d be able to eat. I’d alerted the chef beforehand, and met with friendly co-operation. With all dishes freshly prepared, I was assured that it was no problem to omit an ingredient. So tell the kitchen when you book, and your allergies will be accommodated.
After setting the scene, let’s examine the concept. People-skilled GM Matt Kerr, describing Charango as “born of a love of travel, love of food and of incomparable experiences”, stresses the grill’s aim to serve fine food in a relaxed, unpretentious ambience, backed by “the desire to introduce locals to trend-setting Nikkei cuisine”. The result? Charango is packed to the gills. Be warned, it’s noisy: a noise generated by appreciation of the street-wise, contemporary food.
The authentic, must-try menu is masterminded by talented young head chef Kieran Whyte, who trained under head chef Ashley Moss at the Greenhouse - which shows in the picture-perfect plating on bold hand-crafted ceramic ware. Dedicated Kieran spent months learning, reading and experimenting with dishes, down to watching a video in Spanish – which he can’t speak – to ensure that he followed a particular cooking process precisely.
The dirt-rubbed tuna taco with a thin layer of wasabi slaw and miso, was lick-your- fingers enticing, and even without chilli my seared tuna tataki deserved its best-seller status. The tuna, marinated in a sweet and spicy soy sauce, is a feast of freshness, lightly seared, sprinkled with sesame, and garnished with pickled ginger, lumpfish caviar and miso mayo.
But don’t let me give you the impression that all the delights are fishy: I just happen to
relish tuna. My escort raved about his “main event”: a churrasco sirloin (a form of braaing that originated in Brazil) plated with blackened pearl onions, asparagus and chimichurri (green sauce). These were accented with burnt onion and orange mayo, which he felt called for a bowl of a Charango’s signature: five-spice slap sweet-potato chips.
For dessert, unless you have an extremely sweet tooth, avoid the traditional picarones (little potato donuts) with dulce de leche and order the velvety, flavour-layered mix of toasted quinoa crème, burnt banana and rum butterscotch sauce.
Try a pisco sour as an appetiser. Matt talked me into one, which I found unexpectedly refreshing. Originally created in 1641 to dodge the Spanish king’s tax on wine, Peruvians call pisco their native spirit, regarding it as the perfect companion to local food, at any time of day, even breakfast. I can now understand the habit.
But I turned down a taste of chilli-potent “leche de tigre” the Peruvian term for the citrus-based marinade that cures seafood in a ceviche. In Peru, the invigorating potion is believed to be both a hangover cure as well as an aphrodisiac. And you can drink it in a shot glass…
Matt is justifiably proud of the wine list – “the menu calls for white wine”– and was spot-on in his recommendation of the Vondeling Babiana, a delicious Chenin-led blend. Here again our waitress gave us gentle cause for amusement. This is not a gripe, for she was charmingly helpful. When asked if there were Semillon in the blend, she replied with horror, “Oh no! Only grapes.”
Traditionally made from the shell of an armadillo, Charango is a South American stringed instrument which the menu suggests is best enjoyed with a glass of pisco, surrounded by loved ones.
* Para picar (while you wait) R45-R90; pisco sours R50; ceviche & tiraditos (to start) R55-R85; antichucho (next up) R70-R80; Peruvian BBQ (main event) R85-R165; desserts R50-R60.