THE DECKHOUSE CRAB SHACK AND BBQ
* * * Appetising, fresh and flavourful food
108 Kloof Street, City Bowl
Cape Town: 021 424 1020
Open seven days a week 8am-10pm
info@thedeckhouse.co.za
www.thedeckhouse.co.za
GPS: 33° 56' S / 18° 24' E
Don a plastic apron and tuck into shrimp nachos, soft shell crabs, oysters, crayfish and muscles. It’s a crustacean addict’s paradise, writes JOS BAKER.
DON’T get me wrong. I think Eat Out performs a great service, and was honoured to have been awarded their Lifetime Achievement award in 2007 - perhaps a tad prematurely?
But I was surprised to see that Cape Town winner in their inaugural Best Everyday Eateries Award in the seafood category was The Deckhouse Crab Shack and BBQ, which opened in August 2015, when the Eat Out website carried a positive – but room for improvement – review.
For the recently announced award-winners were determined by user reviews and ratings on www.eatout.co.za over the year period from October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015, with top honours going to the restaurants with the highest star ratings in their category and province over the full year.
I‘d been waiting for The Deckhouse to settle down before critting them, but booked a table immediately, eager to offer congratulations on their rapid rise to stardom. I found the staff as perplexed as I was, and endearingly astonished.
I had unwittingly booked on a sweltering Cape Town day, when anyone who could have, would have headed for the beach, brolly and suntan lotion in hand. We did the next best thing. Headed for the Crab Shack (traffic jams and accidents not withstanding) and ordered a shellfish platter served on ice.
The platter, sporting a split crayfish, prawns, crab legs, oysters and mussels was, as our exuberant waiter Alex had promised, more than enough to share. As this was the first time we’d tucked into crab since the States, I was happy that my skill in extracting the juicy meat from the legs, without using a fork or shellfish crackers, had not deserted me. I showed off contentedly.
Seated in a cooling draft (chilled white wine in hand) I checked out the whacky decor. Everything, from the brown paper tablecloths inviting you to “get messy” to wall hangings suggesting you live a little, encourages relaxation. My best among the mix or furnishings, distressed or re-upholstered, was the bow of an old fishing boat, revitalised as a comfortable, cushioned sofa.
Dynamic managing partner Agnes Renault, who hails from Corsica, has a solid background of restaurant management in four different countries, dealing with over 40 different nationalities. She describes her latest venture as “something new to the foodie scene in Cape Town”, and, although also in Kloof Street, very different in style from Manna Epicure, the Mediterranean bistro that she heads up as operations director.
Having broken new ground, will she relax, enjoying her twin passions: good food and Champagne? Perish the thought. A hands-on perfectionist, her next objective is to “open another restaurant, then develop a franchise and hopefully, one day open a boutique hotel on a wine farm with a restaurant...”
We may have done the Crab Shack an injustice by totally ignoring the BBQ, though an “in and out of water” comparison of the seafood, chicken and steak prices makes interesting reading. But why opt for meat at a seafood winner?
Especially as the menu is a crustacean-addict’s paradise, bewildering in its range of options. Follow Agnes’s advice: “Don your plastic bib, order up and get stuck in – there is really no other way to enjoy this kind of food. The menu mimics an American-style crab shack, where the portions are big, the flavours are bold and the atmosphere is convivial and unpretentious.”
Shunning the limelight, skilled chef Johannes van der Westhuizen remained resolutely in the kitchen when we lunched. A self-taught boere-seun with international experience, he met Agnes in London’s frenetic hospitality industry – and is now chef and co-owner not only of the Deckhouse, but Manna, where he blends local and French flavours.
Judging by our meal, he’s also a master at retaining the freshness and subtlety of seafood. Yes, those formidable crabs are imported, but frozen in the sea water of its habitat, and the sea flavour permeates what’s on your plate.
So what to order? I’d recommend the platter, though I prefer my oysters and mussels unadulterated with salsa (Johannes is happy to comply). But explore the options. Feast at Sunday brunch, accompanied by free-flowing bubbles and live music; at “crunchtime” stop by for a crisply fried squid in lemon vinaigrette, or a roll with fresh crayfish meat, tossed with coleslaw and onion. Get cracking on shrimp nachos, or be tempted by a crabby pot (a whole crayfish, snow crab, mussels, prawns and sausage steamed in the sauce of your choice). If you’ve not tried soft-shell crabs, sample a couple, or nibble on a bucketful of shrimp popcorn with tartare sauce.
Be guided by the waiter and your pocket, for helpings are generous. It was only in the cause of duty that we sampled the desserts: the light and delicate NY vanilla cheesecake with red berry coulis, and the luscious Mississippi mud pie – layers of cookie crust, chocolate cake and creamy pudding, so rich that I took a large portion home in a “people bag”.
The St Bernard, though drooling, missed out.
l Well-chosen winelist and friendly, informed service. Discuss your likes and dislikes, and the size of the portion. The 4-page menu includes: seafood platter R385; crabby pot R335. Soft shell crabs R35 ea; seared tuna burger R95; crab caesar salad R130; crayfish roll R120; steamed snow crab legs 160; starter fish cakes R55. Desserts R45-R50.