RESTAURANT REVIEW: Cheyne’s — intense, satisfying Asian flavours come to Hout Bay

HAVING lived in Hout Bay for 17 years, I’ve seen restaurants come and go. It’s not an easy place to survive. Locals are fickle and tourists are flighty. But, every so often, someone new comes along, creates something different, and makes you hope that their venture will endure and you’ll have the opportunity to eat there more than once.

Chef Cheyne Morrisby — previously of Cheyne’s in Bree Street in Cape Town, the Franschhoek Kitchen at Holden Manz and Blues, and with almost two decades of experience in various kitchens in London — opened his little restaurant, also called Cheyne’s, in Pam Arlene Place, in Hout Bay Main Road, in April. The timing in itself was a leap of faith. Hout Bay is cold, windswept and quiet in winter when most of the European “swallows” that reside here head north and tourists are few.

What’s more, Pam Arlene Place is a nondescript little building set unobtrusively back from the road, between a building supplier and a pool shop near the Caltex service station.

Marked externally with just a modest name on the wall, Cheyne’s is as unassuming inside. Featuring largely unadorned white walls, the restaurant consists of a few small, understated rooms, which have already been extended since opening. There’s nothing flashy about Cheyne’s. Morrisby’s focus is firmly on the food.

There was no one to greet me at the door when I arrived for dinner one Saturday evening. And, having found my companion (already seated), orders for drinks were unhurried. My first impression was that the waiters were battling to cope even though the place wasn’t yet full. But once we had our drinks — the restaurant offers some interesting cocktails and a reasonable range of wines — and placed our orders for food, the tempo changed and all any indication of fumbling disappeared.

Morrisby describes his approach on the menu: “I am passionate about influences and unique flavours from the Pan Asian-Pacific Rim region that stretches across Southeast Asia, Japan, Singapore, to Australia and New Zealand.”

The menu, which changes each month, consists of about six starter portions, five main course options and three desserts. Every dish is splendidly novel and colourfully presented, mainly on black, slate plates. At first glance, portions look tiny and the components somewhat disjointed, but Morrisby’s flavours and textures are rich, complementary and satisfying.

So intrigued was I by the starters that I forwent a main course and ordered two starter portions. I began with the deep-fried milk, green-chilli caramel, cucumber granita and mint jelly, which was refreshing and tasty. For my main course, I ordered the beef tataki with mirin (rice wine), English mustard, spring onion puree and pickled seaweed. The meat was perfectly seared, the flavours intense and the textures diverse. My double starter combination was a great choice and I was satisfied, without feeling stuffed.

My friend started with the pan-fried asparagus, egg, miso butter, ikura caviar and nori dust, which she declared “perfect”. This was followed by grilled pork belly with edamame and horseradish puree, Fuji apple and spring onion tempura, and sticky maple and soy.

Replete, we agreed Morrisby’s fare was original, satisfying and good value. The service was adequate but didn’t quite meet fine dining standards. While I appreciate the try-not-to-intrude approach, a little more engagement from our waiter about the interesting menu would’ve added to our experience. But it’s early days and, especially since the menu changes regularly, I’ll be back in the hope the restaurant prospers for many years.

RATING: Four stars out of five.