Aubergine Restaurant — Restaurant in Gardens

Our anniversary dinner was spent in the company of this little but precious gem in Gardens on Saturday evening at 20:30.

On arrival, the staff are so professional and friendly. So very attentive to detail and never too far away to attend to your needs.

We were explained in great detailed the special request items on the menu. Even twice, the waiter on duty was too willing to re-explain to us. We decided to go with the Asparagus Liaison and Veal for starters. As well as the Pasture-Reared Beef (Sirloin) for mains.

The Sommelier on duty was magical in pairing our starters and mains with suitable wines by the glass. As my partner was driving, we decided to be responsible and not do a bottle instead. The amount of detail in his explanation of why it would work was amazing and refreshing. The sense that he knew what would work, just eased our minds on the wine - as we couldn't decide.

The amuse bouche, which was a creamy fish soup was beyond amazing! I have to admit, as the waitress put the dish down, I was ready to be disappointed by a watery soup. I could not be any more wrong! The soup was amazing in taste, it was so light and creamy. Like nothing else we had tasted before. Now we were excited to taste more.

Starters arrived and the nice thing about exploring new restaurants is not knowing what you will receive. Both pleasantly surprised at how our starters looked, we jumped right in. Again everything worked so well with the dish, the flavours, the textures and the presentation.

The wine so crisp and light on the pallet to compliment the meal. It just worked!

Mains arrived, not too long after. And once again our new wine pairing came with the meal. There were these yellow things on the plate which were amazing. So amazing, we had to ask the waitress what they were?? Turns out it yellow or golden beets! A beetroot which is not red in colour and way sweeter. Who knew?!

I have seen a few reviews from people saying the portions are too small. However, you need to understand the preparation and that it's more about the taste and flavours than having your plate overflowing with food.

Aubergine, thank you for a very lovely evening. Filled with sophistication and excellence!! When I saw the menu, I was convinced and I longed for a beach view but your service delivery and food more than made up for this.

We even got to chat to the chef towards the close of the evening. Finding out more about his processes and where the meat came from. Such a lovely touch of personalization and intimacy that we didn't expect.

I would gladly recommend you to anybody. Anybody who is looking for the intimate, sophisticated dining experience. Where attention to...

Aubergine, or in America as we know it, an eggplant, is a unique name for a restaurant as there are so few with that name, but my god, the food was wonderful, and the atmosphere was even better. This was my first dinner meal after arriving in South Africa, and the restaurant was recommended to me by a friend that lives in Cape Town. Also the fact that they used to be on the top 100 restaurants of the world list in 2009 made it very attractive. The Chef is German, but the food is South Africa with an international twist, that will twist your taste buds to a phenomenal gastric extreme. This is Aubergine Restaurant, and I am so glad that while visiting, I was able to stop here and eat.

The Front of House Manager at Host Catherine Poole greeted me by name and title, confirmed my reservation, and then escorted me to the table. At the table she asked if I wished to start with a cocktail as she placed down the menu and wine list. I started with a White Russian cocktail while I looked over the menu. I had already decided before arriving that I wanted the Chef’s tasting called the Digustation Menu, but I wanted to see everything else that was available. The Digustation Menu consisted of 5 courses. Johan my server, and another Johan who was the back or secondary server, introduced themselves and started me with some still Italian Fonteviva water, and had them begin my coursed menu.

Eating out at fine dining restaurants is always an experience worth remembering, as it is a way to see the true art of culinary perfection. This was my first dinner in South Africa, and I had many others that were just as good. I can walk away from this trip to say that I did not have a bad meal during my entire trip. I would compare Aubergine based on its menu, plate presentation, and excellence in service to Alinea in Chicago, Fleur de Lys, in San Francisco, and Rioja in Denver, Colorado. You can read the full article on my blog by going to Wine, Dine, and Play blog, the search for...

We had the tasting menu and we enjoyed the food which was well prepared.

For me, from a fine dining perspective, there were two missing elements. The first was the service. Some dishes were served without explanation and the elements on each plate really needed to be explained. We would also have liked more communication about how we found each dish and it is never a good sign when you have to look around to find your server to request the water glasses get topped up.

The second, which is much more of a personal view, would be the level of innovation in each dish. The fig dessert was exceptional with flavour combinations that were divine, but this was less evident in the ostrich starter and even less so in the kingklip starter.

I compare this against our experiences at Chefs Warehouse and of course accept that the focus and intention of each team differs, so a comparison needs to take this into account and the comment may be unfair.

Would I go back? Yes for the Springbok main and fig dessert, because you simply will not find that quality anywhere else. But the other dishes did not have the same appeal, and without top notch service, I didn't feel the price was justified when considering other fine dining options available in Cape Town.

I still rate this restaurant a worthy 4 stars because it was an enjoyable evening in a...