The Pot Luck Club — Restaurant in Woodstock

Last week, my business partner and I had the pleasure of dining at The Pot Luck Club. I’ve eaten here before, and I was absolutely thrilled to see they had a lunch special running. There are two menu options, one at R550 per person, and one at R750. Lucky me, I actually preferred the look of the dishes on the less expensive menu.

So, I excitedly made the booking, and a couple days later, off we went. We arrived and were warmly greeted by the front of house and taken to our table. We had the most beautiful view of Table Mountain and the city of Cape Town. I thoroughly enjoy the decor too, wooden finishes, a minimalistic aesthetic, and an open kitchen, which I always love.

We ordered sparkling water and looked through the menu. I already knew it off by heart by this stage, but it’s always good to reread to get the mouth watering. I wasn’t drinking, as I was driving, so I stuck to my water. More room for food, right?

To my delight, it was time for our first course: two perfectly golden and generously filled “tacos.” Even more beautiful than the photos I had stalked online. Between the crisp shells was the freshest looking ceviche and various other components. You’re encouraged to use your hands, frankly, I’m not sure how else you’d eat it. And it always tastes better that way. My first bite was heavenly. Everything just worked. The chipotle dressing added a lovely sweet spice and complemented the fresh fish perfectly.

Next up, sashimi. One of the most beautiful dishes I’ve ever been served, and rather generous. The best way to describe it? It tasted pretty. Herbaceous from the mint and edible flowers, sweet from the citrus, and salty from the dashi pearls. It was delicious when you got all the elements in one bite, but I felt the ratios were a bit off.

Then came the fish sliders,something I was really looking forward to. They did not disappoint. The photos online didn’t do them justice. Two stacked mini burgers arrived. My jaw dropped, they were bigger than I expected and absolutely stunning. I took a big bite. Wow. The bun was soft and fluffy, the hake was crispy and not oily at all, the mayo added creaminess, and the dressing cut through the richness. One of the best sliders I’ve ever had. If you’re sceptical about fish burgers, don’t be.

After that? Somehow it got better. I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again: this next course was one of the best meals I’ve ever had. Why? The sauce. I could (and would) drink it. Smoked beef fillet on a bed of black pepper and truffle café au lait, AKA the best sauce in the world. Alongside it: chickpea fries filled with goat’s cheese, AKA cheesy golden sticks you must dip in that sauce. The beef was perfectly cooked, the sauce rich and decadent, and the fries divine. This dish made my day.

Last but not least, dessert. I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. I’m a sucker for warm, rich desserts, but this broadened my horizons. The course had four different small bites, I love variety and contrast. I recommend alternating sweet and less sweet. I started with the nougat, nutty and not too sweet. Then the raspberry mochi, flavourful and sweet in the best way. The salted caramel had perfect sweet-salty balance and cocoa nibs added a touch of bitterness. Lastly, the tropica bomb, light, tart, possibly with passion fruit. A perfect ending.

Overall, I had a phenomenal experience. I was truly blown away. I’d dined here before, but this was even better. It’s honestly hard to pick a favourite. Everything was fantastic. A truly memorable lunch, I’ll be dreaming of that sauce for a while. I highly, highly, highly recommend!

Thank you, Pot Luck Club!...

We discovered the Pot Luck Club in Cape Town when we were looking for the restaurant "The Test Kitchen" - one of the best 50 restaurants worldwide. At the time of our visit both restaurants were run by the same owner. Unfortunately, The Test Kitchen was still closed - in retrospect a lucky coincidence, because the food and especially the bright atmosphere of the Pot Luck Club fascinated us deeply.

Both restaurants are located on the premises of the "Old Biscuit Mill" and are only steps away from each other. In this area of Cape Town there are some small galleries and many handicraft businesses. After a short small talk with the chefs in The Test Kitchen we took the elevator to the top floor and were welcomed in The Pot Luck Club in a very friendly way.

The restaurant manager was so nice and let us sit at "his" table. The staff was all extremely friendly and quick and we enjoyed the great service. The Pot Luck Club has an open kitchen inside the restaurant which looks like a classic factory floor and with its massive wooden furniture it is down-to-earth but nevertheless very chicly furnished. To the outside the restaurant is framed by large windows that allow guests to look out over the rooftops of Cape Town while dining.

The menu in the Pot Luck Club offers the dishes in five flavours - salty, sweet, sour, bitter & umami (amino acids glutamic acid and asparagine acid) - only fatty was missing... why in fact only...😉 I found this very pleasant because it is so close to the culinary aspects. Also striking was the beautiful tableware, which consisted of many different handmade plates and bowls, a little feast for the eyes.

With the selection of the dishes we put ourselves completely in the hands of our waitress. So, we had salty marinated olives, a tuna tartar and green salad as a starter - accompanied by a very tasty bread. Everything was served with love, very tasty and of high quality and freshness.

Afterwards there was trout with fennel, apple and lime - which was the sour taste - and parallel Korean cauliflower which felt under salty.

In the main course we had for example Unamie crispy octopus served. This had already spent many hours in the Sous Vide bath before it was breaded and fried and you could taste it - it was buttery and of a surprisingly tender texture.

Next came an incredibly tender and juicy beef tenderloin - again from the umami flavour - which had a hint of black pepper and was served with an incredibly delicious and innovative truffle café au lait sauce. One of the best sauces I have ever had the honour of tasting! Not to forget of course the handmade French fries - these were in no way inferior to those from Belgium.

After these culinary delights only the "escape" into sweetness remained. With the Pot Luck Club S`mores and a small special production the cooks of the Pot Luck Club showed us that "sweet" is also one of their strengths. The whole thing was rounded off with an excellent cappuccino and we were more than happy.

The prices at Pot Luck Club can justifiably be described as reasonable - such good quality will be hard to find in Europe at these prices. Our visit to the Pot Luck Club was a complete success - culinary as well as atmospheric. A clear recommendation to all who visit Cape Town to stop by at least once - but make a reservation in advance and sent some greetings from Erik!

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I dined at The Pot Luck Club in January and was so impressed that I returned last night with a new group of fellow food enthusiasts. My experiences were unfortunately glaringly different from one another, last night’s being the reason I will never return to PLC. Firstly, if you go and your waiter is Sean, request a different waiter. From the onset, he was rushed, hard to understand over the loud music, and the poster child for blatant upselling. Deceptively at times, in fact. When asked about wine pairings, he immediately recommended the most expensive bottles on the menu after clumsily trying to explain the other less expensive options. He said he would pare back the number of dishes that were brought for the size of our group and yet “coincidentally” we were over-served the most expensive dishes on the menu. He tried to upsell the group on a bottle of wine that was ordered by bringing a completely different type of wine to the table and launching a lengthy explanation of why that wine was better (the group stuck with the original request.) Weird facts like, “Tommy Hilfiger drinks this when he comes to SA.” were mentioned, which we found irrelevant and odd. I repeatedly said I wasn’t drinking and yet he kept putting wine glasses in front of me. He insisted we add truffles to the wagyu dish (it doesn’t need it, the sauce stands on its own and the truffles competed) without mentioning the significant up-charge for the truffles. Not a word. Our final receipt had dishes on it that we were never served, which I had to point out to him. The meal overall was good with the exception of the lobster dish. For what it costs, it is unremarkable and lackluster. We wondered if balled up used tissues were being served on top of the plate. The cadence of the meal felt very rushed overall. Our table was right in the spot of a sun-glare, so some diners were blinded until the sun set. Invest in shades for that set of windows, please. I’m really disappointed as my first meal here was such a positive experience but the service cast a negative shadow over the...