Last week I was invited to review The Annex restaurant in Kalk Bay. It's on Main rd, tucked behind Kalk Bay Books -a sister company. They have been open for three years and draw on the heritage from the 100-year-old buildings that surround them. The Annex is the original name of the building that now houses the restaurant. Designed by architect John Parker and built in 1913, The Annex was built as part of the old Masonic Hotel and then the Majestic Hotel. The restaurant has a little library, a fireplace, dining hall, veranda and courtyard with a harbor view.
The staff are all locals and passionate about Kalk Bay, the history and the food. Their fish is received daily from the Kalk Bay Harbour fishermen, supporting the local community and ensuring the freshness of their meals. I was really excited to go, but I was also ready to be all 'consumer journalist / Gordon Ramsay' and come and tell you that "There's too much salt in the chorizo! SHUT THEM DOWN!" You have read my other restaurant reviews, and this one in particular right?
So we had dinner inside, next to the fireplace. We sipped on a wine recommended by a manager, the Sophie Terreblanche Sauvignon Blanc (R30 per glass / R110 per bottle) and it was delicious and well balanced. The atmosphere was nice as there was a little event / reading at Kalk Bay Books around the corner, so there was a bit of a bustle with a romantic and cozy atmosphere. My favorite thing about The Annex is that they have an outdoor kitchen, sort of between all the sections. The dining hall has big glass panes with a view to the courtyard, so you can see the kitchen and your meal being made from your seat, if you want to. I asked to go in to the kitchen and everything was really organized and hygienic with a great atmosphere. There were little baskets with eggs, like you'd have in your own kitchen - it has a lot of touches of country charm.
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| This was our table - without a doubt the best table in the 'house' |
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| It looks closer than it is, but this is the view from our table if the turn toward the kitchen. That's our food being plated! |
We ordered the Coconut Tempura Prawns (served with chilli, coriander fine noodle salad with a sweet chilli dressing) R55 and I had the Teriayaki Prawn & Calamari salad (with a generous helping of avo, cucumber and cherry tomatoes) at R60 and both were equally delicious with loads of flavour and good helpings of sauce. The salad is surprisingly rich and I don't eat a lot at a time, so you really could order this as a main meal if you're going to be a girl about it (I was). I asked to take pictures of the plated food in the kitchen for good light - I just had to show you how beautiful and delicious-looking the food is.
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| Coconut Tempura Prawns - the prawns were really just perfect. Crispy outside, tender in, very fresh |
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| Teriayaki Prawn & Calamari salad. It comes with a delicious dressing and loads of avocado |
For mains we had the Duck Confit and Chorizo Risotto R95 and I had the Crispy Pork Belly R95, served with mild wasabi mashed potatoes, sesame carrots, mange tout and a teriyaki sauce for R95. You can order half prices on some of the mains at just over half the price. The Risotto is R55 at a smaller portion. You don't have to be a greedy fatty face like me, but you do. I am not a huge fan of Risotto, but the duck was tender, the meal was creamy and my date assured me that it was incredibly good. He didn't even try touch the crackling on my plate until I offered. The wasabi mash is absolutely incredible and went so well with the slow-cooked pork. The veggies were crispy and sweet and the sauce was spicy and again, so much flavour. Look!
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| Crispy Pork Belly with wasabi mashed potatoes, sesame carrots, mange tout and a teriyaki sauce |
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| Crackliiiiiiiiiiing. Crackling. Crackling. My dad would be so jealous if he saw this picture. The meat was super tender. |
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| Duck Confit and Chorizo Risotto. This came with little wild mushrooms, creamy sauce and fallofthebone duck |
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| The chorizo was not too salty. Gordon Ramsay STAND DOWN. |
We had to take a break after that. You can take a little stroll around the terrace and sit on the couches outside with your wine, which is what we did. Then back inside, I had to try the dessert. I don't usually order it, but I wanted to try the Apricot Cheesecake Gourmet Ice Cream R25. We also ordered the Amarula Orange Creme Brulee R40 because how could you not be curious? Again, not the biggest fan of Creme Brulee, but apparently it was the business, and very different! The Apricot Cheesecake Ice Cream was creamy, icy and so refreshing. Served with fresh mint and strawberries, it was exactly the kick I needed after a rich meal, great conversation, beautiful surroundings and quite possibly too much indulgence / wine in general.
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| Apricot Cheesecake Gourmet Ice Cream, very light and refreshing with a zesty flavour. |
You can have a look at other reviews on The Annex here, and make a booking by calling 021 788 2453. Their trading hours are from 8am and the kitchen closes at 9pm. For winter, they are closed on Sunday evenings. This is a perfect all-year dining venue as they're in a courtyard-setting, quite protected from the wind. I really want to go during the day, and have a few sundowners there too. I imagine it must be stunning for breakfast, and they have wifi there if you want to have a lazy breakfast and get some work done.
This is not a child-friendly venue for dinner. For breakfast and lunch with infants, you'd need to take your own feeding chair and for toddlers, you'd need to keep an eye on them if they ran around the bottom passage as there's a gate to the street there, but it's quite far off. For kids, they don't have a kiddies menu (this is not Spur guys) but children really are welcome and there are loads of things you can order off the breakfast and lunch menu for them. They're also happy to accommodate fussy kids (like Noah) and can make a small portion of plain cheesy pasta for you - even if it's not on the menu, they'll make a plan. Personally, I would go for sun downers and in to evening for a bit of romance, or an intimate dinner with friends.
Bunny-hop to the website to see the new Winter Menu, and please tell me what you would have ordered?
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