Edible Review: Riboville, Cape Town

I had been away from Cape Town for 5 months and while I have been away restaurants have opened and closed (as they do with alarming pace). The fabulous trendoid bar above Wakame in Mouille Point burnt down (apparently the poor fishies also got fried) and another firery disaster, Madame Zinghara, re-opened as a large tent showcasing a circus and dinner (apparently really good but I couldn’t fit everything in).

Then there’s the new Nelson Mandela precint right at the top of Adderley Street by the company gardens. Along with some new apartments, there’s a couple of new eateries as well.

For my Thursday dinner with a whole group of my wonderful SA mates, I chose the new Roboville. This restaurant is housed in an old banking institution which has been completely refurbished. The interior is large and very classy and I seem to remember high ceilings with chandeliers and sumptuous fittings.

The menu was not huge but offered some interesting options in that there are three kitchens: the Asian had a couple of stirfry and fusion meet dishes ; then there was the fish variety. Being owned by the same people who are behind the successes of the codfather. the fishy spot here works in a similar way – you choose the type and size of your seafood and it gets prepared for you. Finally there’s also the sushi shelf if that takes your fancy.

Van and I started with the chicken satay which was a bit weird as the meat seemed crumbed – but it was still tasty. I then decided to opt for the triple taster – which features one-third of a portion of 3 of the Asian dishes. I can’t really remember what they were – but I think it was chicken curry, a beef stirfry and some other dish – all very tasty.

One of the highlights was a guided tour of the cellar housed in the bank vault in the basement of the restaurant. We were taken down in one of those relic lifts which had those metal grid doors that slide across. The cellar was a magnificent area set out for private dining or coffee and dessert. The wine collection here is very impressive and they should do really well once they get a license to sell their wine. My mouth watered at the sight of such a rich variety of dessert wines.

So yes, I would return to Riboville again. It still doesn’t touch Sinn for that delectable ostrich steak (the only restaurant I returned to twice during my 10 day visit) but it was a really good night out.