Ash Restaurant is situated in Church street area surrounded by some of the finest eateries in the CBD. I enjoy all things char grilled, so I was curious to see what was to be on offer.
The starters are Tapas –style, which I quite enjoy, and is composed of an array of hot and cold dishes to choose from.
We decided on the
Hay Smoked Trout with Buttermilk Rye, Roe, Mustard seeds and Smoked Cream Cheese.
Octopus with Lemon Atchar, Fennel, Coriander and Pineapple which was absolutely amazing…fresh and tangy.
Cheese croquettes with Burnt Onion and Chives, which was a lovely combination.
Pork belly, cider, apple sauce and puffed potato.
Then there was Grilled Broccoli with Almonds, Beans and Mint.
Tom yum mussels with ginger and spring onion. This portion was massive and can easy be shared
The tapas can easily be shared, if you maybe just want something to nibble on while you have a drink, as the portions were generous. I did find some inconsistency though where some portions was bigger than others comparatively.
The mains were:
Dry aged beef, I chose the 300g Rib eye Steak, which I was a little disappointed with, as I thought it was quite average, I chose the side salad which was really good and again easily shared at our table. It was made up of lettuce, parmesan shavings, gorgonzola, walnut and pear.
Then there was the Cured Hake, with cauliflower, pine nuts, elderflower and cream
Next was the Slow Cooked Brisket, beetroot, Nut Dukkha and smoked curds
The dessert course was interesting and adventurous to say the least:
There are the Madeleines, freshly prepared while you wait; these I must confess were the best I’ve had.
I had the popcorn and chocolate parfait with sour crème which was ok, not great though.
Next was the Ash version of a Banana Split. Purists give this a miss, as it is not what you think it is. Grilled banana with roasted coconut and coconut ice cream. Definitely not what I had in mind during my mental flashback to the 80’s.
Lastly was dessert that received the most attention, Bread pudding, which was made with Sourdough bread, crispy bacon and bacon flavoured custard. Yip, that’s right bacon flavoured custard. I love bacon and I love custard but as a combination it didn’t work for me or anyone at our table for that matter.
I must say our table had a very mixed review on Ash; there were some really good elements like the starter courses which were fantastic, the main courses, maybe not as much.
For the full album click HERE
Restaurant Info:
81 Church Street,
City Centre,
Cape Town,
8000
Tel No: 021 424 7204
Email: reservations@ashrestaurant.co.za.
Written for JAR PHOTOGRAPHY by Mario Arendse
Photography for JAR PHOTOGRAPHY by Jason “Dubbz” Petersen
