Sitting comfortably with its toes almost touching the harbour water in the heart of the V&A Waterfront, Ginja is the chic new restaurant offering an artisanal, wholesome menu. Every seat in the contemporary and organic textured restaurant boasts a view from the scenic Waterfront to the iconic Table Mountain.
Rich in South African food and style, Ginja serves up a mean Sunday style roast that couldn’t be any more of a perfectly executed, modern South African fine dining experience. We got to take the feast head on and conquered a three-course lunch – sharing plate style.
First, a lightly spiced, creamy butternut soup started our midday banquet off with an extremely tasty start. Served alongside some freshly toasted bread to dip, we could have eaten at least another few servings of this ‘bowl of gold’.
With the butternut soup settled and our tastebuds tingling for something more, the “Table protein”, “Table salad” and “Table hot vegetable” dishes began to make their way to our table. We had prepared our stomachs for a big lunch, but ‘big’ would be an understatement.
Even though it was served on a mass scale, each serving was beautifully plated and had our mouths watering. We scanned along the table as the dishes quickly filled any empty space available and struggled to compile a balanced plate as the options were endless – and we wanted them all.
The Table protein dishes consisted of pork belly, slow roasted in milk, crispy crackling and served with a pineapple and pork reduction; whole baked fish, red onions, peppers, olives and roasted tomatoes; steamed Saldanha bay mussels in cider, sour cream and leeks and lastly rare roast beef with horeradish crème fraiche.
If that’s not enough, we had the choice of the Table salad dishes too. They were green garden salad; couscous with charred baby marrow, brinjal, peppers and mushrooms; broccoli, almond and feta and a dish of dressed baby spinach.
We still weren’t done with the options, the Table hot vegetable options came out and we were spoilt for choice with dishes like cauliflower and cheese; duck fat roast potatoes; parmigiano reggiano – baked aubergine in napolitana sauce and of course some seasonal roasted vegetables.
After a taste and a trade of every food available, all equally as delicious as they sound, we felt as satisfied as if we had just had Sunday lunch at an old relative’s house. But just like a family get together – there’s always something rich and sweet to top it all off.
The “Table sweets” portion of the menu saw us indulging in quite possibly the tastiest malva pudding we’d ever gotten stuck into. Served hot and dense, the sticky ginger malva pudding with a creamy custard adorned the table as we all ooh-ed and aah-ed at the dessert before us. More than one helping later, we were truly filled to the brim, but with some of the best-prepared food the V&A Waterfront has to offer.
Ginja sent us on our way with a fresh, hot and strong brewed Native takeaway coffee to end our amazing lunch off on a high and keep us going for the rest of our afternoon.
OF NOTE
When Enjoy the #RusticRoast on 30 July 2017 with Arno Carstens from 1pm – 5pm
Where Noble Square, V&A Waterfront
Cost R295 per person
Contact +27 21 419 6677, [email protected], booking essential