You’ve got to book a table at Merchant Bar & Grill

It’s the latest addition to Liam Tomlin’s ever-evolving universe of fine dining, and we think it’s up there with the best.
2 mins read

Since we ate at the original Chefs Warehouse in Bree Street a little over a decade ago, like many Currency readers, we’ve made a point of trying out the various new endeavours by Liam Tomlin – the Dubliner-turned-Capetonian chef – as they manifest.

Beau Constantia blew us away, Maison in Franschhoek was cool but probably our least favourite, and Thali and the Red Room are great fun. The latter has the sexiest restaurant interiors ever – and that is saying something.

We didn’t get to the Bailey (it previously inhabited the Merchant space) and we haven’t blagged our way into Tintswalo Atlantic yet for fancy seaside food, but we’re working on it.

Cape Town’s new Merchant Bar & Grill. Pics supplied.

This is the long way round of saying that we weren’t going to miss out on Tomlin and his partner chef David Schneider’s new joint, Merchant Bar & Grill, now that it’s opened in Bree Street, Cape Town. When you’re a Joburger whose hometown offers a strange variety of fine dining (fussy, fiddly and often not fab) one must jump at the opportunity to eat out well.

Fans have come to expect a particular essence from team Tomlin – namely, small plates of very flavourful, thoughtful fare made from exceptional seasonal ingredients. This is all part of the Merchant mix, and it works a treat – but what we really like is the relaxed way it’s all conjured.

Merchant takes up the second floor of 91 Bree Street’s heritage building, and Chefs Warehouse and Canteen is downstairs. If your destination is upstairs, grab a drink at the bar and then take a seat and get eating. There is a five-course set menu for R950, which on our visit included some exceptional cuts of either lamb or beef, but we went for less commitment and simply ordered a couple of plates.

Cape Town’s new Merchant Bar & Grill. Pics supplied.

When you visit, these morsels might not be on the menu as, really, what you eat is totally dependent on the best produce the team can procure on the day. That said, you should hope that the springbok tartare that’s served with umqombothi sourdough makes an appearance. It is game-changingly good. Likewise, the cheese platter, with its sampling of locally made offerings, is the perfect thing to linger over with a glass of good pinot noir.

Other than that, chef Adrian Hadlow’s kitchen serves up bits like a banging beetroot tatin and “pub-ish” items like scotched eggs made from fennel sausage. On the topic, why are these retro delights so absent from menus in South Africa? In the UK, you can even get them in the convenience sections of Tesco and Waitrose. We’re missing a trick.

But back to Cape Town: we expect this is going to be one of summer’s hotspots, because the moodily lit joint is relaxed and friendly, the staff helluva attentive and the food completely pleasurable and surprisingly economical too. You know what that means: book before the foreigners descend and you can’t get a seat for love or money, irrespective of whether you know someone who knows someone. 

Cape Town’s new Merchant Bar & Grill. Pics supplied.

Sarah Buitendach

With a sharp eye for design, Sarah has an unparalleled sense of shifting cultural, artistic and lifestyle sensibilities. As the former editor of Wanted magazine, founding editor of the Sunday Times Home Weekly, and many years in magazines, she is the heartbeat of Currency’s pleasure arm.

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