Cattle Baron Grill Room & Bar - De Waterkant

Situated in charming De Waterkant, in close proximity to Cape Town’s CBD, The Cattle Baron Grill Room & Bar at 40 Chiappini Street is the Group’s Flagship store and it’s easy to see why. Due to its location this charming establishment draws clientele from the city as well as the Atlantic Seaboard.

Upon arrival at the destination one can see a large and stylish exterior patio area which overlooks bustling Chiappini Street. The restaurant itself is located in the Mirage Building and adjoins the four star Capital Hotel reception area with the rest of the hotel being positioned just above it. This area is perfect for al fresco dining in warmer months or for pre-lunch or pre-dinner cocktails or aperitifs prepared from Cape Town sourced ingredients. It’s a great place to pop into after work for a drink followed by dinner.

The chic, upmarket interior is cleverly designed so that it has various dining sections. There is a beautiful bar with comfortable seating, large smokey mirrors, wood panels and displays of wine wines on the shelves. The different dining sections offer seating in either booths or individual tables and an upstairs semi-private dining area which is ideal for functions for about 50 people. As it additionally offers audio visual facilities and a projector screen the upstairs area is a popular venue for conferences, events or other celebrations.

The high ceilings throughout the restaurant with exposed ceiling pipes which are painted red, create a slightly industrial look which is however softened by the soft lighting from the carefully positioned chandeliers, the wooden floor and the inviting olive green booths as well as the starched table linen. The menu features perfected cuts of AAA-grade, wet-aged, grain fed steaks and one can actually taste the difference when the dishes are served. The wine list is absolutely superb and certainly won’t disappoint.

Upon arrival we were warmly greeted by charming Cattle Baron CEO and Founder, Ronnie Dick who actually owns the store and shown to our intimate booth in the main dining. Throughout the evening we were given exceptional service by our waitron Shanaaz and additionally attended to by the knowledgeable and friendly GM, Jack.

We started with Camembert and an Avocado & Prawn Cocktail. The Camembert was perfectly deep fried and had a delicious, warm interior. It was served with Melba toast and some light and fluffy cream cheese which was a superb combination. My partner’s Prawn & Avo Cocktail was beautifully presented on a plate with fanned avocado slices and other green items but the prawns themselves were large and plump – not the shrimp cocktail variety one normally gets.

After perusing the large, interesting menu we settled on the section entitled Steaks That Made Us Famous. I ordered the Chateaubriand and my partner chose Blackened Pepper Fillet. The Chateaubriand was flambéed and served with two exquisite sauces – one being a Béarnaise and the other a creamy Mushroom sauce. My partner’s Blackened Pepper Fillet was well coated with crushed black peppercorns, thereafter cooked in the pan and flambéed with brandy and served with a rich, tantalising Madagascar sauce. Our steaks simply melted in the mouth and were cooked exactly as we ordered them (which in itself is fairly uncommon). Both were served flaming with chips on the side as well as delicious creamed spinach and sweet butternut but one could also order a side-salad, rice or baby potatoes instead of the chips. We additionally ordered Garlic Mushrooms on the side and this was a delectable side-dish which was easily large enough to share. Once our plates were cleared we came to the obvious conclusion that these were certainly one of the best steaks we’ve ever enjoyed. Five stars to Cattle Baron for getting it exactly right in terms of cooking, taste, timing and presentation – not to mention fabulous service.

Chad the Chef came to see us afterwards to ensure we enjoyed our dinner and after reassuring him that we most certainly did invited us to try his freshly baked Chocolate Fondant prepared with South African artisan chocolate called Zang. Zang is available from coffee shop outlets and other establishments nationally and is made without additives using only authentic cocoa butter. The Fondant was chocolate heaven with its crispy exterior and melting, runny chocolate centre and the dark, caffeinated Zang chocolate gave it an irresistible, unusual flavour which could become addictive. Served with chocolate on the side this dessert is definitely highly recommend, with a lovely cappuccino on the side.

In summary it was a most enjoyable, upmarket, unique Cattle Baron experience, definitely a cut above the ordinary steakhouse evening out and in fact bordering on Fine Dining. It’s a great venue for a special occasion too.

We look forward to the Sunday Three Course Lunch Buffet at some time in the future or any of the other Specials offered every day of the week. Mondays feature The Great Hamburger Event, Tuesday is Steak Night, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays are popular for the Famous Weekday Lunch Buffet and finally Thursday nights offer 600g T-Bones with a sauce.