Review: Belly of the Beast

As the menu changes frequently, diners surrender to the creativity of the chefs. As the restaurant serves everyone in one-sitting per night, everybody arrives at the same time and get served simultaneously. Belly of the Beast does not operate as an à la carte venue, but serves a tasting menu with optional wine pairings.

Starting off strong

The evening starts with an amuse-bouche consisting of a juicy oyster served in its shell with a refreshing pineapple salsa and thinly sliced leek, followed by a beautifully executed dish with delightfully tender mussels with pickled fennel and deep fried crisp pieces of flatbread. Both dishes are chased down with a green and flinty wine from Vagabond winery.

Rich and tasty breads

Another highlight is the ensuing bread service, which is unusually elaborate, consisting of home made rolls – roosterkoek – that arrive out of the oven, along with vetkoek – a traditional deep fried bread roll with a consistency similar to doughnuts or the Dutch oliebollen. The different breads are dipped in a rich hummus topped with deep fried crisp onions.

Head to tail cuisine

The chefs enjoy experimenting, utilizing all parts of an animal for the dishes. This particular evening we are treated to a braaied (grilled) chicken skewer that consists of different cuts of the humble chicken, crowned with chicken hearts. If you are hesitant about devouring the innards of an animal, chicken might be a good way to start, as the heart served is as tender as it is delicious.

More than expected

In true South African style, one can almost always be sure to leave any eatery well fed. The same applies to Belly of the Beast, where the six main dishes are complemented by a number of little (not that little, really!) snacks and tidbits to carry us over between dishes. One of which was a visually appealing – and very tasty – vegetable sallad with lightly dressed crudités and feta cheese.

The finale

The dessert comes in two acts, starting with a bite sized cheese dish with goat cheese squeezed between two homemade layers of a cookie with jam. Delightfully simplistic and packing a lot of taste.

This is then followed by blinz – traditionally a jewish pancake dish – Belly of the Beast style, served in vanilla custard, fresh berries and ice cream. To us it is clear that the chef’s passion lies in savoury dishes and not in desserts as it is the least memorable dish of an otherwise perfect evening.