Sea views and sail fish, s’il vous plait
C BREEZE 7 Ordiner Street, Scottburgh Phone: 039 976 2547 10am to 11pm,Monday to Sunday I HAVE a feeling my car is going to be heading down the South Coast more frequently after a recent visit to C Breeze in Scottburgh.
My wife is always on the lookout for good fish restaurants, while my tastes tend more to the meaty side of things, so it’s quite difficult to find a dining-out spot that suits both of us.
On arrival we were impressed with the wonderful sea views from both the outside veranda and inside.
My wife immediately asked the waitron if they had a nice piece of fresh dorado (present flavour of the year) and she quickly went off to check with the kitchen. Before my wife could have a sip of her wine, she found a beaming, gloved chef at her side. French chef Julien said he was about to fillet a freshoff-the-boat sailfish and his excitement was obvious. My wife had never tried it before but was caught up in his enthusiasm and decided to take the plunge.
So while he got busy filleting, we ordered our starters. My wife fancied the fish cake and salad (R45), and it was a good choice. It was lightly curried, with a crispy crust. The texture was perfect, without a hint of the soggy mash so often found in fish cakes. The salad was so fresh it seemed to have just been picked.
Our guest ordered the prawn cocktail (R54). It was beautifully presented, with the prawns scattered around yet another fresh and tasty salad. The prawns were fresh and delicious and coated with just enough sauce to give that extra taste.
For her main, our guest had the mini seafood platter of prawns, fish and calamari (R138), adding halfchips and half-rice. She said the fish was absolutely perfect, as were the prawns, but the calamari chewy.
And then my wife’s sailfish arrived. She said it was fabulous. Perfectly charred on the outside and moist and tender on the inside, it was her dream fish meal. It was served with a light and very delicious coriander butter, which soaked into the savoury rice. The portion was very generous and she polished it off. Thank you, Chef Julien!
I fancied a Caesar salad (R55) but was talked out of it by my wife because she says I always order it if it’s on the menu. My retort that I was comparing standards and ingredients used by various restaurants cut no ice, so I ended up having snails with garlic butter and cheese (R45). As snails go, they were fine – a little heavy on the cheese and light on the garlic – but I was sorry I hadn’t put my foot down about the Caesar salad after seeing one delivered to a neighbouring table.
For my main I ordered the 250g rump with balsamic reduction and herb aioli with a pot of wasabi mayonnaise on the side (R108). The steak was thinner than I would have liked and more medium than rare but delicious and tender. The balsamic reduction and herb sauce was quite unlike any flavour combination I’ve tasted and with a dab of the wasabi mayo was delectable.
I’m fussy about chips and hate it when restaurants tout theirs as handcut when they come out of a packet and are given a quick, high-heat fry and end up as mushy, collapsing bits of potato. None of that at C Breeze. They were slim-cut and perfectly cooked – crispy on the outside, fluffy and hot inside. Yum!
We were quite full by this time but our guest, who lives in Scottburgh, insisted we try the Real Crème Brûlée (R42) and were glad we took her advice. Crackly on the top with meltin-the-mouth custard and a side of unsweetened cream.
We’ll be back – and the next time no arguments over the Caesar salad. Ratings (out of five) Food Service Ambience