A TASTE OF BELGIUM
could have been crisper, possibly the fault of the high sugar content potatoes now on the market.
I’d always regarded the restaurant as a delightful summer venue where you could chill on the umbrella-shaded terrace, watching seals bask and gulls swoop against the picture-postcard backdrop of harbour and mountain. But on a chilly grey day, the glassed-in interior offers cosy insulation against the elements. Sleek yachts glide past while you relax with wine or Belgian beer. Draft beer is drawn from gleaming taps on the long wooden bar counter, under the upturned hull of an honourably retired 10m sloop that once sailed in Table Bay.
Belgian beer has been a drawcard, from artisanal Kwak beer, served in so valuable a glass that you’re asked for a deposit of your left shoe (which is hoisted in a basket to the rafters) to Belgian-brewed Anker Beer, imported in casks to Cape Town. So popular is this house brand that consumption of the 1 000 000th glass – a landmark quantity that would fill two Olympicsized swimming pools – was celebrated in November 2002.
The wide selection has been extended by new labels from top breweries, prompting a fun Belgian beer-tasting. Six tasting glasses are lined up on a specially printed paper mat, giving the specifics and provenance of each brand. It’s a great way to familiarise yourself with the differences between lagers and ales, although my favourite was the deliciously refreshing Liefmans Fruitesse, matured for 18 months on cherries and blended with natural fruit juices.
Den Anker’s dedicated duo, exec chef Doekle Vlietman and his hands-on general manager wife, Rejeanne, have introduced a palateteasing beer and food-matching menu, but the fact that chicken features in the line-up has affected demand. Seems most local beerdrinkers are thirsty red meat carnivores. Apart from the special, there’s been a run on rump and pepper steak.
Which brings us back to the menu. Although it’s winter, don’t skip dessert. Succumb to a seductive Belgian chocolate iced fondant with a scoop of home-made vanilla ice cream. A similar creamy scoop enhances the alternative choice of a Belgian waffle.