Spinning Sea Point around
THE RITZ: STANDING TALL NEXT TO LION’S HEAD
This landmark is delightfully democratic - all the rooms have sea views.
Joburg’s city skyline is easily identifiable. The Hillbrow Tower, Ponte, Braamfontein Hill – it’s iconic. Move down to Cape Town and the icons are dwarfed by Table Mountain – no matter how modern, tall or even imaginative the architecture is. But there’s one head-spinner that keeps standing out. The Ritz, an Atlantic Seaboard landmark thanks to its 23rd floor revolving restaurant, relaunched at the end of last year after a R120-million rejuvenation.
Revamps are a tricky business, but The Ritz Management Company seems to have aced the test – keeping a local legend alive for a new generation by preserving the soul of a building introduced in the early 70s.
“We had a clear vision of what we wanted to create,” says Lisa Carey, marketing and PR manager for The Ritz.
Sitting in Casa, the restaurant open to the public, as well as a breakfast spot for guests, she points at the decor. Martinique wallpaper, dusty pink velvet chairs, marble, gold accents – it all screams Miami glamour – but it’s much more than that. It’s a contemporary take on decor that is not bothered with being ultra-modern, but rather keeps a little bit of the building’s history alive. There’s a certain glamour that transports you back to 1971 when the revolving restaurant on the top floor opened.
“We’re trying to preserve history. We look after local guests as well as international ones,” says general manager Johann du Plessis.
Casa and the pool area with its loungers and pods are open to anyone, permitting that you order from the impressive menu. But hotel guests are really the ones that cash in.
Today, many restaurants will opt for a digitised approach if afforded a revamp. Here there are no App-like check ins – the reception desk is staffed with beaming faces, ready to dole out the same charm as the decor.
In 2018, this is a remarkable attraction, creating a stunning duality between new and old.
“We wanted to take luxury and design, and make it accessible,” Carey comments. The Ritz is meant to function as a middle ground where you don’t have to drive in with a Rolls Royce to feel welcome, but you won’t feel out of place if you do. A short stroll along the Sea Point promenade reminds you that the Atlantic Seaboard is another sort of stomping ground where money plays with money – but The Ritz offers sanctuary for all.
It’s so democratic in fact that every room in the hotel is sea-facing, a rare feature this day and age where hotels are often built to pack in as many rooms as possible – regardless of view.
While the hotel’s decor offers a modern flashback, rooms are sleek and minimalist in their approach, with charcoal carpets contrasted with crisp wine linens.
A clever choice, because anything overboard would have stolen the thunder of the glorious panorama of the Atlantic ocean each room provides. There’s also a side to it that makes it alluring
for a business traveller as much as vacationers.
But really the highlight of a stay, or visit, to The Ritz is The Top of The Ritz. South Africa is home to three revolving restaurants, and this one is one of only two still in operation. If you are sitting skyhigh in Cape Town during sunset, you know the views will be spectacular and it’s easy to assume the food will just be an afterthought. Instead the view is part of an incredible experience. As humans we have memories of our firsts. Our first plane trip, our first car, our first kiss – and dining at this gourmet restaurant operates in the same field thanks to Adrian Cook, Group Executive Chef for The Ritz.
The amuse bouche is a modern take on the classic Avocado Ritz, here presented on marble offcuts upcycled from the hotel’s renovation. The palate cleansing sorbet is fashioned from Cape Gooseberries, while main course options pays homage to the ocean, countryside and wild places surrounding the city.
Countryside pairs beef sirloin, fondant potato and prego jus in a nod to the city’s ever-popular Portuguese restaurants, while The Karoo makes the most of intensely-flavoured Karoo lamb, mirrored by fynbos-infused croquettes. Ocean View is Cook’s interpretation of the humble parcel of fish and chips so popular in the city’s harbourside takeaways. At Top of The Ritz, a fillet of local line fish is given added intrigue with potato cigars and kelp crisps; the fronds foraged from local shores before being dehydrated and deep-fried.
But its Cook’s playfulness that really drives the menu and the experience. Courses like his quirky Bread And Butter course, which mimics a Masala Steak Gatsby, shines.
The Dessert course is equally inventive, with smoked chocolate mousse, white ‘mushroom’ and ‘smoke’ evoking a wintry walk through the forests of Table Mountain.
The Ritz is a joyous new playground in Cape Town that feels as ageless as the octogenarians sporting wrinkle-free skin out at the promenade.