COY RESTAURANT THE NEW KID IN CAPE TOWN

Article by guest author Peter Brooker

Coy Restaurant is situated on the Cape Grace entrance of the Victoria & Albert Wharf in Cape Town. It opened in September of 2024 so is very much the new kid on the block. It overlooks the Marina where you can spot numerous seals either slumped on the jetties or engaging in playful courtship rituals in the water.

They have no predators here in the Marina, and October (which is Spring time in Cape Town) is mating season. Whilst the Cape Fur Seals may look like huggable, the docks are littered with signs warning people not to touch as they do bite. 

I ask the waiter Kirk, who has a crew cut and a tattoo of a naked lady on his forearm, 'is it just rich assholes that owns these yachts here?' 

'Some,' he says looking out to the harbour. 'Some are just renting them out to other rich assholes.' 

The restaurant is an open plan. The outside tables are square with quartz black and swirls of orange. The bar was empty, the stools coated in white fur looked like they'd be the box office seats on a busy night. 

The food has a slightly convoluted system of pairings and supplements, which needed a second explanation. 

We passed on the cocktails and settled for two glasses of Aurelia Brut from the Western Cape. Anastasia noted, "not only are these drinks half price compared to London, but the servings are also twice as big." 

From the menu we took the Tuna Tartare with Caramelised coconut and the Xai Xai chargrilled Squid. The starters were fixed. 

From the mains we had the Lamb with butternut and the Baailed Linefish with peri peri. The head chef gave us a rundown of his magic but his accent was indecipherable. 

The food was well presented, but by no means as theatrical as La Colombe. We skipped dessert and I finished with an Irish coffee. 

Overall it's an ideal spot for a romantic lunch but the servings were small and neither Anastasia and I are big eaters. 

Menus, directions and photos can be found on the website.