Café Royale is a cute little French-style café located at the Cape Royale Luxury Hotel in Green Point. Their normal trading hours used to focus on breakfast & lunch, but they recently extended their hours for dinner & drinks with the launch of a sexy new tapas & cocktail menu.
I joined a group of media/blogger peeps to give this menu a little test drive, and now I can share some of my favourite menu items with you.
First, let’s have a look at the decor. They’ve undergone a soft refurbishment adding some touches to give the space more of an evening feel. This includes a bar that’s lit up in bright colours from top to bottom come sunset time.
Cute little courtyard for the hot summer’s evenings to come…
Their new artisanal cocktail selection is all about presenting what one would call a “classic” in a new and interesting way. We got to watch the careful preparation that goes into these cocktails and then also enjoyed a selection of samples of each.
Their new tapas menu incorporates some favourites like chilli poppers and vegetable spring rolls, but then they’ve also added a few different items such as Jack Daniels chicken wings, grilled calamari with lemon aioli and Italian meatballs in marinara sauce.
The “Marie Antoinette” – Peach Schnapps, Southern Comfort, Malibu, Vodka, Banana Liqueur, pineapple juice & cranberry juice
Cheers! Won’t lie, at first we were like “just samples?”, but after about 3 or 4 of these we were grateful… these cocktails are potent! (Photo credit – Julia Janse Van Vuuren)
Other peeps on the scene – Jasna from Fashion Jazz and Jamal from IOL lifestyle (Photo credit – Julia Janse Van Vuuren)
Marinated olives, mixed nuts & cheese sticks
From the back: Hummus & guacamole with garlic crostini and grilled calamari with lemon aioli
“Poison Apple” – Jack Daniels, Pimm’s, apple liqueur, lime
Left to right: Smoked salmon pancakes and chilli poppers
“Double Margarita”- Tequila, triple sec, lime, lemon juice
From back to front: Italian meatballs with Marinara sauce and chicken & beef satays
“La Dame Royale”- Vodka, triple sec, lime, fresh watermelon – served in a black box (Photo credit – Julia Janse Van Vuuren)
From left to right: vegetable spring rolls and grilled garlic & lemon prawns
“Angel’s Treat”- Disarronno, Dark Rum, Amarula, Nachtmusik – perfect for those with a sweet tooth
“Slip into silk – Kir Royale” – Sparkling Wine, creme de cassis, Maraschino cherry – perfect for the ladies who enjoy their bubbles (Photo credit – Julia Janse Van Vuuren)
On the tapas side I really enjoyed the prawns, the meatballs and the beef & chicken skewers (that peanut dipping sauce they serve it with is delicious!).
Wanna give this new menu a bash for yourself? Then take note of the following:
- The new evening hours are from 15:00 to 23:00
- Until end October they will be running a 2 for 3 tapas “Beat the Traffic” special valid on Fridays from 16:00 to 18:00. So makes for a nice meeting spot before you hit the town.
To make a reservation – contact them on 021 430 0500. Or if you’re in the area, take a chance and see if you can grab a table.
I could certainly do with one of those margaritas right now… 😉
xxx