A Journey of Flavour & Style Defines

THE BRAND-NEW ‘SALON’ BY LUKE DALE

ROBERTS

Award-winning chef and restaurateur Luke Dale Roberts has unveiled a brand-new dining concept in the heart of Cape Town’s Old Biscuit Mill precinct.

SALON is the latest addition to Dale Roberts’ portfolio of culinary destinations; an effortlessly stylish space defined by its elegant décor, elevated dining and enthralling cocktail collection.

This new restaurant concept draws on the traditional European salon – a space that is as much about the food and drinks as the people around you.

To hit the right aesthetic note Dale Roberts turned to longtime interior collaborator, designer Maurice Paliaga, who contrasted thoroughly contemporary elements with tones and textures that resonate with both the heritage of the building and the traditional salon concept.

Diners arrive at SALON through a bright golden portal, a striking entrance into a more traditional salon space of Victorian-style floors and classical marble-topped bistro tables. With SALON housed within the precinct’s historic silo building, transforming the gridded structure into a more enveloping space required a highly creative approach.

Golden domes and Art-Deco patterning soften the square dimensions of the room, while Venetian plasterwork and vintage-style filament lamps bring both texture and warmth.

The SALON menu marks a return to the heady days of The Test Kitchen, once rated as the best restaurant in Africa.

The Journey menu is a tribute to each country that Luke has worked in. He has a created a signature dish from that country’s culinary heritage, focused and interactive. A voyage that really shows his evolution and influences as a chef.

Part of that journey has been building teams of talented people, and working alongside Dale Roberts in creating the menu was Carla Schulze, Head Development Chef.

The nine-course Journey menu begins with a dish that was a perennial favourite in the Dark Room; Pork Scratchings with Guinness foam. In true Dale Roberts style it’s an apparently simple plate reinvented to offer layers of texture and flavour.

This is the only dish rebooted from the original Dark Room menu, with all other courses brand-new creations. The inventive take on a classic Sunday roast celebrates the chef’s English roots, while Dale Roberts’ time in Asia is expressed in the fragrant “Singapore chilli”, Malaysian-style laksa and Korean beef “kalbi”. But perhaps the highlight is in the two thoroughly South African plates; as Dale Roberts conjures a playful take on a shisanyama staple, and ends his journey with a traditional South African dessert.

The Journey menu is priced at R1100 per person, with a condensed version of four-courses – The Explorer – available at R550 per person. These menus are also available as a pairing menu with dishes matched to one of the small-batch wines, beers and saké. Or choose signature cocktails from SALON’s carefully curated drinks collection.

SALON is primed to be Cape Town’s most exciting new destination for gastronomic discovery, where the interplay of flavour, style and aesthetic spark lively conversation amid a brave new culinary adventure. It’s a salon of fine food and fabulous company and a bold new chapter for one of South Africa’s most celebrated restaurateurs.

SALON is open from Tuesdays through to Saturdays, and guests can reserve their “Journey” or “Explorer” timeslots between 18h00 and 21h00. 1st Floor silo building, The Old Biscuit Mill, 375 Albert Road, Woodstock, Cape Town. For bookings and more information visit www.salonct.co.za or call 087 093 5890 during normal business hours.