HQ Restaurant Tuesday Date Night with Steak & Swing!

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I was impressed with the service recovery by HQ restaurant, after I had recently awarded it a Sour Service Award. Manager Matthew Mulholland invited me to try their winter special, and my friend Giulio and I enjoyed a fun evening at the city centre restaurant on Tuesday.

HQ opened in 2008, Matt told us, and I probably had not been since its opening. It felt as if everything was exactly as it was, although I could not recall the upstairs seating section. What has changed is the entrance, off Shortmarket Street, and the restaurant no longer can be entered from Buitengracht Street. The young lady at the entrance asked me if I was coming for an event or for dinner. Then she could not find my name on the list, asking me if I was at the ‘promo’ table, which I did not know the answer to. After we passed these hurdles, we walked through the bar area, and were seated at one of the many tables in one of two rows in the restaurant section, the tables being positioned very close together. The table space was just perfect, and I was not aware of the conversations on either side of our table.

The tables are covered with a white table cloth, a sheet of brown paper with a description of an alternative Collison & Co steak offer (more below), and a Castle Lite logo on it, and on top of that a red runner. The red candleholder had a tealight, the pepper grinder had a picture of peppercorns pasted on it, while the pre-ground salt was in a small glass jar. A holder with lavash is on the table too. Two sets of cutlery were pre-set, one being a set of St Tropez, and another a steak knife set, unbranded and imported, not overly big and very efficient in cutting the steak. Impressive was the material napkins.

Something that has not changed at HQ is the basic food offer, of a salad, and a 250g sirloin steak with fries and a Béarnaise sauce, at R198. On Mondays the Winter Special offers this at two for the price of one, an excellent deal. A band provides music. On Tuesdays it is ‘Date Night’, for which one pays R250 for two steaks, inclusive of a glass of Wolftrap Red wine for each diner. Giulio is allergic to red wine, and was allowed to substitute the red wine for another glass of bubbly.

What we loved was that they have a crooner, singer, and actor Ricky Botsis, who got HQ swinging on Tuesday evening. It was like having Frank Sinatra and his contemporaries in the house. He was smartly dressed in a suit, and had a charming smile and nature.

Our waiter Reid was very attentive, and told us at the end of the evening that our table had the most fun of all! He brought us a glass of Pierre Jourdan Brut as a welcome drink, while Giulio and I caught up. He explained the dinner offer, as well as the special offer of the Collison & Co Meat Purveyors’ Angus Beef imported from Australia, costing R395 each. It is described as ‘..100% Organic, Free Range, Grass fed Australian Black Angus Beef’. Reid told us that the meat has ‘happy cow vibes‘, and ‘tastes happy’! All the other aspects of the winter special offer apply. We opted for the Angus Beef steak. The salad arrives first, a generous helping of cos and iceberg leaves, pine kernels, lots of Parmesan shavings, and a Dijon vinaigrette.

The steak arrived soon thereafter, and the manager Alan came to check if we needed any sauces in addition to the Béarnaise sauce (made with white wine vinegar, a shallot, Bèchamel white sauce, egg yolks, and butter) already on the steak platter. We could not understand him clearly when he spoke about the small mayonnaise and tomato sauce squeeze bottles, unbranded and smart looking. Reid came to the table, to check if we wanted more of the Béarnaise sauce, but the portion on the steak platter was more than ample. The Angus Beef steak was excellent, and the chips were crispy and good.

Desserts cost extra, and there is a list of nine, most costing a very reasonable R40. Giulio ordered Affogato, getting his coffee fix in his dessert. My choice was Tiramisù, my favorite, delicious with Kahlua and topped with chocolate shavings. Other dessert options are deconstructed lemon meringue, chocolate fondant, crême brûlée, a cardamom and citrus panna cotta, a delicious sounding spiced pumpkin mousse, Malva pudding, and baked cheesecake. A cheese platter with four artisanal cheeses, fig preserve, and a farm-style wood-fired corn bread is excellent value at an exceptionally low cost of R50. My dry cappuccino arrived deconstructed, the cup filled with froth, and the coffee arrived on the side in a metal jug, a first, but it was easy to fix.

From today HQ adds small plate, and boards and flatbread dishes to its menu. They have appointed new Chef Dennis Luke, formerly of Dash at the Queen Victoria hotel. The boards and flatbreads include a grilled crayfish flatbread (R110), a Cajun chicken flatbread at R88, a prosciutto flatbread (R98), a Mediterranean board (calamari, mozzarella balls, pita, hummus, tzatziki, and feta) at R115, and a charcuterie and cheese board at R145. Eleven small plate dishes are on offer, ranging in price from R66 (Parmesan and truffle fries) to R98 for baked Camembert. Other options include an interesting sounding coconut calamari, foraged wild mushrooms, triple cooked pork belly, and lamb sliders. One cannot eat these new dishes in the main restaurant, unless they are an add-on order to the steak. One can order these dishes when sitting outside in the courtyard, or upstairs. On Thursdays these dishes cost half price.

Note: It is very dark inside the restaurant at night, so I returned yesterday afternoon, to take exterior and interior photographs, Instagramming them thereafter. There was enough light to take the food photographs on Tuesday evening.

HQ, 100 Shortmarket Street, Cape Town. Tel (021) 424-6373. www.hqrestaurant.co.za Twitter: @hqcapetown Instagram: @ hqcapetown Monday – Saturday, Lunch and Dinner.