As winter in the Cape tightens its grip, restaurateurs Neil Swart and Anouchka Horn of Belly of the Beast fame are giving hungry Capetonians a new reason to brave the cold, with the opening of the city’s most exciting new seafood restaurant, Galjoen.
Horn and Swart are well known as chef-patrons of their intimate inner city restaurant, Belly of the Beast, and have fast grown a loyal following for their curated set menu experience. At Galjoen, the pair has brought that same sense of culinary focus to Galjoen, where the spotlight falls squarely on sustainably caught South African seafood.
While Horn and Swart have created the concept – as at Belly, a set menu served to all tables – and guide the culinary philosophy for Galjoen, the kitchen belongs to Head Chef Isca Stoltz.
Galjoen will offer a set menu, with the number and composition of courses changing according to the whims of the weather, and what the boats bring in, leaving Stoltz to create new plates and tweak signature dishes according to what’s fresh.
Just don’t ask for Galjoen – Perhaps ironically, the one fish you’ll never find on the menu is the namesake. Galjoen is red-listed by SASSI, and cannot be sold commercially, but for Horn and Swart the name was a matter of pride.
“In all of our cooking we really celebrate South African produce and South African recipes, and by naming the restaurant Galjoen, we wanted to both raise awareness of our national fish and spark a conversation with our guests around sustainability in seafood,” says Swart.
Pair all of that with the culinary journey created by some of the best chefs in the city, and Galjoen offers a truly immersive South African seafood experience.
