Plett on a Platter

One of my all time favourite restaurants was a small Portugese eatery where no one ever spoke English. And I think that that is what I really liked about it.  When I first ventured into and sat down at the horseshoe bar counter,  it was run by Henry a taciturn middle aged barkeep who hated his customers. And I think I also liked that. He was honest. As honest as some of the tastiest dishes from a menu I never understood. There was the usual calamari stew, bacalhau casserole and caldo verde. His Portugese steaks were topped with a perfectly done fried egg and were swimming in sauce which one could not resist mopping up with a soft Portugese bread roll.

But it was Luis, who took over from Henry, who used to serve the finest Trinchado ever. He was an embittered refugee from Angola and between him and his staff did unspeakable things in the kitchen. Ever since which I have been on the look out for that earthy, warm taste of Portugese country cooking.

It rained all night. Which was a good enough reason to make a late start and venture out to the Saturday market at Harkerville, for cashew nuts, in a light soaking drizzle. But the stall holders had all packed up. There was no market and no nuts and we carried on to Plett and the Look Out Deck for breakfast. Or rather their seafood bisque flanked on one side by a heater and the crayfish tank on the other. This kept the kids occupied whilst I tucked into my hot bowl of soup. They do a good broth for these cold and wet winter days and it begs the question of why the local restaurants do not do more to celebrate the onset of winter and to promote “winter foods”?

In my mind the best restaurant or rather bistro in Plett is Jade’s Cafe at the Heath. But then we are a family, we have young children and will opt for Warren’s Sunday lunch whenever possible. He serves a roast lamb with with mashed potato, roasted pumpkin, sweet potato and ratatouie.  Sometimes a little tougher the usual but nonetheless delious every time.

Others will recommend Emily Moon or Enrico’s, Look Out and the LM Restaurant. Not to forget the Med Seafood Bistro. There is also the Rod & Reel which has a family friendly menu. So it all depends on ones personal preferences and we are going to try and profile the local eateries to make sure no one misses out on those that are not so obvious.

I have lived in Knysna for eight years and besides the Seafood Gumbo that I recall having ordered at the Med seafood bistro some twenty years ago or more I wouldn’t know where to start looking for something to eat in Plett.

So here goes