The La Colombe Group, which currently has five restaurants in its fold, has added two new ones in December when it opened PIER Restaurant and The Waterside Restaurant Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront. The new eateries are located in the Pierhead Building, in between the NSRI building and Life Grand Café.
Scot Kirton, chef proprietor of the group, says that they have been looking at various sites at the Waterfront for many years and when the site became available, they nabbed it. “We hope to create an experience the Waterfront has never seen before –for both locals and international guests alike,” he says.
PIER Restaurant brings an intimate, multi-course fine-dining experience led by chef John Norris-Rogers, previously of La Petite Colombe in Franschhoek, while Roxy Mudie is at the helm of The Waterside Restaurant. Previously Roxy was sous chef at both La Colombe and Protégé.
“Being given the opportunity to move back to Cape Town and head up PIER Restaurant is incredibly exciting,” says John. “While the past four years at La Petite Colombe have been a fantastic journey, I couldn’t wait to help launch PIER as a special experience in the city – one that our guests will hopefully remember for the rest of their lives.”
Roxy has worked with Scot Kirton at La Colombe for seven years and he says: “I could not be more proud of her as she takes this next step in her career. She is a bubble of talent waiting to explode and I can’t wait to watch her spread her wings in this exciting new space.”
Guests dining at PIER can expect local produce to be the focus, with a special emphasis on inspiration from the ocean – and the tableside theatrics guests have come to expect from the team. Dishes that diners can look forward to include confit mussels slowly cooked in chorizo oil or oysters poached tableside by the chefs.
The Waterside Restaurant serves a sophisticated but more casual menu that guests can enjoy both indoors and on the outdoor deck – perfect for sumptuous summer lunches. Two different menus are available – a four-course menu with a selection of choices or a more formal eight-course tasting menu.