A few years ago, while driving up Jan Smuts Avenue in the suburb of Parkview, the familiar sight of a formidable pink hotel, would loom into your horizon, popping out of a verdant, lush greenery peppered with spots of orange and yellow and brown depending on the time of year. Fast forward to present day and the grande dame, formerly known as The Westcliff, is now called The Four Seasons Hotel. And in fact, preferable to the drive-by, the best vantage point is viewed from Flames Restaurant, nestled atop the hotel.
Not only is it the dreamy location for a wedding, an elegant hen party or fancy soirée, it also makes for the perfect location for a booking for one or a couple or groups of 12 even, beginning with sundowners on the terrace, while watching the sun sink into the purple carpet of Jacarandas, followed by fine dining.
And there is much to be savoured on the menu, which boasts a fusion selection, which as sous chef Tyrone Mothei describes as having Asian, Italian and Thai influences and flavours.
But if you arrive before dinner is served at 6.30pm, you’ll be presented with an Urban Bites menu designed to soak up your Aperol Spritz, beer or glass of bubbly. Highly recommended if you’re a table of two or four with small appetites, is “Around the Table” which combines all the best that the tapas menu has on offer – from the fries with truffle mayo to the crispy-on-the-outside-tender-on-the-inside pork belly, the Angus boerewors and squid tentacles and grilled calamari.
You’ll need at least 20 minutes to decide what dish to settle on for dinner because you have the choice of sushi and poke bowls, the finest cuts of beef money can buy, seabass and soft-shell crab and salmon and burgers. And of course, one or two options for the Vegetarians.
A salad such as the shaved vegetable salad with beetroot, carrots and chia seeds comes with a perfectly poached, runny, egg, which has a crispy batter is a good palate teaser. The Thai-inspired mussel soup with line fish, prawns, Asian sausage and Udon noodles is also a good choice.
For mains you won’t go wring with a perfectly prepared medium-rare rib-eye Wagyu beef or Black Angus or Chalmar grain-feed beef served with your selection of fried black rice, basmati rice, crushed potatoes, thick-cut chips or garden vegetables as side options.
But then you’d be missing out on the soft-shell crab with avocado, cilantro, grapefruit, sushi rice and togorashi spice. And you’d also be passing on the Korean pork belly with thick-cut fries, ginger soy, sesame and lime. Not to mention the duck leg with parsnip, cranberry and pistachio crumble, roast onion and jus.
Still, you can always come back for another visit and another meal. But next time, you might want to book a table on Saturday and Sunday for brunch buffet and do make sure to ask about their beer pairing with the artisan braai menu.
Lunch is served from 12pm – 2pm; dinner from 6.30pm – 9.30pm and Saturday brunch from 10am – 3pm.
Visit https://www.fourseasons.com/ or call 011 481 6000 for more information and bookings.