As I walked into the restaurant, I was met by a waitress who offered the option of smoking (downstairs) or non-smoking (upstairs). I chose the latter and opted to sit on one of two large leather sofas on the balcony, with a view of the cityscape surrounding the restaurant.

I heard about Fork via a friend of mine in the restaurant industry, who termed it a tapas restaurant. Don’t be fooled - it isn’t strictly a ‘tapas’ venue. Originally, and still in some bars today, tapas were simply a few olives or almonds, and perhaps a selection of cheeses, sausages and Serrano ham served, often free, to accompany a glass of fino sherry. Tapas have now come to encompass more or less any hot or cold dish that can be served in small portions, and in some cases, they may be quite substantial. The portions at fork seem to be in-between, as reflected in the pricing of the dishes. Pricing of all the dishes ranges between R35 and R50 with the expensive items being Kudu mini fillets with orange potato puree an chilli spinach and a citrus dressing and Ostrich fillet rolls stuffed with emmenthal, asparagus, red sweet chilli and mustard, both price at R50 each. From the fish menu, the Grilled tiger prawns wrapped with pancetta are also priced at R50 or Lemon grass sosatie of monkfish with confit tomato, fried aubergine, and white vermouth sauce at R35.

Other dishes that caught my interest were the Almond-crusted Norwegian smoked salmon at R45 and the white chicory leaves filled with baby cos lettuce, black olives, walnuts and gorgonzola dressing at R30. I chose a Raclette fondue served with crostini and Chorizo (R35) from the ‘While you’re thinking’ section, which I found to be rather rich and filling enough for a small appetite. The raclette cheese as served in a pan and did tend to solidify a little as it got cold, but tasted great with the Chorizo. Another option was the Vitello tonnato (R35), recommended by the waiter, which I didn’t try. Feeling still a little hungry (and wanting to try as much as possible) I decided to try the Pasta roll with emmentaler, aubergine, mushrooms, rocket and béchamel sauce (R40), which I was told was made from the best and freshest pasta in town. This was not a lie. The pasta tasted light and fresh, with no heavy feeling afterward, although the dish was equivalent to any pasta ‘main’ served in any pasta restaurant. If you’re feeling really hungry, you could always opt for the side orders (zucchini, French fries or mixed baby leaf salad, all at R15).

I had the choice of three white wines by the glass, and I chose a glass of Saglia Sauvignon blanc @ R100/25, which had a classic grassy nose and pleasant, light tartness to it, ideal for sundowners and snack food. Red wine options included De Meye Shiraz @ R84/21 and Organic Bon Cap Pinotage @ R 104/26. Other notable wines were Oak Valley Sauvignon Blanc @ R94 and Diemersfontein Pinotage @ R102 Most expensive wine was Glen Carlou Syrah @ R230.

NOTES: All in all, a good experience. However, the restaurant has not been ‘discovered’ yet and there was no real pressure on the chef to deliver at capacity. I therefore cannot comment on the speed of delivery and quality under pressure. Ideally, I don’t consider it fair to review a restaurant so soon after opening, but I was pleasantly surprised at the level of organisation. I hope that the patrons to the restaurant will continue to be met and chatted to by the owners and that the waiters remain as friendly and courteous as they are at present, but one can only hope. Try the restaurant for yourself and be the first to discover a new style of eating. I would like to hear your opinion and feedback. I’ll be back again in the next few weeks to see if my hopes have been realised.