It is a relative newcomer to the restaurant scene and is situated in Newlands in the premises that once housed Trax and before that, Newscafe. Newlands itself has certainly undergone something of a facelift of late and the centre island on the Enterprise Road has well-tended gardens with a veritable safari park of metal sculptured wildlife, and with the bypass having diverted most of the traffic, provides a pleasing vista from the verandah at Butlers.
The décor is contemporary colonial and very elegant. Wicker chairs painted white provide seating around tables draped in white-hued fabrics and white crockery completes this cool and restful palette. Drama is provided with gleaming chandeliers and wrought iron work while potted plants introduce colour and contrast. The overall effect is that of a conservatory and the wrap-around verandah, which is where we sat, enhances this.
Butlers’ sister establishment, The Lounge, is situated upstairs and offers fine wine and liquors and a cigar bar. It was here that I was led by our waiter, on discovering that no wine list was available, to make my selection from their upstairs “cellar”. The Lounge is accessed by an exterior spiral iron staircase which I wouldn’t like to have to negotiate after a few drinks and even less so in the dark and the rain!
However, they had a very good and interesting selection of wines but, due to system problems, they weren’t certain of the pricing of some of them. I therefore restricted my choice to those whose prices were known and selected a Graham Beck Shiraz, which proved a very enjoyable accompaniment to our meal.
For starters there was only antipasto served buffet-style on the bar counter inside. It was to my mind, a disappointing selection, of which the star attraction was the pickled fish served in miniature dishes. While there was nothing amiss with what was on offer, there was nothing fantastic or original about it either and at US$12 per head, it seemed a somewhat Spartan offering. This is a course I would cheerfully forgo on a return visit.
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The main courses however revealed some serious culinary skills in the kitchen. The menu sensibly has a limited number of dishes on offer and our party sampled almost all of them. My slow roasted pork belly was succulent and the crackling managed to be simultaneously crispy and sticky with a delicious sauce.
Served on a bed of herb-infused mashed potatoes and accompanied with roasted vegetables and a green salad, I devoured every mouthful. Plump prawns were served with a tower of savoury rice and lots of garlic butter in a side dish, Pepper encrusted beef fillet was cooked to perfection and the tender chicken schnitzel was praised.
The vegetarian in our midst was well-satisfied with the butternut and mushroom lasagna. The presentation was fantastic and the dishes were a feast for the eyes with dabbings and drizzlings of sauces, which were not merely decorative but also delicious.
the list of about a dozen (and any combination of three can be chosen for your serving) less than half were available. Although no-one was unhappy with what they got, they were disappointed in not necessarily getting their first choices. I chose the chocolate themed dessert which comprised a trio of rich chocolate panna cotta, a freshly baked individual chocolate sponge pudding and home-made coffee ice-cream.
On a rectangular platter, the three desserts were a work of art, interspersed with fresh strawberries and cape gooseberries and decorated with chocolate sauce and a strawberry purée. It was more than I could manage, but I had eager volunteers to help me finish it off. We rounded off the meal with cappuccinos and espressos which rank alongside the best in town.
The experience of dining at Butlers was generally a good one. It is an elegant restaurant and the quality of the meal was of a high standard. Service throughout was courteous and unobtrusive. But the lack of a wine list and the confusion over prices, the non-availability of certain desserts and a rather mundane antipasto selection have cost it a five-plate rating. These, however, are issues which are easy to mend and would transform what was a pleasurable dining experience into a great one.
Deluxe Family Restaurant4 PlatesExpect to spend US$40 to US$50 Newlands Shopping Centre
