A big treat in Jozi

The Pot Luck Club, Johannesburg

Where: 61 North St, Melrose

Open: Tuesday 6pm-1pm, Wednesday to Saturday 12.30pm-1pm, Sunday 12.30pm-4pm.

Call: 010 157 5757

I’ve always had the feeling that Joburg’s top restaurants are needlessly supercilious. Everything is so chic you get the impression that service is doing you a favour. Mention you are from Durban and eyebrows raise. “Oh dear, the country cousins are here,” flashes across the waiter’s brow. You almost get the impression they’re sorry they didn’t squash you in at the back between the kitchen and toilet so other super refined patrons won’t notice the yokels.

Not so at Joburg’s Pot Luck Club, a must on The Advocate’s list for our visit to the Big Smoke. Yes it’s smart and swanky, but service is warm and genuine, and informed. We’re soon welcomed to our table.

Up in Jozi for the bridge nationals, we’re joined by fellow bridge players Dr B and the Rottie Fan, herself a foodie and a consummate good cook. Sadly The Director and The Glamourous Dane couldn’t join us as they were too busy setting up for tomorrow's event start.

The original Pot Luck Club in the Cape was a more relaxed and intimate setting of South Africa’s famed and award winning Test Kitchen, and the Joburg outlet shares the same philosophy. It’s a small but interesting menu with plenty one wants to taste and try. And dishes are brought to the table to share. You simply order what you want and how many of them and they bring them to the table as in the order they think you should eat them.

Yes, it’s a shade intimidating, especially as you’re not sure how much food you’re ordering, although all plates are not enormous. Eventually we left the honours to the advocate after stating dishes we simply had to try - the steak tartare for the Rottie Fan and me, the duck salad for Dr B.

We start with a bread plate (R95) of home made ciabatta, butter, dukkah and a nice smoke babaganoush, with some good olives. Tacos (R105) were next, from their vegetarian menu. These were with black bean puree, pickled shiitake mushrooms, charred corn salsa, avocado and chipotle dressing. Neven one to go mad over beans - too many boarding school memories - these were enjoyable, especially the crisp little taco disks that barely held them together.

And then came pan-fried salmon as a “study of fennel” with calamari vierge, burnt orange and fennel espuma (R205). A really lovely dish.

Steak tartare was next, with hoisin dressing, coriander pesto and ponzu mayo (R185). It looked like lots of little dots on the plate. It was enjoyable and silky smooth, yet somehow lacked that umami depth I had been craving. I’m comparing it to Charlie Lakin’s local version where his Meraki restaurant invariably has his retired dairy cow steak tartare on the menu whenever I visit.

Next up were two plates of the lobster special (I think R495) which we all enjoyed. This was lovely chunks of lobster seared in saffron butter, with a crunchy type slaw and various dips and little soft tortillas which you put the whole lot together to build your own.

The chicken peri-peri with ajo blanco, a kale and pepper salad and braai vinaigrette (R225) was something of a revelation. The kitchen is not afraid of big bold flavours and these came through nicely here. So often anything spicy is so toned down in a fine-dining setting, but certainly not this rendition of peri-peri.

The duck salad (R285) with plum reduction, walnut XO, crispy parsnips and plum fondant was another memorable dish with lovely deep flavours. Full marks from Dr B.

The pork belly Penang (R225) was another dish with lovely bold flavours. It came in a fiery coconut and peanut broth with lime pickled red onion and coriander oil. Best for last, they say. I could have eaten another plate, but by now we’d all had more than enough food.

We finished up with a dessert of apple and plum crumble (R185) with a tonka bean crumb and ginger and star anise ice-cream. I have always been a sucker for apple desserts and  enjoyed the depth the plums added to the dish along with that nicely spiced ice-cream. 

The four of us enjoyed our meal

Food: 4

Service: 4

Ambience: 4

The Bill: The Advocate treated us.