When a dining experience leaves a seasoned food writer (like myself) wordless and gasping for adjectives to describe it’s sheer beauty, you must know they’re onto something. I was incredibly lucky to be one of only a tiny handful of guests to attend the soft opening of Peter Tempelhoff’s stunning new venture, FYN – perched like a magnificent glass house at the top of Cape Town’s city centre.
Background
Previously Chef at the Greenhouse Restaurant at The Cellars-Hohenort hotel in Constantia, this is the realisation of a dream that has been “simmering on the back-burner” for almost 22 years. Tempelhoff will be flanked by Executive Chef, Ashley Moss (Peter’s head chef at Greenhouse for the last four years) and Jennifer Hugé, FYN’s general manager. Jennifer was the restaurant manager at La Colombe for 14 years.
The name
The name, FYN, is a clever play on the Afrikaans translation of the English word, “fine” as in “fine dining”, but also pays homage to our indigenous “fynbos” and Tempelhoff’s quest to fuse authentic South African dining with contemporary world cuisine. It is pronounced as said in Afrikaans, “feign”, not “fine”.
The venue
From street level, looking up, the restaurant is something to marvel at. Reaching up into the blue Capetownian skies, FYN is an architectural beauty with top-to-bottom glass windows facing Table Mountain and Lion’s head, offering diners superb views of the best side of the city. The entrance is nondescript, very humble in it’s approach, but as soon as the elevator doors open on the top floor of the Speakers’ Corner building, you walk into a wonderland that promises to take you on several culinary adventures in one night, whilst enjoying the best seats in the house.
The restaurant floor opens up into a large, high ceiling-ed dining room, majestically surrounded by those signature top-to-bottom glass windows. The first thing you notice, is that the kitchen has seamlessly been integrated into the dining room; there is minimal separation between chef and diner; between food and table. It’s a beautiful theatre show of preparation and serving; dishing and eating. In the beginning, this open-plan approach seems bold, fearless and challenging; but the FYN team takes it all in their stride and wears their uber-modern leather aprons with pride as they seem to glide between the marble counters and stainless steel surfaces that subtly distinguishes the kitchen space from the rest.
If you look up, you feast your eyes on the most marvelous art installation; hundreds of wooden disks suspended from the high ceiling, gently interspersed with naked bulbs that create just the right type of down-light this airy venue requires to keep it feeling comfy and intimate.
As you allow your eyes to sweep the expanses of the dining room, you’ll see that there is not a lot of tables; FYN keeps it personal with about 54 seats in total. All the tables have a bird’s eye view of the kitchen and chefs, without compromising the views of the city on the other side.
A mezzanine level offers a few tables for pre-dinner drinks or sun-downers with a glorious panorama of the whole restaurant, whilst the compact but fully stocked bar is tucked in under the staircase leading up to the mezzanine.
The furnishings are minimal and elegant; earthy and neutral. Everything in FYN has been designed to be uncomplicated – leather aprons that only need to be wiped down, easy-to-clean table tops, leather banquettes, marble counters and floors. It’s practical, energy- and resource efficient and oh-so convenient, so that all their attention and enthusiasm can go into the preparation of the food and the conceptualisation of the ever-changing seasonal menu.
The food
As this was FYN’s unofficial soft opening, we were tasting the new menu for the first time, which made it all the more exciting. The buzz of energy in the kitchen was tangible in the dining room, and you could see the excitement on the chef’s faces, every now and again momentarily masked by pure concentration and determination to produce excellent quality dishes for their taste testers.
Very much inspired by Tempelhoff’s travels to Japan, the bento box style of eating is a main feature on the menu. Beautifully hand-crafted crockery bowls each hold a tiny culinary treasure; a little morsel that transports you to the seas, to the pastures, to the hills and vales of the world in each bite. The flavour combinations are surprising; and the striking visual presentation of the dishes are exquisite.
I particularly enjoyed the daikon maki bento canapé, served three-ways: fresh, braised and three-year pickled.
From the Kaiseki tray, the quail, glazed eel, parsnip, tea aged pear and oyster mushroom dish was ridiculously delicious, at the lack of a better description. I never thought I’d eat anything from that plate; it ended up being my favourite dish of the night. The other brightly shining star of the night was the roast guinea fowl, poached leeks, miso cream, wood ear mushroom and sherry dish. I literally do not have the adjectives to describe these dishes, other than that it was refreshingly innovative, perfectly paired, expertly fused and presented ever so delectably. Not that I expected anything less from this star-studded team who is quickly driving FYN right to the top of Cape Town’s culinary scene.
Dessert was everything I could ever have wished for. It was light, but indulgent. It was unconventional, but comforting. It was deconstructed, but came together in one last massive hurrah for the evening. The Sweet Kaiseki consisted of a triple delight: yoghurt sherbet, melon in honeybush, fennel pollen. Madagascan chocolate, salted Japanese plum with fennel. Blueberries, yuzu and coconut.
Both my taste buds and mind were left reeling as I tried to process the unusual ingredients, combinations and tastes, as well as the incredible visual over-stimulation which the tray in front of me provided. It was simply sublime, and the perfect ending to an incredibly successful night.
In conclusion
Before I ate dessert, I sat quietly for a few minutes to take in the beauty of it all. The beauty of FYN and its people. I took a sip of my wine and looked around, appreciating the realisation of this almost life-long dream and the meaning captured behind this huge achievement. I let my eyes linger on the finer details of the restaurant for a few moments- the nuanced decor that reminds of incredible art installations from across the globe; from the tiles to the flooring, the tiny handmade pottery bowls stacked in the kitchen which means every diner’s dish is as unique as FYN’s menu. I let my eyes follow the staff as they seem to glide through the kitchen from station to station; from plating to serving. I appreciated the dedication, passion and commitment that filled all the spaces between oven and table. I looked out at the lights of the city, the faint silhouette of Lion’s head and then looked down at the labour of love in front of me; represented in a tray of sweets. Life was particularly good in that moment. Everything was just fyn.
If you really have an appreciation for food and the finer things in life, book a table at FYN. It’s an experience rather than a meal. If you think you know everything about food, FYN is guaranteed to broaden even the most dedicated foodie’s horizons. Leave everything you thought you knew at home. Come share a meal in this haven that has been created with comfort in mind over formality; togetherness over separation. Even though FYN will take you on a culinary tour around the world, at the same time it feels like a homecoming of sorts; where you get to enjoy the best talent and produce South Africa has to offer. I wish Peter and his sterling team only the best on this new venture, because dreams don’t work unless you do, and FYN is a beautiful example of just that.
The Little Hedonist has made every effort to ensure that the information in this post was correct at the time of publication. However, I do not assume any liability caused by errors, such as price, menu changes, opening times, and contact details.
Disclaimer: I was invited to this event in my personal capacity. There was no expectation for platform coverage in the form of a blog, or social media posts. This is my honest and truthful opinion and review thereof. All thoughts and opinions expressed herein are solely those of The Little Hedonist, given in good faith and in no way influenced by the company or its affiliates. All images, unless otherwise stated/credited, are also my own.
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