You haven’t been to Cape Town until you’ve been to the Fat Cactus. The best Tex-Mex since 1998, Fat Cactus is an institution regarded by locals as a fun place for margaritas and chilli poppers, and once the evening is under way, huge portions of more-ish Mexican favourites! 

With a branch in Woodstock, down the road from our Head Office, are team frequents this laid back spot for after work drinks and a whole load of fun! There are also branches in Mowbray and Gardens and all serve up huge jugs of the best frozen margaritas in the city. 

Mexican and American fare in hearty portions is the order of the day. The burgers are a must. Other options include their famous burritos, enchiladas, nachos and quesadillas – all served with beans, salsa and sour cream on the side. The beverages are an event by themselves, with a great selection of tequila-based drinks that are sure to get the party started. 

A truly friendly place with staff and regulars making new patrons feel at home and welcomed, the Fat Cactus is the place to be for great food, great people and a superb atmosphere.

VISIT THE FAT CACTUS

Did you know that just one orange gives you 100% of the daily recommended amount of Vitamin C? Pretty sweet. They are a wonderful fruit that is not only delicious but can also be used in all sorts of creative ways in your kitchen and beyond. Here are a handful of our favourite ideas:

1. Infuse Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Infused olive oil is so simple to make and so rewarding. Just combine orange peels and extra-virgin olive oil in an airtight bottle, and allow to infuse for a few weeks in a dark, cool place (like a cabinet or pantry). It’s perfect for drizzling over savoury dishes, from spring salads to summery grilled proteins.

2. Make A Batch Of Oleo Saccharum

Combine leftover orange peels and sugar to make oleo saccharum—a syrup made of citrus peels and sugar that’s perfect for mixing into cocktails, whisking into fresh salad vinaigrettes, spooning over ice cream, and more. It takes just a few hours of hands-off time to come together, and will last in the fridge for a couple of weeks. No matter what you add it to, it’ll bring a big citrus-y punch that’s also sweet.

3. Preserve Them In Salt

Preserved lemons get all the love, but most citrus can be packed in salt and cured—and oranges are no exception. Scrub the oranges thoroughly and cut them in half lengthwise, stopping just before reaching the bottom. Then rotate the orange 90 degrees and cut again (so now you have quarters), but don’t cut all the way through. Coat generously with kosher salt (about 1 tablespoon per orange) and place the oranges in an airtight container. Press down on the oranges to release their juice and create a brine that submerges the oranges. After two to three weeks, your preserved oranges will be ready to use in your next salad, ricotta toast, orange-flavoured dessert, citrusy aioli, and more.

4. Whip Up A Homemade Cleaning Solution

Want to enjoy that fresh, citrus-y scent throughout the whole house? This homemade cleaner is just the thing, and also happens to be kid-safe. To make it, add 1 cup of orange peels to 1 cup of white vinegar and infuse for 2 weeks. Dilute the infused vinegar with 1 cup of water (strain and discard the peels if you’d like), fill a reusable spray bottle, and start spritzing.

5. Make A Refreshing Body Scrub

Okay, it’s spa time: Make an aromatic body scrub with grated orange peel, sugar, and coconut oil all mixed together. You can also add a dash of homemade orange extract or orange essential oil. Consider it your new favourite (all-natural!) addition to your shower routine.

6. Grilled Red Snapper With Oranges & Chiles

Grilling whole fish may seem like a big fuss, but this simply grilled red snapper—which you can also make in a cast-iron pan on the stovetop—proves that it doesn’t have to be. Here, the mild, lightly sweet flavour of the snapper makes the perfect canvas for bright, punchy ingredients, like oranges, Fresno chile peppers, freshly squeezed lime juice, and cilantro. 

The whole snapper is first dressed in a few spoonful’s of the orange sauce (using both the zest and juice make it extra-aromatic) before grilling, and gets drizzled with it afterwards just before serving, along with the chopped cilantro. The whole dish comes together in about 30 minutes (if your fish is already prepped and ready to go), making it quick enough for a fancy-feeling weeknight meal and impressive enough for a spring weekend spread. To up the wow factor when serving, plate the whole grilled fish on a platter and garnish it with big wedges of fresh oranges.

Ingredients:

• 1 whole red snapper, cleaned, descaled, and gutted
• 3 oranges, zested and juiced
• 2 limes, juiced
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon cumin, toasted whole and ground in a spice grinder or mortar
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 5 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 Fresno chile pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• ¹/₂ cup fresh cilantro, leaves and stems, coarsely chopped

Directions: 

1. Prepare your grill: Heat a cast-iron grill pan, charcoal grill, or gas grill over medium-high heat and allow to preheat. Once hot, take a kitchen rag or paper towel, moisten with a neutral oil like canola oil or vegetable oil and rub the grates of the grill or grill pan. There should be a thin layer of oil that will smoke and burn off, creating a temporary non-stick surface.
2. Prep the snapper: With a paper towel, dry the fish thoroughly on the exterior and interior, and remove any scales that may have lingered. With a sharp knife, score the surface of the snapper apart in a criss-cross pattern. Repeat on each side.
3. Prepare the snapper sauce: Combine the orange zest and juice, lime juice, extra-virgin olive oil, cumin, garlic, brown sugar, Fresno chiles, salt, and pepper together. Taste and adjust seasoning. Depending on the acidity level of the citrus, you may need a touch more lime juice, or a little more brown sugar to balance.
4. Take a few spoonful’s of your sauce and rub it into the fish, especially in the scores on the surface of the fish.
5. Grill the fish over medium-high heat for about 15 minutes, flipping halfway through. Less is more when it comes to grilling fish; resist the urge to touch or move the fish while it grills, as it will stick and the skin will tear. 
6. Remove fish from the grill and allow it to rest on a large serving platter. Top your fish with the sauce and fresh cilantro. Serve with wedges of orange and enjoy.

7. Roasted Fennel, Red Onion, and Orange Salad

A great warm winter salad that virtually dresses itself.

Ingredients

• 1 large or 2 small fennel bulbs (untrimmed)
• 1 medium red onion
• 1 small orange, scrubbed
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1. Position a rack in the centre of the oven and heat to 220 degrees. Line a heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper (this prevents the oranges from sticking to the pan).
2. Trim the fronds from the fennel. Stand a bulb on its base on the cutting board and cut it in half lengthwise, cutting from the core end to the stem end. (If the bulb is more oblong than round, as some are, you will create two halves that are thinner and flatter rather than thicker and bulbous.) Use a paring knife to remove most of the core from each half (no need to get it all out). Lay each half flat on the cutting surface and cut crosswise into thick crescent-shaped slices. Toss onto the baking sheet and repeat with the second fennel bulb if you have two.
3. Cut the onion in half, cutting from root to stem end. Peel and remove the root end from both halves. Slice the onion halves crosswise into half-moons and add to the fennel.
4. Next, slice about 3 cm off each end of the orange and reserve (you’ll use these later to squeeze over the salad). Stand the orange up on one cut end and cut it lengthwise in half, and then cut each half lengthwise in half again, leaving you with 4 pieces. Arrange each quarter with cut side down and slice crosswise into quarter-moon-shaped pieces.
5. Add the orange to the fennel and onion. Drizzle the olive oil on top and season well with salt and plenty of pepper. Toss to coat and arrange as best you can in an even layer on the baking sheet.
6. Roast, stirring with a spatula after 15 minutes to ensure even cooking and again every 10 minutes or so. The vegetables close to the edge of the pan will brown more quickly than those in the centre, so stirring and then shaking the pan to restore an even layer helps everything cook at the same rate. Continue roasting until the vegetables and orange are tender and the outer edges are beginning to caramelize, 25 to 45 minutes.
7. Transfer to a serving dish. Let cool for at least 15 minutes or to room temperature. Squeeze the juice from one of the reserved orange ends over the salad and taste. If it tastes a little flat, add a pinch of salt and squeeze the other orange piece over it. Drizzle with a little of your best olive oil and serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy the wonders of Oranges!

Yes! You read correctly. Legendary Distillery, Wilderer has a “Beach Bar” situated at their restaurant La Grapperia in the Spice Route in Paarl. What better way to enjoy their fabulous selections of Gins, Grappa and Rum with the sand under your feet and incredible views of the winelands before you. 

BOASTING THE BEST VIEW OF THE WINELANDS

Wilderer is one of the most prestigious producers of Grappa, Eaux de Vie, Gin and now Rum worldwide. We have a long and proud association as a supplier to their restaurants and tasting rooms and we wish them every success with their new exciting venture!

THE BUTCHER’S SHOP & GRILL

For over 20 years, our client, the Butchers Shop and Grill has been as much a part of SA culture as sunshine, red wine and red meat. You could say it is a landmark on the culinary landscape. With large restaurants in Mandela Square, Johannesburg and Mouille Point, Cape Town and now also in the Middle East, it is famed for its quality produce, extensive menu, separate butchery & deli and passionate staff.

IT’S ALL ABOUT FAMILY

The Butcher shop was started by legendary restaurateur, Alan Pick. Butchery is in Alan’s blood. From age 5, he trained in meat at the elbow of his butcher father Dave and he trained in business alongside his savvy mother Fay. Fay Pick was the first female butcher in South Africa, put to work at the family-owned Farmers’ Meat Supply in the mid-1930s. In the 1940s she met and married Dave Pick, and Alan was born in 1948. Soon afterwards, the family acquired the licence for the Kalk Bay Butchery, and Alan’s formal education began.

Alan’s first official step into restaurants was aged 24, as a junior partner in Stellenbosch’s Arizona Spur. He then branched into shwarmas with Mi Vami, hamburgers with Late Nite Al’s, and steaks with Al’s Grillhouse.  “Hillbrow,” recalls Alan, “was the centre of the universe. At Late Nite Al’s we were known for serving 500g steaks at 4am. Of course, on the plus side, I never had to switch on my headlights, because I arrived mid-afternoon and left mid-morning!”

In 1994, Alan identified a restaurant site within what was becoming Mandela Square. This became The Butcher Shop & Grill, where he incorporated the innovative walk-up butchery counter for patrons to select their own type, cut and size of meat. From there the brand has continued to grow from strength to strength and today, regional and international tourists and local regulars flood into The Butcher Shop & Grill, where they encounter the same friendly expertise, service, quality and taste that were so prized by Dave and Fay Pick at their counter in 1940s Kalk Bay.

The family atmosphere continues under the leadership of Alan’s son Dani, with many members of the team being with Alan for over 20 years. General manager and key member Shaun Novitzkas keeps a close eye on operations at Mandela Square and Ryan Schutte at Mouille Point.

In The Butcher Shop’s butchery and deli, you’ll find the same magnificent meat, chicken, fish and seafood that you expect on their menu, available for purchase. You can chat to one of their well-trained specialist butchers and place your order for legs of lamb, chops sliced thick or thin, your favourite cut and preferred size of perfectly aged beef, or even fatty or non-fatty beef biltong.

Their service will remind you of the good old days at your local butcher’s counter, where an expert blockman cuts your meat as you like it – every time. You get old-style quality at incredible prices, which is what makes the butchery so popular. Get your meat vacuum-sealed for freshness or packed in dry ice for long-distance travel.

They offer only the best mature aged meat, including superb local beef and lamb, Argentinian ribeye, Kobe-style wagyu and Dutch veal. Their meat hangs in carcass for three days. Then their rump, sirloin, fillet, ribeye, T-bone and prime rib are aged for 21-40 days. 

Nothing pairs better with a good cut of meat than a great glass of wine. The Butchers Shop offers their own brand: Pick’s Pick. Their cellar presents a portfolio of outstanding value wines to be enjoyed at the table or at home. This selection is the result of many years of co-operation and friendship with some of the country’s finest winemakers.

A SPECIAL FEATURE

In secret areas within their restaurants are spacious yet intimate private dining rooms and lounges – the perfect sanctuaries for romance, business or celebrations. Designed as individual spaces that offer a unique experience for the most discerning clients, these areas are also ideal for corporate functions, wine pairings and group events. 

We are always pleased to see success stories emerging through this challenging time for our industry. And a very notable one is the new 250 seater Grillroom and Sushi Bar restaurant in Pretoria, proudly one of our clients. High ceilings, loads of natural light and a fresh warm ambience are the makings of this modern, and stylish restaurant. Perfect for special occasions, romantic dinners and business lunches, the restaurant offers an exquisite culinary experience for all palates.

For meat lovers and vegetarians, wine connoisseurs and sushi enthusiasts, the menu boasts a generous selection of modern food with classic overtures. The restaurant is easily accessible, well located and has safe undercover parking within the precinct.

Head Chef, Jamie Sutherland has 36 years cooking experience with a formidable career that has taken him across kitchens in Europe, Asia and Africa.

Jamie trained as a chef in the United Kingdom and started his career in 1984 in Scotland where he worked for a couple of hotel restaurants before moving to London for the next decade honing his skills at top restaurants. He’s travelled widely and had vast experience with French, Asian, Middle Eastern and African cuisine.  His style of food is modern with classic overtures. His love for cooking is only paralleled by his love for teaching and mentoring and has trained many great chefs over the years.