Like most years, the beginning bit flies by and before when you look again, you’re usually somewhere in March. Because of that I don’t feel too bad for this late review, but the experience has stayed with me.
We were invited to Del Mar, a new Mexican restaurant in Camps Bay, that’s owned by Bukhara, so you already know it’s going to be well thought out, consistent, and most importantly, delicious.
Looking back it feels as if I had done a curated Mexican museum tour and that had food were the exhibits. Their menu is pretty large, and at least in my case, needed translation and explaining, which meant that each dish was a contextual building block of the meal.
This all sounds like it would be boring, but the food is delicious, and meticulously made. Their mole (pronounced mohl-A) is incredibly complex and rich, and they have a few different types besides the classic version. They have eight different ceviches, three of which I tasted, and made me grin like an idiot for the longest time. The pork belly was sweet and spicy and made me wonder why all pork isn’t prepared that way. We got to make our own tacos. I was Charlie visiting a wondrous chocolate factory.
The reason I’ve put off this review for so long is that it was all quite different to the norm, so that each element of each dish needs description just to understand it, and then everything I had was so good that either I had to write a very long post describing each and every element, or give enough information to get you there so you can experience it for yourself, and be lost for words as I am now.
It’s refined and authentic, and you should book a table so that you get a view of the beach, and before there’s a long waiting list.
{Note: We were invited by Del Mar. All images and views are my own.}