70 Keerom Street, Cape Town Central, South Africa
Cuisine:
Italian, Sudanese
Good for:
Dinner, Late Night, Reservations
Carne
19 Visitor Photos +
REVIEWS
3 Reviews
70 Keerom Street, Cape Town Central, South Africa
Expert Review
Carne comes highly recommended as part of several restaurants owned by the same acclaimed chef. I am a big fan of...
Carne comes highly recommended as part of several restaurants owned by the same acclaimed chef. I am a big fan of meat for a meal, so this place is right up my alley. Be forewarned … if you are a vegetarian or don’t like the sight of raw meat in front of you, avoid, avoid, avoid. But even Becca, who isn’t really the carnivore that I am, got into the scene. The restaurant itself is downstairs and almost cavernous. It is cozy, dark and even romantic, which makes the mood perfect for the food. Even on a Monday night, the dining room was full. The waitress was very knowledgeable and a true professional. She immediately impressed with her vast knowledge of the wine on the menu. Okay, now things started to get good. She brought a tray of raw meat over to the table for us to see what was offered that evening. Brilliant!!! I selected the “adventurous” game selection consisting of ostrich, kudu, wild boar, wildebeest and impala. It was a phenomenal plate of food and absolutely delicious. I could not have ordered a better meal and I found it perfect. I love crazy food and this definitely met my expectations. I did ask for my meat to be cooked on the more rare side, and I joked that if it was blue I would not be upset. I was urged to order a certain cooking temperature, and in retrospect I should have insisted that I did, in fact, like my meat more rare than how the suggestion implied the meat would be prepared. If you get a steak, a second tray of meat will come to the table so that you can pick the actual cut of meat the kitchen is going to take to prepare for you. The meat is tagged with your name and off it goes. I love that concept. Excellent food, excellent process, a favorite for me!
Expert Review
Let me preface this review by saying I am not a big meat eater. I was a vegetarian for most...
Let me preface this review by saying I am not a big meat eater. I was a vegetarian for most of my life, and I still get squeamish looking at raw meat. So Carne was not exactly my kind of restaurant. It is however right up my best friend Aniela’s alley, and since I had chosen where we ate the night before, tonight was her pick.
Tucked away at the end of a dead-end street just away from the chaos of Long Street in the CBD, Carne is a very good-looking steakhouse. The sleek but rustic restaurant features low lighting and lots of starkly minimal stone and wood with seating in a basement cellar down a short flight of stairs from the entrance and bar area.
A Giorgio Nava, who is a well-known chef and restaurateur in Cape Town, creation, like its moniker suggests, Carne focuses on meat from a variety of animals. After you’ve been seated and ordered drinks – they have Jack Black craft beer on tap and a lengthy wine list – the waiter will come over with a platter of meats and explain what each cut is –the selection changes daily but will include both traditional beef cuts and game meat.
I didn’t do any of the choosing at Carne, Aniela and the very well trained server took care of that. And honestly, I learned a lot while ordering, as before dining here, I had no idea the cut of beef taken from kidney area is known as “hanger steak” and is choice for those whose pallets that enjoy a gamey taste. When Aniela finished with the server we had cuts of beef, buffalo, wildebeest, ostrich and kudu on the way. Most were ordered rare, although Aniela indulged me and got the beef medium so I’d at least taste it. We also ordered a couple of sides – the sautéed spinach (which was delicious) and the potato mash (also delicious) as well as sauces (I liked the mushroom) for the meat.
The cuts were served on a sizzling platter, and while Aniela would have preferred hers to be more rare, I thought my steak came out perfectly, and I must admit for a person who normally doesn’t enjoy the taste of red meat, this steak was delicious. In the future, if I am going to eat a steak, I will go to Carne. You’ll have to read Aniela’s review for a take on the game meat.
Expert Review
Carne, as the name would suggest, is all about meat and purports to serve only the finest available in South...
Carne, as the name would suggest, is all about meat and purports to serve only the finest available in South Africa. As diners enter the restaurant, they pass a meat case with a variety of bright red cuts on display. It’s a steakhouse with a more modern décor than most others and an Italian theme. Reservations are definitely recommended as seating is limited and is mostly in an underground section. There are a few tables upstairs with a bar.
Upon taking a seat at Carne, and just as a delicious beef meatball and bread basket showed up, a waiter came around with an impressively large platter of raw meat to explain the menu and show all the different options—mostly beef cuts but also lamb and pork. This was quite informative and entertaining. I decided to go with the house specialty, the La Costata di Manzo, or beef prime rib on the bone. Subsequently, a different waiter brought an entire tray of raw cuts of beef prime rib on the bone for me to choose from, each with a handwritten tag showing its weight and price. These things were pretty pricey, so I went with a small one. From there, I chose a side—fries, fried potatoes, mashed potatoes, broccoli, spinach, or salad.
My steak came with a different side than what I’d ordered, and it was pretty far on the rare side of the medium rare that I requested, but nevertheless it was still good. For the price and considering all the pomp and circumstance around selecting the cut, I think there are better steaks to be had in Cape Town. Additionally, the presentation on flat, slate-looking slabs is attractive, but they don’t seem to hold warmth in the food very well. As an experience, Carne is an interesting place, and is good for a special night out if you don’t mind the prices. And the dark chocolate hot fondant dessert won me over…delicious.