Pigalle is a formal restaurant with a Portuguese slant. It has three locations in Johannesburg and one in the heart of Cape Town’s Green Point neighborhood. The Cape Town branch is open for lunch and dinner with quite a different atmosphere between the two. Lunch is pretty quiet in the expansive restaurant, and would be good for a business meeting. Evenings, I’m told, are much more lively, and there is live swing, salsa, and jazz music every night. The restaurant is huge with seating potential for 400 guests.

Pigalle is known for seafood and steaks. I’m a sucker for peri peri, the Mozambican spicy peppery sauce, so I tried the peri peri chicken livers for a starter and the queen prawns for the main course. As expected, both were very tasty. Peri peri chicken livers are a popular dish in South Africa, and they are sautéed rather than fried in a tasty, spicy tomato, garlic, and pepper sauce. It’s really nice if you enjoy livers. The queen prawns that I ordered were really good sized, and eight of them came on the plate. They were very tasty in a nice spicy sauce. There are also some nice steak options available as well as ostrich, lamb, and springbok. The food at Pigalle is very similar to that on offer at the new NV 80 in Sea Point opened by the same owners.

The service was very friendly and efficient. The atmosphere and décor is a little on the garish side for lunch, but I’m sure it looks nicer in an evening setting. Prices are also a little high, but they are okay if you consider that you’re also paying for the entertainers. If you are not interested in live music, rather go to NV 80. Pigalle can be a little difficult to find based on the map because it’s slightly hidden away. You have to pull into a small alleyway that looks somewhat industrial; then, the restaurant entrance is hidden across from the parking garage.