I have eaten at Baia in the Waterfront once before and it was one of my better dining experiences, I’m not sure why I didn’t review it at the time. I went last night for the second time and was impressed again.
Last time I went I had the linefish (R95) and remember being happy with it. One person at our table had the linefish with rice and vegetables and was very happy with his Cape Salmon. The veggies looked nice and fresh and not over cooked. The other option we tried on the previous visit was the Baby Kinglip (R110) which is the whole fish and it is enormous. I hadn’t realised fully grown Kinglip is actually a huge fish.
On my previous visit, some of our table ordered shellfish and I remembered being invious, so this time, I decided to spoil myself and join my friends in ordering shellfish. One person had the Prawns Nacionale, which are oven baked in a beer and chilli sauce. The other person had the Langoustines, which were grilled with olive oil and fresh lemon juice. I had the Ladies Platter which consisted of 3 Langoustines and 3 King Prawns. All 3 of the shellfish dishes cost just under R300 each. They were all excellent. It is quite an extravagance, but I seldom do it and thought if I am going to do it, this is the place.
The thing about Baia is the service. Even when I phoned to book a table they were helpful and when we arrived they were happy to accomodate us by moving us to an outside table. The waiters really know what they are doing, they know the menu well and are switched on. Last time we went, we had 2 waiters for our table, which is a rare and beautiful experience. This time we only had 1 but he was very good. I didn’t get the feeling I was being ‘upsold’ the whole time which is definitely the case at Pigalle (the sister restaurant of Baia). In case you’re thinking, R300 seafood platters sounds upsold to me, they were not at his recommendation.
The decor at Baia is really elegant and having a view of the Waterfront harbour at night is quite special. The chairs are nice and comfortable and everything is really clean. there is some interesting art on the walls and the hostess is really hot.
The wine list is quite pricey (most over R150) but the wines are really good. We had a Rupert & Rothschild Classique (R178) followed by a Haute Cabriere Pinot Noir (R220).
My dinner at Baia was a fantastic dining experience, and while it was quite pricey, that was our own choice.
Baia
V&A Waterfront
021 421 0935
Comments
One response to “Baia Review”
We eat at Baia about once every two months and it has progressed from one of my favourite CPT long lunch/long dinner restaurants to my least. They serve quicker than they do at Primi – so quick infact that the last time we were there our main arrived while we were still eating our starter. So a tip if you are going to go there – only order your next course when you are ready to eat it. The worst part about Baia was to notice an item that has crept onto their menu – shark!!!! Come on guys….serve to preserve!