A feast of flavour in Franschhoek

Think Franschhoek dining, and French cuisine comes to mind — a homage to the wine farms surrounding the Western Cape village. Or the burger bar, offering a quick bite for one of the throng of summer tourists. You don’t really expect to visit the picturesque town — sometimes called the food and wine capital of South Africa — to sample Southeast Asian specialities. But head to Ōku, and you’re in for a treat of bao buns and Asian plates.

Ōku is not so much about fine dining as slow, experiential eating, where you’re encouraged to savour flavours while connecting with your dining companions, says owner Ryan Shell. The décor lends itself to that: natural light streams in through windows on three sides of the restaurant, and stylised wooden furniture and floors create an elegant yet casual environment.

“For me if people say they’re going to fine dining, I feel I’ve got to go in a suit and a tie, whereas here I want people to come in their flippies,” says Shell. “You want to be a little underground — you want to be known but not too much, you want to be a hidden gem.”

Oku means oak in Japanese, providing a natural inspiration for the restaurant. But look a bit further and you’ll find other definitions: private; intimate; deep; pertaining to the idea of “inwardness”. It certainly resonates: there’s something quite meditative about being served “bonsai-like” meals — often bite-sized.

There’s a sense of the thought and effort that go into each plate — each is a riot of colour and punch (some perhaps a little too punchy for me). There’s a sense of the exotic about the experience that’s buoyed by the beautiful presentation. Varied textures and colours, and gorgeous plants and vegetables, make for a sense of lightness and interesting combinations.

Chef Blaine Coetzer says this is all about clean eating. “It’s not a lot of butter and dairy,” he says. “You can eat a lot of it and still feel good afterwards.”

Ōku offers both an à la carte and a set kaiseki menu, comprising lots of little courses. The menus change every two weeks or so in order to showcase the best of the season’s offerings (the ingredients are local). If you call ahead, the restaurant can cater to your specific dietary requirements.

The 11-course kaiseki experience is a feast of Japanese milk bread, Saldanha Bay oysters, yellowtail nigiri, prawn toast, hot and sour mame broth (beans, mange tout, tofu), edamame (edamame, Chinese cabbage, red pepper, smoked aubergine, kale and lime) and chicken gyoza (pan-fried gyoza, charred corn and chicken broth). Dessert was a matcha coconut custard with a delightful add-on of miso caramel fudge, homemade blueberry marshmallows, meringue and a fortune cookie. 

There is the option of having a wine tasting or sake with the meal, and cocktails and mocktails are a delight, adding dashes of colour and taste that aren’t overpowering.

The knowledge and professionalism of the staff also stand out; they’re informative but not obtrusive. And, behind the scenes, the goal is to turn the 20-odd employees into business owners themselves over a few years.

‘Enhancing ideas’

Shell is no newcomer to the trade. He’s worked at Haute Cabrière, Le Quartier Francais, The Tasting Room and Michelin-star restaurant Longueville Manor on the British island of Jersey.

As for Franschhoek, he’s been here on and off since about 2006.

The story that best encapsulates Franschhoek, he says, is what happened during Covid. You could walk down the road and there was not a person in sight, but the restaurants had been turned into soup kitchens, with food distributed to lower-income areas.

“To me that tells the story of Franschhoek. You never feel like you’re in competition with each other, it’s very much a community, everybody works together. There’s a lot of enhancing of ideas,” he says.

It is, however, a difficult place to own a business. “We’re very busy in the summertime and exceptionally quiet in the winter ... It’s tricky to get the balance right ... but it’s a beautiful place to live.”

This story was originally published in the Finacial Mail.