A Lovely Date Night At Towers Restaurant {Guest Blogger}

A couple of weeks ago, we were invited to Towers Restaurant at the Cape Town Marriott Hotel Crystal Towers in Century City to experience their Date Night Special which happens every Wednesday night from 6pm. As I was unable to attend, my fellow foodie blogger Teresa from Cupcakes and Couscous (and her husband) went as a representative of Date Nights. And here’s what she has to say about their Date Night 🙂

When you are the parents of small children date nights are suddenly few and far between. (Do school parents’ evenings count? I didn’t think so.) Not to mention that any break from the cooking and washing up is always welcome! So my husband and I were thrilled to have the opportunity to experience Date Night at the Towers Restaurant at the Cape Town Marriott Hotel Crystal Towers in Century City.

The hotel is conveniently located not far from the city and the suburbs with parking right outside. We were given a warm welcome on arrival and shown to our table in a private dining area. Usually I love being close to the hustle and bustle of a restaurant kitchen and watching what the chef is up to, but on this evening it was lovely to be in a quieter section where we could relax and chat. There were about six tables in the dining area and a lovely big fireplace to keep us cosy, and although there were other diners there we never felt as though anyone was on top of us.

We started off our meal with some delicious, fresh home baked bread and a trio of flavoured butters – basil pesto, “red velvet” tomato and regular. Our friendly waiter, Zola brought us our wine which we sipped while we perused the menu. The Date Night promotion offers a set menu including one starter, a choice of two mains, one dessert and a bottle of wine. My husband and I eat just about everything so the small menu was not a problem for us, but it is very limited for guests that have special dietary requirements.

Our starter was a chicken and corn chowder. The presentation was delightful – we were each presented with a bowl containing a ring of sweetcorn, chicken, croutons and micro herbs which was then filled with creamy soup in front of us. The chowder was very tasty and we left very clean bowls behind! After our soup we enjoyed a creamy strawberry sorbet palette cleanser.

Photo courtesy of Towers Restaurant

Next it was on to mains. I ordered the line fish which was poached Moonfish served on mackerel risotto with baby squid and cauliflower purée. The fish was cooked beautifully, but unfortunately the risotto was underdone and had a very strong flavour that overpowered the fish. The presentation was fantastic, a really gorgeous plate of food. My husband had the beef rib with a beef shoulder tagine, tahini and chickpeas. We both agreed that the beef was cooked perfectly, it was so tender, but the beef shoulder tagine was the favourite – absolutely delicious!

We were getting pretty full by that point thanks to the generous portion sizes, but we could not skip out on dessert which sounded so enticing. We were served another beautiful plate with a meringue topped lemon slice, white chocolate ganache, ice cream and a green tea spoom. I am not a big fan of green tea so the froth did not do it for me personally, but I loved the rest of the dessert. Lemon is one of my favourite flavours and it was a scrumptious way to end off our meal. We also had a chance to speak to chef Henrico who is the creative behind the menu and thank him for the fabulous feast. 

Overall I think that the Date Night special is good value for money at R500 for the three courses and wine, especially given the generous portion sizes. The serving staff were very friendly and attentive without hovering over us. The special is on every Wednesday from 6pm onwards, and if you are wanting to plan an evening out with your special someone then this is a good one to try! 

Disclaimer: I was invited to experience Date Night as a guest of Towers Restaurant in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own. 

Teresa Ulyate is the passionate foodie behind Cupcakes and Couscous, a South African food blog. Her love for baking and cooking started in childhood and she went on to study food and has years of experience in the food industry. She currently works from home in Cape Town as a freelance recipe developer.  For more on Teresa you can visit her at Cupcakes and Couscous or find her on social media.

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