Introducing the newest addition to Cape Town’s eclectic dining scene: Club Kloof.
Located in the heart of the city, this vibrant eatery transcends time with bold scarlet hues, upholstered seating and crisp white tablecloths, all ready to host guests for aperitivos sipped over shared plates.
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The owners of Club Kloof are the same clever duo behind Kloof Street’s neighbourhood favourite, Our Local.
Chef Shayne Shutte, originally from Durban, worked in kitchens across the country before becoming a private chef in Cape Town and Europe. Club Kloof’s co-owner and creative director, Michael Carter, studied in Cape Town and then in Milan before returning to Cape Town 15 years ago.
Their shared love of food and eating with friends led to the opening of Our Local, a small eatery on Kloof Street that started as a small offering of coffee and pastries in the corner of an antique store and nursery and developed into the success it is today.
With Club Kloof, Michael and Shayne started with a completely blank slate. The heritage building in which the restaurant is now housed was ravaged by a fire in December 2021, giving the restauranteurs an opportunity to create what they felt had been missing from Cape Town’s food scene.
Inspired by Italy’s food scene, Michael and Shayne decided to focus on flavour and produce, as well as celebrate Shayne’s unique flavour combinations and layering.
‘Although neither of us is Italian, a love of travel, Italy and the Mediterranean have influenced how we cook, entertain and eat.’
The restaurant is spread across three areas of the fully restored heritage building on Kloof Street, allowing people to gravitate towards what suits them for that particular visit.
Crimson walls, burnt-orange banquettes, a lemon-yellow Amalfi-style bar in the back courtyard and slate floor tiles all pay homage to the legendary 1970s interior designer David Hicks.
Like Hicks’ designs, Club Kloof’s bold colours are daring and sophisticated, creating interiors that are both vibrant and timeless.
‘We knew from the beginning we wanted to be bold with something. We had travelled to London to see how Italian food was interpreted outside of Italy and loved the strong use of colour in interiors.’
They then brought in Tiziana Giardini, an expert paint and colour consultant who grew up in Milan, to work with Michael and Shayne on the interior spaces, as well as their friend and Creative Director Ilana Swanepoel, to help springboard ideas and curate the space.
‘Almost too much time was spent together staring at different colours on walls, layered in different ways and techniques until we finally all agreed—we’re going red, ish.’
Mirrors bounce the designs around the room, and neon lighting illuminates the original pressed ceilings and white tablecloths for a classic feel.
‘We wanted to contrast the boldness of the interior with a very stark exterior, so we kept it completely white. The back courtyard is a burst of yellow, inspired by hidden streets in Italian seaside towns.’
Shayne and Michael refer to their cuisine as ‘Italian-ish,’ claiming that they will not pretend to be Italian, but they do a great version of it.
The focus at Club Kloof is on simple but superior ingredients in a small-plate sharing format, with pillowy but crisp sourdough pizzas with a twist.
Instead of committing to a single dish, the menu allows guests to customise their dining experience.
There’s something for everyone on the menu, from pizzettes with a garlic confit base topped with marinated tomato and buffalo mozzarella, to pork fennel-stuffed olive arancini and baby potatoes roasted and smashed with hazelnut creme fraiche, toasted hazelnuts and deep-fried capers.
Club Kloof’s Pizza in Teglia (or Pizza al Taglio), which is made in the traditional Roman street food style, is a thick, pillowy pizza that is usually baked in huge steel trays in Italian bakeries and sold by the square, wrapped in paper, as a snack while you walk around the piazza.
Chef Shayne brought in a 113-year-old starter and collaborated with Lance Littlefield of Motherdough to train and perfect the sourdough recipes and processes in their new small bakery, which is inspired by Italian classics found in the heart of Milan.
Tradition dictates that the pizza dough ferments for 48 hours before being baked to perfection in a blisteringly hot wood-fired oven.
Guests can order the pizza of the day by the slice or mini pizzette, which are side-plate-sized puffy pizzas with beautiful toppings like mortadella with mozzarella and green-olive butter, anchovies, smoky tomato, capers and garlic confit with fresh tomato and mozzarella.
The menu’s selection of salads includes pickled zucchini with wild rocket and parmesan; woodfired beet baby carrot with whipped feta and a tomato dressing; baby gem parmesan with mint, toasted almonds and dates and a citrus dressing; heirloom tomato, stone fruit and goat cheese with mint and white balsamic dressing; and Fior di latte confit tomato, basil and crispy capers.
The ‘Bowls and Plates’ menu features prawn skewers with lemon and paprika, cannelloni with grilled zucchini-wrapped feta, peas with dill lemon vinaigrette, grilled carrots with ‘all the herbs’ green dressing, farro with toasted pine nuts, roasted broccoli with capers and green olive salsa and more.
The daily pizza in Teglia, which is cooked in special trays for a crunchy base and topped with whatever is fresh and in season, is a Club Kloof menu highlight.
The heirloom tomato and goat cheese salad with mint and white balsamic dressing is also recommended, as are the pork fennel-stuffed arancini, broccoli with caper and green olive salsa, anchovy and caper pizzette and the Maritozzo, a bun filled with mascarpone and sprinkled with pistachio praline.
Now for the wines, cocktails and sweet finishes.
Club Kloof caters to every thirst, from easy-drinking spritzes to slow-sipping spirit-forward martinis to beer on tap. There is also a wine list that includes about 30 wines.
Linger on the front porch for coffee and pastries in the morning, lunch in the sun or afternoon drinks with a view of the hustle and bustle of Kloof Street.
When asked to describe Club Kloof’s mood in four words, Shayne and Michael’s use of the descriptors flavourful, memory-making, intriguing and vibes are perfectly pertinent to Cape Town’s new Italian-ish eatery.
Whether you’re looking for a romantic dinner for two, a family celebration or a night out with friends, Club Kloof has something for everyone.
Details:
- Location: 84 Kloof Street, Cape Town
- Times: Tuesday to Sunday, 8am until late
- Contact: 072 415 3752 | [email protected]
- Website: clubkloof.com
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Picture: Supplied
