With a focus on providing only the finest, authentic Italian food, a visit to The Cousins Trattoria, nestled in the heart of Cape Town, will take you from the Mother City to grandma’s kitchen in the old country.
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Unlike many Italian eateries, you won’t find pizza on the menu, spaghetti bolognese or even Alfredo.
These might be perennial favourites around the world, but The Cousins places tradition ahead of trendy and focuses on food native to the Italian region of Romagna, just like ‘Nonna’ used to make it.
This family-owned eatery was founded in 2012 when cousins Simone Briganti and Andrea Biondi, who had relocated from Romagna to Cape Town some years earlier, felt that the city was lacking in the quality of food they fondly remember coming out of their grandmother’s kitchen back home.
They were later joined by a third cousin, Luca Pantani, who handles front-of-house.
‘Our specialty is homemade pasta,’ Luca explains. ‘We offer nearly a dozen different options which are all handmade every morning for our evening service.’
‘Even in our region of Italy, it’s unusual for a restaurant to offer such a large variety.’
‘As we are using fresh ingredients, it doesn’t have a very long shelf life so producing pasta every day is absolutely essential to our ethos.’
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‘It also makes our product quite different and far superior to what you buy in the supermarket.’
The restaurant is tucked away in Barrack Street, a stone’s throw away from Parliament, in the heart of the CBD and has proven a massive success in an area where many eateries have fallen by the wayside.
‘Overtime, there have been several Italian restaurants in the vicinity that closed down after a year or two,’ Luca recalls. ‘Barrack Street isn’t Camps Bay.’
‘It doesn’t have the ocean views that have tourists flocking to the area so we knew that if we don’t do things differently, we would be joining the list of unsuccessful eateries who were making great food but lost their originality and authenticity along the way by giving in to South African requests.’
‘We knew that the only way to succeed was to follow our grandmother’s recipes and create a traditional Italian dining experience.’
‘We don’t waiver from our beliefs and if a customer is not happy, we would rather have them walk out than compromise on our vision.’
‘We’ve actually found that having people leave our restaurant because we refuse to adapt our recipes to their tastes tends to be good for business because they go to their friends and tell them of this hidden gem in the CBD that turned them away.’
‘It was difficult for the first few years but we knew that our grandmother’s recipes were the key to our success.’
Simplicity and authenticity have paid off for The Cousins and the restaurant is a hive of activity on a nightly basis.
With few frills, food takes centre stage at the trattoria, where diners can enjoy a romantic candlelit dinner and phenomenal service in a comfortable yet intimate setting.
‘We try to create a very homely environment and didn’t spend a fortune on garish decor,’ Luca explains.
‘Typically, a trattoria is a type of restaurant in the Italian countryside where the nonna (grandmother) would be cooking for the family before eventually adding a few tables for visitors to the area.’
‘It then became a concept or style of restaurant which is what we wanted to recreate.’
The food may be authentic but it remains rather unique to many South African palates.
While the restaurant does offer an à la carte menu, the seasonal specials are highly recommended.
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Prices are higher than some of their competition, but the portions are extremely generous and sure to drive any hunger pains away.
On our recent visit, we were treated to a delicious crostini misti starter, followed by caramelle ai gamberi, a squid-ink candy-shaped pasta filled with prawns, lemon juice, white wine and garlic resting on a bed of creamy prawn bisque and topped with pan-fried king prawns.
This was topped off in true Italian style with a delectable tiramisu for dessert, easily the highlight of our visit.
To complement the food, The Cousins also serves the best Italian wine.
The warm ambiance and attention to detail make dining at the trattoria a sensory delight. Join the cousins and indulge in the genuine flavours of Italian country cooking.
Details:
- Location: 3b Barrack Street, CBD, Cape Town
- Contact: 0832739604 from 2pm | [email protected] | WhatsApp: 0832739604
- Website: thecousinsrestaurant.com
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Picture: thecousinsrestaurant / Instagram