East City Cafe

Description:

• It's subtitled the Grand Cafe, and the tag fits. It's imposing, almost austere, and redolent with atmosphere. You can almost imagine a young Sinatra carousing at a corner table and Hemingway being vulgar in the cigar lounge. The East City Cafe is unequivocally the most impressive thing that Cape Town's restaurant dynamo, Cleon Romano, has done so far. A fabulous Art Deco motif stretches from brass-clad pillars topped by bulbous deco light features to a wondrous deco clock that imposes itself on a wall near the cigar lounge. The leather armchairs have to be sat in to be believed. The whole effect is very American and you feel like you could really be at a cool venue on a New York street some time in by-gone days. On the menu, it's a contemporary whirl through hot and cold Tapas, Eastern and Western flavors and fusions, Crisp Salads and Grand Grills. Although the wine list is slightly restricted, the East City Cafe generally has a please-all menu.
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