Haiku

Description:

• Sabi Sabharwal met his Afrikaans wife in Italy and followed her home, an act of love for which Capetonians are truly grateful. A decade later Bhukara is still considered the best Indian restaurant in the country, while Sabharwal's second venture, Haiku, located downstairs (entrance around the corner, on Burg St.), is where local celebrity chefs like Margot Janse (Le Quartier Français) want to eat on the rare occasions they have the night off. While Bhukara specializes in traditional North Indian cuisine, with all the usual suspects on the menu, Haiku, manned by 18 South African and Japanese chefs, has a more adventurous and interesting menu. The patrons are equally intriguing: plenty of producers, models, and ominous-looking men, all of whom are lit to look like extras on a super-stylish film set, all black lattice screens and moody lighting. There's good sushi on offer, but the real deal is the eclectic range of Asian tapas that allows you to sample a delectable array of flavors -- bank on around three to five per person, and share. The place is almost always packed (reserve a few weeks in advance in peak season).

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Highly Recommended 2010