6 Spin Street - Brace yourself

I'd like to talk about value-for-money here. I've said before on this blog that value-for-money doesn't mean cheap. What it means is value. For. Money. In other words I'm happy paying R100 for a burger if it is the best I've ever had, or R40 for a beer at &Union. I'll also happily accept a platter of sushi that isn't the greaaaatest if it was ridiculously cheap. If I want free-range lamb from a farm in the Karoo I will pay a premium for it. So...basically, when I eat at a restaurant, or when I shop for produce, I am expecting a direct relationship between what I pay for and what I get. It's pretty simple. Apparently the guys over at 6 Spin Street Restaurant are unfamiliar with the concept though, as I have never seen such a discrepancy between prices charged and quality of food. 

Let's start with the good points though. The restaurant is in a beautifully restored building in town. Pressed ceilings, an original fireplace, a stunning stone facade, huge arched picture windows and parquet flooring. The restaurant shares the space with a few racks of books (made to seem even more like a library by the fact that the atmosphere was deathly quiet) and art hangs on the walls. Really, it's a great space. 

I'm not going to spend too long on the food because...well because I get in a bad mood when I talk about it. Power had a piece of kingklip with a tomato and feta sauce which came in at R105. It was a piece of fish on a plate. I had their special of the day which was crispy duck. It was a piece of duck on a plate. When the bill arrived I discovered it was R175. I have eaten all over Cape Town and never been charged that much for duck. Forget the fact that it was actually extremely average. They were also running a special from Phillippa Cheifitz (who I love by the way), where you could try a few dishes from her book, South Africa Eats. Well, it's a great idea but unfortunately it was butchered. The tuna from Phillippa's recipe (which she serves with sweet potato soup) was overcooked so badly it was inedible. A yellowtail and haricot bean salad suffered similarly overcooked fish, was terribly dry and we left half of that too.  Service throughout the meal was appalling (let's keep in mind we were the only people there) and presentation of all the dishes was amateurish. In fact, I've been to loads of dinner parties where the host/hostess's food tasted and looked in another league. 

I understand teething problems but these guys have far more deep-rooted problems. You simply cannot charge these prices and get away with it. We have far too many other options in Cape Town. 

Oh, I drove around for 20 minutes trying to find parking. Good luck with that. 

Cheers,

Jamie Who

6 Spin Street is on...umm...Spin Street. Here is the web address www.6spinstreet.co.za

P.S. I didn't want to put a picture of the food up. I like my blog too much for that.