La Parada Waterfront: “I was in a snobby mood”
A place you go to for the view or the vibes or if your friends have organized something here. But definitely not for the food.
The view from La Parada
I was ravenous when we sat down, which almost always positively influences your experience of a food/meal. So I ordered the Patatas Bravas to tide me over till my friend and I could decide on which Tapas we wanted to snack on with some MCC Brut after a long day on the beach.
Patatas Bravas (Spiced potatoes, aioli & tomato chutney)
The patatas were mouth puffing-ly hot. They were crispy on the outside and steamy and soft on the inside. The “spiced” element came through in the generous seasoning of what seemed to be a chilli/paprika/cajun salt and was extremely satisfyingly savoury. Hot crispy fried potato dipped into a slightly garlicky (albeit seemingly mass-produced -- the aioli tastes the same at every La Parada and tiger’s milk and harbour houses across cape town) is always a moreish combo and I had to fight the urge not to want to order another portion to share in the midst of the portion of patatas bravas my friend and I were already sharing. The tomato chutney left a lot to be desired. It was slightly too cold and the overly sweetness of the chutney did not complement the spices on the patatas. If I was going the tomato flavour profile dipping sauce route I would probably have enjoyed good old All Gold instead.
I requested the MCC that had not been opened yet, however it tasted slightly flat and warm with the glass being wet when they gave it to me and I did not have any way of seeing them pour the MCC I chose.
Grilled Calamari (Chimichurri, tomato & cucumber with roasted garlic aioli)
I was really looking forward to some sizzling grilled Calamari. When it arrived it, unfortunately, was already “cool”. It had a good texture - wasn’t chewy and tasted fresh. However that’s where my positive reviews of this tapas dish come to an end. The taste of chimichurri was nowhere to be seen or tasted, and rather there was a pool of infused, green oil which while not unpleasant, most certainly didn't do much for the already cold meal. Give me a hot sizzling pool of chilli and garlic olive oil with my calamari tubes and I’ll be chuffed. But this is not meant to be pan-fried. It was grilled calamari and for that it was OK. This green oil was very reminiscent of basil oil which did not help the dish achieve what the menu set out for it. Acidity was required however not provided apart from a bitter/sour note that emerged in the “sauce”. I can see no circumstances where I would enjoy little chunks of warm, par-cooked and slightly soft cucumber. There was plenty of this cucumber. I finished my share of the calamari because, as I said, the texture and taste (bar the temperature) of the dry grilled tubes was edible.
Tuna Tataki (Seared tuna, sesame seeds, avo mousse, angel hair chilli, soy & lemongrass dressing, shaved baby carrots & coriander)
Gosh. Maybe I have been spoiled by tuna tataki from top restaurants or maybe I had the taste of the la Colombe “tuna in a can” in my head, but this was probably the worst tapas dish of the night and entered disappointing territory. I did not finish my portion of the tapas as I did not see the point of eating a dish that was so underwhelming. The tuna was tuna. It was a bit too thickly cut and unseasoned however as far as plain lukewarm tuna goes it was fine. The extreme lack of flavour was unpleasant. At first, I thought I could smell some fish sauce and thought that this would make the fish more flavoursome but when I tasted the dressing I did not get enough of a flavour punch or even a flavour tickle. The large shavings of baby carrots were more like large peels of a baby carrot and didn’t make sense as it was difficult to eat it with the rest of the components. The avo mousse was unremarkable, it didn’t lend anything to the dish as it was shockingly executed. No flavour and slightly brown. I would not be surprised if they had just added some avo to their aioli and called it avo mousse.
Beef Short Ribs (Sticky paprika & orange glazed ribs with orange segments)
It's hard to make this dish look pretty (clearly), the warmth of this dish was a welcome change after the previous two cooler dishes. The actual beef did come off the bone easily but was not soft nor tender. Rather it was chewy and stringy and I found myself attempting to smother the slightly dry piece of meat in the glaze. The glaze was more of a barbeque sauce in resemblance, it was extremely sweet but was ok considering the supposed “sticky” element of the dish. I forgave the short-ribs sweetness and dryness by attempting to imagine it as American style bbq bar food - I was only semi-successful at doing this. I had no urge to eat the fresh orange segments. The flavor was sweetly savory and therefore was edible in its way, however, I would not order the short ribs from La Parada again and still have some of the stringy beef in my teeth.
Briefly, if you’re looking for good, tasty, and authentic tapas, then I wouldn't suggest going to La Parada for that. However, the view of the waterfront harbor is beautiful and feels very holiday-like (however it can get a bit busy on weekend evenings). La Parada is part of the Life and Brand Portfolio, which owns La Parada, Tiger’s Milk, Easy Tiger, Harbour house, The Grand Africa, Live Bait, Lucky Fish and Chips, The Lookout and Old Town Italy. There are many branches of each scattered around Cape Town. So when you go to La Parada, be aware it is a chain restaurant who relies more on its name than its food. I’d suggest rather choosing a smaller owned restaurant with better food, or stick to Patatas Bravas and drinks at La Parada.
Menu items I shared with my dining companion:
Patatas Bravas R46 ; Grilled Calamari R88 ; Tuna Tataki R109 ; Beef Short Ribs R135
1 Dock Rd, Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, Cape Town, 8001 https://laparada.co.za/waterfront/
