If You Are Going To Love Me, Love Me To The Nines

Love and life; food, family and friends; moments and memories; some things should never be half-done. Life’s too short and bad lunches are too long.

And so it is: enter The Nines. A rooftop restaurant and cocktail lounge that refuses to compromise where it counts.

Hosted on the ninth floor of Station House at nineteen Kloof Road, The Nines casts an inimitable figure over upper Sea Point.

Two-hundred-and-seventy-degree views provide a rare perspective of sea point and her surrounds, magnified by floor-to-ceiling glass with the various vistas competing for centre stage.

It’s hard to look past the crisp blue Atlantic; such is its impression on the space and its ease of meeting the blue sky at the horizon. (Though Lion’s Head on a full-moon summer night may disagree.)

Given its lofty orientation, you’d be forgiven for doubting its accessibility. But ample, secure parking and ground-floor access all lead ably to an elevator and an invitation to press nines for your destination.

What a first impression!

Your journey upward opens directly onto the restaurant (we understand the power of first impressions) and what’s immediately apparent is the elegant comfort of the room.

Organic shades of sand, tan and stone hint to attention to detail paid to materials; while generosity is evident in all forms – from chairs, to tables, to the kind of couches you just want to lean into. This is a space designed for lunches that all too quickly become suppers; casual drinks that unanimously turn into unforgettable dinner parties. With a dining room, lounge, cocktail bar and two-hundred-square-metre deck, the question is not will you stay, but how long?

A question the food does well to answer, with a strong argument. Very long in fact. With a menu that reads like a well-structured story, guests are invited to take their time and settle in for the ride. We highly recommend the scenic route, lingering over beginnings, middles and endings, with equal enthusiasm. Whatever your preference, it’s imminently clear that true to form, this is a menu that doesn’t compromise.

The Lates Sea Bass, Lezena Spatchcock Roast Chicken and the Seafood Risotto jostle for attention, amongst a repertoire of standouts, that speak to provenance and produce-forward cooking. This is a confident and contemporary expression of the dishes and drinks we love. This is restaurant classics done right.

So, while it’s true that no one stumbles past the ninth floor of a building, you’d be wise to seek this one out.

If you’re going to take me, take me to The Nines, they say.

And to that, we say, indeed.

A three-course meal in three verses.

The best things in life are three.

Beginnings, middles and endings: the cornerstone of any good tale, everyone knows that. Three threes are nine, since we’re here to take you to the nines. And so: Three of our favourite three-course menus – from the land, the earth and the sea.

From the land

To begin: Belnori goats cheese with kataifi, terra madre apple and walnut
The middle: Riebeek-Kasteel lamb loin cutlets served with charred summer vegetables, garden herbs and pepper sauce
To end: vanilla fromage frais cheesecake with lavender honey, blueberry sorbet and almond crumble

From the earth (V)

To begin: muse garden raw baby vegetables with mustard dressing
The middle: asparagus risotto with cream, lemon and reggiano
To end: sixty dour percent Valrhona chocolate bomb with warm ganache, peanut mousse and caramelized banana ice cream

From the sea (P)

To begin: Benguela current Saldanha Bay oysters with a Louis Roederer rose mignonette
The middle: the seafood risotto shows off the ocean with a symphony of white tiger prawns, Patagonian calamari, langoustine, seabass, Saldanha bay black mussels, pomodoro and mascarpone
To end: milk and West Coast raw honey served with milk ice cream, honey-oat shortbread and brittle

You won’t want to miss out on an experience at The Nines.