Cowboys & Cooks: review

Updated review – February 2020- to include current lunch time special menu

Two venues: De Waterkant and Sunset Beach

If you want an excellent piece of grilled kingklip in Cape Town, I always say: “Go to a steakhouse.” 

I stand by that after lunching at Cowboys & Cooks, where I was served an off-the-charts portion of grilled kingklip, served with hand-cut chips – made on site – not from extruded frozen fare.

The city branch of Cowboys & Cooks opened recently (November 2019). This follows its successful operation, located in Sunset Beach, Cape Town, which opened in 2018.  

Cowboys & Cooks is an upper-end steakhouse, combined with wine bar and is stylishly kitted out –wood, leather, glass – hunting lodge mixed with port tavern. Tables are dressed with white linen tablecloths, good quality crockery and glass ware. 

Cowboys & Cooks is headed up by veteran restauranteur Michael Townsend who established Harbour House and has been involved in many food start-ups. 

Cape Town as a port city, has an extensive array of fish/seafood restaurants but for some reason, I am often disappointed at the kingklip on offer. Invariably, a minuscule rubbery shrivelled specimen, is served up. It is as if the line fish gets the attention and hake as the cheaper option is decent but kingklip usually disappointments me. Perhaps steak focused eateries get access to choice cuts of kingklip. The bulk of the menu is meat so they know that they need to satisfy the fish eaters (pescetarians). 

Well, on point, at Cowboys & Cooks, Waterkant, I was served up an excellent serving of kingklip.- which was beyond what I ate recently at a seafood restaurant at the V & A Waterfront. 

I am also partial to excellent chips and was thrilled when I was allowed to substitute the mash on the menu with the chips.

For our Cowboys & Cooks meal, we dined off its lunch special. Two courses for R138 –excellent value. The special is valid from noon 4.30pm at both branches until January 31, 2020. [UPDATE: A new lunch special is in place –at R138 – valid until February 29, 2020. Another lunch special is likely to follow as this has become a popular drawcard.]

The large ala carte menu includes grass fed meat choices– sirloins and so on. It is a meat focussed eatery and I was impressed to see the sizable vegan menu (six items) which includes the much touted Beyond Burger (The Beyond Burger is an imported brand). 

I have been wanting to try the Beyond Burger for a while (it is fairly new in Cape Town) but vegan options are not on the special lunch menu. In addition, I wasn’t going to miss out on kingklip in a steakhouse.

For my starter, I had the heirloom tomato and Bocconi salad which was beautifully plated with pesto and balsamic reduction. 

#Surfertravelguy tucked into calamari which included fried lemon slices marinated in the sauce. He raved and was brought a few more slices to nibble on. He also praised his 200 gram stuk of sirloin, which he washed down with Windhoek light. The beer is priced at a very reasonable R30.

Dining at Cowboys & Cooks was a thoroughly delightful experience in a stylish, light filled city eatery. Next time, I will try something from the vegan menu.

February 2020 update: The current R138 lunch time menu is slightly different to the January 2020 special. Melon and feta is the featured salad. Rump is one of the mains choices and there is line fish. The lunchtime special is valid until February 29, 2020. Another lunch special is likely to follow.

Image credit: Heirloom tomato and Bocconi salad. Picture by TheCapeRobyn/Robyn Cohen. Note: This salad is no longer on the lunch time special menu [Feb 2020] but it is on the ala carte menu. Fabulous salad.

*TheCapeRobyn dined at Cowboys & Cooks courtesy of a voucher received at its launch. The bill would have come to R138 x 2 (R138 for set menu) plus one Windhoek Light at R30 = R306. We paid for the beer and included a tip.

Travel ✈ dining advisory: Cowboys & Cooks -steak and wine Bar

Two venues

✔ 4 Liddle Street, De Waterkant,, Green Point, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa, 8001. Bookings 021 879 2352

✔ Ocean Square, 4 Ocean Way, Sunset Beach, Cape Town, 7441. Bookings 021 879 1923.

✔Hours: Open Mon – Sun: noon to 11pm. Book online https://www.cowboysandcooks.com or call numbers above.