Located at the V&A Waterfront, COY, known for its curated and refined dining experience that brings local and African flavours to the forefront with ocean cuisine woven throughout its menu, has launched a new offering, the COY EDIT.
In homage to laid-back summer lunches, the menu features 16 small plates that have been carefully curated to showcase the season's bounty and offer the freedom of choice, an alternative to the traditional lunch dining experience.
“We wanted to create something accessible, unpretentious, and unpredictable,” points out Geoffrey Abrahams, co-head chef at COY.
Known for their innovative approach, while heroing local ingredients and culinary flair, the head chef duo, Teenola Govender and Geoffrey Abrahams, have worked alongside their talented team to create an offering that nods to the restaurant's ethos.
“No matter the occasion, COY offers a tailored experience. This menu is a celebration of our space, our people, and our guests," adds Teenola Govender, co-head chef at COY.
Flavour, nostalgia and South African flair
The extensive menu celebrates diverse tastes and preferences, shaped by lived experience and inspired by nostalgia.
Embuing their heart into the new offering, the menu showcases the team’s favourite dishes reimagined with a fresh twist, highlighting hyper-seasonality, fermentation, and more, all viewed through a distinctly South African lens.
A standout plate on the menu that would have Colonel Harland Sanders shaking in his boots is G's Fried Chicken. Developed by young chef Gopolang Modika, this dish features chicken salt, Habanero Hot Honey, and an unlikely yet perfect addition of blue cheese as a dipping sauce.
The result? A dish that will have you ordering seconds.
Teenola shares that the inspiration behind this dish came from chef Gopolang's love for Fried Chicken, “We challenged him to create a version for the EDIT, and he delivered something truly his own. It’s always exciting to see a young chef take ownership like that.”
A dish that nods to South African home cooking and draws inspiration from a family staple in head chef Geoffrey’s household is the Lourensford Trout with Tomato Smoortjie. The dish brings together chargrilled trout with peas, house-made merguez sausage, and tomato and onion stew.
Known for incorporating a sense of personality and thoughtful consideration into each of the dishes, the head chef duo has ensured that each dish features"some spice, some heat and attitude," shares Geoffrey.
Other small plates include flank steak with West African pepper sauce, Namibian oysters with fermented habanero and suya, malted spelt sourdough with marmite butter and Teff Cracker Ice cream, baobab manjari paired with the first Ceres cherries of the season stewed.
If one had to sum up the essence of the new menu in just three ingredients, it would include Scotch bonnets, Amasi, and beef fat, along with time, as Teenola adds, "Because every dish here has been given the time it deserves.”
Catering to dietary requirements, a vegan and vegetarian menu is available upon request.
The COY EDIT offering is available for lunch and as evening bar-snacking.
Need to know:
Address: Shop 151, The Scherwyn Pavilion Building, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town.
Operating hours: Monday to Sunday from 12pm to 8.30pm.