Freddie Dias returns to Marabi Club

Driving to the Marabi Club in New Doornfontein, one meets the gritty remnants of one of Johannesburg’s first suburbs in renewal. Inside, this plays out as history and modernity coalesce in the warmth and luxury of the jazz club’s pampering service.

The Marabi Club’s name is taken from a style of music and dance that evolved in the 1920s and 1930s. Energetic and improvisational, this musical subculture reflects the lifestyle of the people living in Doornfontein’s slumyards with theirbeer-brewing shebeens and Marabi dance parties.

Rustic tones in the décor purposefully reflect historical details of the time to give the space nuance.

The Marabi Club has consistently attracted a fine calibre of young chefs — from Freddie Dias and Vusi Ndlovu to Katlego Mlambo. Dias, working under Luke Dale Roberts, led a pop-up Pot Luck Club that opened at the Marabi Club in 2017.

He has since made a name for himself, heading kitchens at reputable hotel restaurants such as Basalt, Sejour and Sebule. His return to the Marabi Club in the basement of Hallmark House Hotel marks a full-circle moment.

Marabi Club reopened recently after a minor tweak to the floor plan design that allows for seated dining or popping in for drink, as well as a rejuvenated menu that includes a few new dishes designed by Dias — with more to come. He’ll also guide the menu for Hallmark House Hotel’s Thorn restaurant.

Of his return to Marabi Club and his menu plans, Dias said: “I wanted to make a menu that was reminiscent of the Marabi we opened in 2017, but also new and updated. One that reflects the Joburg we are in. Curiosity is always a central theme around the way I cook.

“I always want to try new things and push a little bit more, whilst understanding that this has to appeal to the guest of Marabi. I love all food from around the world and I never wanted to be tied down to a specific cuisine or style. I want to develop my cuisine through my curiosity.”

The menu is set to a musical theme for different occasions ranging from romantic and serene to celebratory and audacious. It’s a sharing-style menu with different plates that can be mixed and matched to complement the lively ambience of the space. Popular dishes such as the fish tacos — that play out like a symphony of flavours in your mouth with pickled ginger, jalapeño, avocado and passion fruit — are still there.

They are accompanied by a new Vietnamese duck dish that is a beautiful composition of bold, subtle and fresh southeast Asian flavours, with coriander chutney and Asian slaw.

Go for the tempura shimeji mushrooms with seaweed mayo and furikake spice. It has bounds of comforting nostalgia and hints of newness.

For dessert, the pretty and vibrant Notorious Naartjie stands out with its black pepper crème, catalan, citrus gummies, honeycomb and pistachio. Try it if you’re in a celebratory mood. It’s one Dias is proud of. “I enjoy making desserts and I love naartjies, and this was a lot of fun to develop,” he said.

Dias does not want to be too rigid about menu changes ahead. “I want to change dishes as seasons change, new ingredients come in or even when some dishes become old and tired. I wanted to strike the balance between keeping consistency in quality, keeping things on for their popularity and keeping things fresh.”

The Marabi Club has a wood-fired pizza oven in the kitchen. But Dias has no intension of putting pizza on the menu. He’d love to use it to make different breads, or even slow roast meats in it.

All will be steadily revealed as he brings stylistic changes to the menu while remaining true to Marabi Club's signature offerings.