Taking it to the edge

Chef Vusi Ndlovu and restaurateur Absie Pantshwa’s summer residency brings the tastes and stories of Africa to Cape Town’s Shortmarket Street. On a particularly balmy summer’s day, I find myself on the top floor of this heritage building overlooking Cape Town’s city centre.

Just down the road is buzzing Bree Street which, together with the greater precinct, has become the booming epicentre of Cape Town’s foodie scene, boasting everything from steakhouses and pizzerias to modern Mexican, Greek, and Italian dining.

It’s a veritable atlas of culinary influences, though one which, for the most part, overlooks Africa and the plethora of ingredients and flavours it has to offer. Sure, there is the occasional Malay influence or a sprinkling of somewhat passé biltong dust atop a salad but, for the most part, the references at these trendy hotspots are very much inspired by lands abroad. This is, I guess, what makes Edge X Vue so refreshing.

In this rooftop bar turned restaurant, Ndlovu is serving up his interpretation of modern African cooking. A champion of the continent’s cuisine, particularly at this high level of dining, he has spent the past year collaborating with some of the country’s best chefs. But with this summer residency, he showcases something uniquely and wholly his own. At Edge X Vue, he continues to highlight the beauty and depth of Africa’s gastronomic heritage, culinary lore, and abundance, with influences that span both the country and continent.

There are dishes from his acclaimed pop-up at The Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel, which received international acclaim; a few from his collaborations and pop-ups around the country; and a host of new dishes he has created for this new space. Here, the focus is firmly on cooking the very best of Africa’s ingredients over fire and presenting them through a contemporary lens, using modern fine-dining techniques and his minimalist culinary style.

An adaptation that is well suited to the rooftop space and the demands of the inner-city dining crowd, Edge X Vue offers both a five-course tasting menu (dinner only) and an à la carte menu, together with a cocktail menu co-created by the chef and the Vue team featuring a host of drinks that use African ingredients.

To start, there’s the chef’s signature ujeqe, the light and fluffy steamed Zulu bun that you pull apart with your hands and dip in a beef jus that has been reduced to an almost glaze-like consistency, delivering layers of intense, rich flavour. The mussels are a highlight too — don’t expect your typical white-wine sauce here. The chef has cleverly cooked the morsels in a Black Label-beer sauce, serving them with crunchy slices of wood-fire-roasted cabbage for extra texture.

For mains, bokkom shavings are a smoky, salty addition to the tender kingklip, while the tender 42-day-aged Denver steak is served with a Congolese-inspired amaranth verte (a leafy green similar to morogo), diced ox heart, and the most moreish side of creamy pap. It’s a technically precise dish that heroes both less-used cuts of meat and unique African ingredients.

The brilliant menu is built on years of experience and exploration, and when the chef doesn’t know something, he’s not shy about reaching out to his team — a junior chef from the Congo was instrumental in creating the beef dish, and he’s proud to announce it. It’s the same with the produce. Yes, Ndlovu uses all the sustainable suppliers that have become buzzwords on many a Cape Town menu, but he’s just as glad to support the greater African community, such as the women — many of whom are immigrants — who sell vegetables at taxi ranks or who source and blend spices from across the continent in the inner city.

The chef is acutely aware of these merchants’ place in Africa’s culinary story and how they often act as gatekeepers to recipes and techniques that have been passed down through generations, surviving decades of hardship and thousands of kilometres of travel. Add to this the seemingly effortless service and genuine hospitality delivered by Pantshwa and her team, and Edge X Vue ticks all the boxes for locals looking for a delicious spot of dinner and drinks and for tourists in search of a taste of what the continent has to offer.

THE EDGE X VUE

Residency will run till the end of April 2025. 108 Shortmarket Street, Cape Town Tuesday - Saturday, 1-10pm

From the February edition of Wanted, 2025