Flamingo - Restaurant Reviews - Hansa Hotel, Swakopmund
The 104-year-old Hansa Hotel exudes the feeling of an established quality hotel. The large staircase winds up from the reception area and doorways lead into the light relaxed Terrace restaurant, fronting onto a leafy courtyard.
The chandelier light fittings, large vase of St Joseph’s lilies and experienced staff leave no doubt as to where you are. Without opulence, hype or pretence, the service is good, and the food well presented, wholesome and delicious. Fresh olive bread is served with an excellent Bonnievale Cellar white-wine blend, setting the mood for a fuss-free meal. The ambience is enhanced by soothing background music that smooths out the day’s remaining ruffles.
A lunch specials menu changes daily. On the day of my visit it included a cream of paprika soup with feta flakes, a fillet of hake Florentine and chicken Sri Lanka – fried strips of chicken breast in a saffron-curry sauce, garnished with flambéed litchis. The meal is rounded off with a mouth-watering coconut milk yoghurt ice cream on a brandy chocolate sauce. The specials menu is extremely popular with regular clientele, who often don’t bother to read past the first page.
The à-la-carte menu caters for all tastes, offering a selection of soups and ‘small items’ including Walvis Bay oysters, snails and fresh Swakop asparagus when in season, fish dishes, mains, desserts and a kiddies corner.
I am assured by Tobias Hein, the deputy general manager of the Hansa Hotel (he has spent nine years at the establishment), that everything is made from scratch in the old traditional way, and is freshly prepared. “It’s the real deal, the old school of classical cuisine cooking. The Hansa has a brigade of chefs, including an executive Namibian ‘German master chef’ and a sous chef with vast experience gained working in London and Israel. One of the senior chefs, Petrus Asheeke, has worked in the Hansa kitchen for 36 years. According to Tobias, Petrus can prepare fish better than anyone he knows.
Dinners at the Hansa Hotel are more formal and refined than the lunches, although the only dress requirement is that guests are requested to wear long trousers and shirts rather than shorts and T-shirts. Dinner is served in the hotel dining room and it is best to book in advance. From the large leather-bound menu written in German and English (with a separate menu available in French and Italian), the diner can glean a hint of the forthcoming dining experience. The menu is more French-style cuisine than the continental lunches and has a slight German nuance, visible in the game dishes with berry sauces complementing the wild flavour of the meat. Hansa specialities include chateaubriand, which is presented on a glittering silver service and carved with a flourish right at your table, and flambées served ‘flamboyantly’ from the flambée trolley, creating delectable dishes and sensational entertainment.
I end off my less extravagant lunch with the coconut yoghurt ice cream dessert special, which arrives served with slices of plums and strawberries, sprinkled with almonds and a generous quantity of choco-late sauce, with Hansa Hotel beautifully inscribed in chocolate on the side of the plate. My mocca coffee is a coffee experience, made at the table with a Cona natural filtration system whereby the water boiling upwards draws the coffee down, looking like a stylish science experiment, and served in a small cup with cream and a bite-size piece of cake.
The relaxing Hansa lunch has, in a very simple and subtle way, satisfied the senses, with crisp wine and good bread, the colourful greens of freshly prepared vegetables, the sweet surprise and coffee treat, leaving absolutely no space or desire for additional cherries on the top.
FACT FILE Hansa Hotel, Swakopmund 3 Hendrik Witbooi Street Open for lunch and dinner every day Tel: 064 41 4200, e-mail: info@hansahotel.com.na
