The secret lounge of Sea Point: 5 stars, 24 hours a day

Hôtel Le Vendóme, London Road, Sea Point, 021 4391200

What treasures and charms does Sea Point have on offer? Laughton's Hardware, New York Bagels (distressingly no longer there, the windows say Primi Piatti is on the way), the SABC building adorned with its falling bronze muse and signs of the zodiac; the park across from there with a little play ossewa amidst the swings and roundabout; my grandmother in Bordeaux (maybe the biggest block in Sea Point). Quickly add to the list Le Salon Chantilly in Hôtel Le Vendóme on London Road to allay any uncharitable thoughts that Sea Point might just be a little short of  things that are good.

We had been in Sea Point the day before to look at a flat on London Road. We are professional lookers-at-flats so that is often why we are in areas where they are to be found. It was a Sunday on the weekend of a big storm that had made the front pages of the Saturday Argus (The reporter had described it as “malignant” and “hideously bloated”: maybe he had been watching a Celine Dion music video whilst writing his article). After looking at the flat we went and looked at the ferocious Atlantic from close up. Rosemary cowered behind a tree trunk with the other onlookers whilst I boldly stepped out into the tumult and photographed the huge, frothy sea.

After all that adrenalin we walked into the hotel to check it out. J.J., the manager, took us on a tour of the place, all effortless, old-fashioned, 5 star hotel elegance. And then we left.

The next day we were back. We had just endured visiting a warehouse in Muizenberg, our will to live had been severely depleted and we needed food.

Forget about the heavy ornate carpet, the deep and devouring armchairs and sofas, the indelible patina of old smoke and the counter displaying bottles of single malt whisky like medicinal tonics in Le Salon Chantilly; we knew what we wanted. The beef and blue cheese baguette to share and two coffees.

The Salon is outwardly a hotel lounge where you can spend R90 per head on a lavish high tea or sip on brandy, whisky or cocktails and smoke cigars or pastel coloured cigarettes without guilt. What makes it quietly outrageous is that it is open twenty four hours a day serving sandwiches and drinks. I should have been more observant about what else was available to eat off the menu but could think only of the inside information from J.J. that prompted our order.

Coffee arrived with that handsome brown froth on its surface and a biscotti by its side and whilst we dangled out legs contentedly off our plush seat and sipped on it we tried to jump onto the in-house WAN and check our emails. We were told that the business centre upstairs would furnish us with a WEP key if we wanted it and that was good enough for us.

The food arrived: a large diameter plate heaped with crispy golden fried chips and a fresh baguette open and topped with fresh tomatoes, gherkins, thick and tender beef more like a medium rare grilled steak and finished with molten blue cheese. The flavour and overall quality was unbeatable and the size was formidable: our un-waiflike appetites were well sated.

The service was smooth and friendly and the bill was under R70 without the tip. Rosemary stowed the glossy box of branded matches in her handbag for future bonfire and dynamite lighting and we emerged from our lounge of perpetual plushness into a Sea Point that has quite a lot more than just lumpy cardigans in its wardrobe of worthy places. Tell only deserving family and friends about Chantilly.

Stay at one of our classy Sea Point or Bantry Bay residences and have more to spend on dinner and good wine at Le Vendóme: