CAPE CLASSICS REVISITED: Miller’s Thumb — still Jolly ’n Sane after all these years

We lived a short walk away. If it wasn’t raining, we’d leave the car parked at home in Burnside Road and walk to Miller’s Thumb for a seafood dinner. This habit started in 1996, soon after they opened their doors for the first time.

Now they’ve been going for 30 years, so this becomes my 30th anniversary review and a thank you for their staunch service to seafood lovers in the City Bowl, and their years of serving us Solly’s delicious food and Jane’s friendly, efficient service.

And local is still lekker for our favourite urban purveyors of fine fish. Solly and Jane Solomon – aka Jolly ’n Sane – hosted us time and time again from 1996 to 2014, when we left Cape Town for the second time. The other day, we went back for the first time since moving to the Karoo in 2014. We couldn’t remember how long it had been since we’d been there – my guess was circa 2010. This time, it felt like we’d slipped back to the Nineties – everything was perfectly familiar.

It does feel a bit odd, for me, to be categorising this restaurant as a Cape Classic. The classics, in my world, are the likes of La Perla, Nelson’s Eye and the original Hussar Grill in Rondebosch, not relative newcomers that only opened in the 1990s.

But three decades, well, that is a long enough time to be claimed as a classic, a veteran or, in the music world, a golden oldie.

I’m not saying Solly and Jane themselves are golden oldies (though Solly is known for loving the old seven-inch single hits of the Sixties). Sol’s dark hair is a tad lighter with its streaks of grey, or were they “highlights”; it was so subtle that I wasn’t sure. “Jolly” still greets you, in his apron, if you arrive early enough for the heat of the kitchen not to have become too intense yet for him to escape to the relative sanity of the dining areas or bar.

And Jane/Sane soon appears with her customary welcome and run-through of the regular dishes and the night’s specials. All of which were just as familiar to us as the orange and green decor both inside and outside the eatery.

I remember when Solly introduced soba noodles to his menu. I’d never heard of them; now they’re everywhere. And that recipe is still on the board – his Yaki Soba has chicken and prawns with cashews, crispy vegetables and noodles in a ginger and soy sauce. Just how I remember it. But I was tempted elsewhere tonight…

Something fishy off the grill offers the chalkboard selection of the day’s catch grilled whichever way you like: basted with lemon, olive oil and oregano; served with lemon garlic and peri-peri butter.

Or Cajun, blackened with a crust of chilli, green peppercorns and pecan nuts, topped with lime and tabasco butter and jalapeño.

Or Moroccan, basted with lemon, cumin, coriander, clove and cinnamon, “with a pile of fresh coriander”. Calamari is offered the same ways, while prawns are served with olive oil, lemon and “a tickle of ginger, chilli and garlic”.

I can almost hear Jane’s voice rattling off these options while nodding towards the chalkboard.

But there’s more “from the pan” and this is the page from which I selected my choice of “Chilli con pesce”, and I was so glad I did when it arrived. It’s their FOMO meal and you can see why, if this were served to your table neighbour while you had something less exciting.

“All manner of fishy things” are promised, along with chorizo and red pinto beans. It’s topped with lots of cheddar, prawns, jalapeños and fresh coriander. I was that happy chappy you always hear about. Right then, he was me.

The Foodie’s Wife, meanwhile, had the Bengali fish curry, of which I had a very happy taste. Earlier, we had enjoyed starters of Spanish-style chicken livers in cream, sherry and sweet paprika (for me), and Cajun-dusted grilled calamari. Yes, I was very happy with my chicken livers – they’re a favourite and these were exceptional.

I shouldn’t – but I did – have some ice cream to finish off, because when Jane said “marzipan” I was a goner. I don’t understand those who cannot eat marzipan. Anything almondy and I’m in.

This used to be our local. Now we live far away. It’s worth the trip, and we’ll make a plan now and then. We will never be disappointed as long as Jolly ’n Sane are there. DM

We paid for our meal in full.