Liam and Jan Tomlin, in partnership with chef David Schneider, have opened Merchant Bar & Grill, located on the first floor of 91 Bree Street in the heart of Cape Town’s city centre. The produce-forward restaurant with its cosmopolitan bar is the passion project of three generations of chefs: Liam Tomlin, David Schneider and Adrian Hadlow.
“It’s a cross-generational venture which we think is right for the times… it’s old school in that it’s an honest return to kitchen basics, provenance and the four seasons, but the menu, the relaxed format and the sexy bar are very contemporary,” explains Liam Tomlin.
“It’s time to reframe what we feel is a general over-hyping of chefs to focus more on producers: those who grow, farm, catch and supply us with exceptional products,” says Schneider, who has been dreaming for years of opening a restaurant that truly heroes the best of the producers. “They are the ones who make eating out a true pleasure, and our support for them is real and total – it’s literally the whole hog,” he explains.
“When we buy lamb, we buy a whole lamb, and break it down ourselves. When we buy pumpkin, we use every part of it. We do the merchant’s work of sourcing the best local ingredients, then turn our skills to maximising those products, through using the less popular parts as well as the fillets and loins, and by the practice of preservation. Getting the very most out of these special products is how we pay homage to them, and we’re excited to share this.”
The Larder: Heart of Merchant Bar & Grill
At the heart of Merchant Bar & Grill – and the first thing you see when you enter the restaurant — is The Larder, a glassed-in temperature-controlled room which holds the preserved treasures of the kitchen, from house-made charcuterie such as coppa and ham to jars of kombucha, olives, piccalilli, sauerkraut and other pickles and preserves. At its centre is a large table, featuring extraordinary cheeses from small South African producers such as Langbaken, Klein River and Belnori. “It’s like a shrine to the bon vivant, and to good down-to-earth eating!,” says Schneider. “We encourage guests to walk in and look at what we’re making here, as well as select which cheeses they’d like to try.”
Merchant Bar & Grill offers a six-course tasting menu in the restaurant, and the menu indicates the provenance of all key ingredients. A number of items will often come from a single producer, reflecting the restaurant’s commitment to using every part and limiting wastage, and every product used will be produced in South Africa. Some key producers to be featured are Bertie Coetzee (Lowerland Organic Farm), Giselle Courtney (The South African Fynbos), Andrew Nel (Frankie Fennie), Jason Carroll (Boschendal Livestock Manager) and Ryan Boon. The first course will always be a mix of house-cured and preserved items from The Larder – and will be followed by the best of land and sea.
The substantial Larder menu, which is available at the Bar, offers a huge variety of treats to graze on. Scotched eggs, duck confit, house-made sourdough with pork lard, pork crackling with smoked mayonnaise, and a simple bowl of sausage with gherkins and mustard are just a few. A destination for food as well as drinks, the Bar is also the place to order a spectacular dry-aged beef ribeye on the bone for 2 people – a real showstopper – or make a meal out of assorted charcuterie and cheese, followed by bon bons, passionfruit posset or pumpkin and chocolate doughnuts.
The Middle Layer of a Triple Layer Build
On the middle level of 91 Bree Street, Merchant Bar & Grill is sandwiched between the newly reopened Chefs Warehouse & Canteen on the ground floor, and Room 91, a private events space one story above. All are Tomlin and Schneider co-ventures, run by the same team of hospitality aces.
Along with Tomlin and Schneider — his partner and the major force behind Chefs Warehouse at MAISON and The Red Room by Chefs Warehouse at MOUNT NELSON, a Belmond Hotel — the Merchant Bar & Grill kitchen is steered by Adrian Hadlow, who has been with the Chefs Warehouse group since 2022. Hadlow has cooked at both MAISON and The Red Room as well as Delaire Graff, Manouche, and Rupert and Rothschild Wine Estate, and is happiest when cooking food that really speaks to the soul. “I want our guests to feel the way you feel when your family cooks for you; to actually feel the love and care and attention that goes into everything we do here,” he says.
New Look
After a major rebuild of its predecessor — The Bailey — and a complete change of design aesthetic, Merchant Bar & Grill is now accessible from Chefs Warehouse & Canteen by a dramatic steel and wood staircase that cuts through the middle of the restaurants. The resulting atrium opens up both spaces, and the floors are connected by the large hanging chandelier of iconic porcelain kitchen items.
The look of the whole building is authentic heritage with striking counterparts of industrial steel, soft moody lighting and modern art – that exciting energetic urban appeal that comes from marrying a reverence for the old with a love of the contemporary. “There’s no attempt to cover up what we’ve changed, with exposed brickwork and steel framework…this building has gravitas that only gets better with each new interpretation,” says Tomlin.
The bar at Merchant Bar & Grill is an inviting space separated from the restaurant by a soft mustardy-gold curtain. There is a range of seating from low round upholstered black ottoman stools around tables to sleek leather banquettes and barstools around the bar. To the side is a lounge area with large brown Chesterfield leather couches and a wall of private spirits lockers – it has a sliding door and can be closed off for private get togethers.
Seating areas in the restaurant range from the main dining area with its stunning stretch of ocean liner-inspired banquette, dark leather seating and fireplace, to a quieter corner overlooking the staircase. The room is beautifully lit with pendant lighting and sculptural wall lights randomly positioned on the exposed brick walls – these are pieces of hanging art themselves. There are also a number of works by Jero Revett, the Wildwanderer, who makes Gyotaku artworks of the day’s catch with the ink of the octopus and cuttlefish he catches.
“Chefs Warehouse is in the business of giving people all kinds of experiences, and this is our game plan for 91 Bree Street,” says Tomlin. “This means you could have a cocktail at Merchant Bar & Grill, before heading down to Chefs Warehouse & Canteen; make an evening out of the six-course tasting menu at Merchant Bar & Grill, which is an opportunity to experience the best of local produce; or pick and choose from the global tapas menu at Chefs Warehouse & Canteen. And we hope, extend the experience to your own special occasions and celebrations by letting us host your personal and business events at Room 91.”
Merchant Bar & Grill is open for dinner exclusively from Monday to Saturday. The bar opens from 5pm and the restaurant at 6pm. It is located on the first floor at 91 Bree Street, Cape Town.
