A Kaisei evening at Ōku in Franschhoek
Japanese dining in Franschhoek; a restaurant review of Ōku
We recently spent a kid-free weekend away in Franschhoek. We stayed at the Franschhoek Boutique Hotel which is right on the doorstep of the main road and we spent Saturday morning meandering along it. This is where we bumped into Ryan Shell, the owner of Eleven restaurant, that we previously visited (read my Eleven restaurant review).
Coincidentally running into Ryan was a great precursor to the evening, as we were keen to experience what he and his team have crated at Ōku and we were booked for dinner.
When we arrived at the Asian-inspired spot on Saturday evening, the hostess welcomed us and showed us to our table where we admired the small folded paper cranes that were part of the place setting. We learned that everyone on staff at the restaurant learns how to fold various origami animals (including butterflies and bunnies). The intricate detail of the origami follows through in the dishes that were served unhurried but meticulous.
The Kaisei menu at Ōku
Our waitress for the evening was Michelle. She was in her fourth month at the restaurant following three months of training, having spent two full weeks learning the intricate details of the Kaisei menu.
The menu is charged at R1250 a person, with a wine or sake pairing available as an optional add-on for an extra R900 (more on that price at the end of this article - there’s a way around it). I opted for the sake tasting as I enjoy something different. Lianne went with the wine, which also includes sake for some courses.
All four sakes for the tasting were brought out right at the start of the evening. I received a line-up of four distinct styles: one slightly filtered, one filtered, one unfiltered and a dessert sake. Because Michelle was still building her familiarity with the sake list, she brought over a colleague to talk us through the sake selection.
Before the tasting menu arrived, we received a complimentary selection of crackers and condiments:
Sweetcorn & furikake cracker
Sweet potato & miso cracker
Prawn & togarashi salt cracker
These were served with a green bean kimchi, a kewpie and edamame pesto, and a crunchy chilli oil.
Next came the bread course - a soft Japanese shokupan (milk bread) served off the menu with tomato chilli jam, beetroot-pickled pearl onions, and a wasabi kewpie finished with sesame. This course was paired with a cold Franschhoek Lager.
The courses that followed included a lot of fresh seafood:
Saldanha Bay Oysters: Served with wasabi, cucumber, apple, and coriander and finished with wonton crisps. Paired with Miss Molly Brut NV.
Prawn Nigiri with lime, nori, kewpie, and soy sauce. Paired with a Kloof Street Chenin Blanc 2025.
Norwegian Salmon Sashimi: Salmon paired with avocado mousse and a citrus dressing. Paired with Mullineux White Blend 2025.
Corn Fritter: a vegetarian sweetcorn and baby corn fritter with herb salad, pesto, miso, gochujang. Paired with Capensis Silene Chardonnay 2025.
Vegetable Cylinder: Tofu, tamarind, seasonal vegetables, peanuts, umami glaze. Paired with Hakutsuru Sake.
Vannamei Prawn: Served with Kimchi, orange, naartjie, granola, and signature Ōku sauce. Paired with Chamonix Feldspare Pinot Noir 2023.
Karoo Springbok Loin: Earthy mushroom duxelles, celeriac, and a rich jus. Paired with Glenwood Merlot 2025.
As I was tasting all the wines Lianne was served, Michelle took note of the ones I enjoyed the most and offered to bring me a glass of those as well. It is this kind of attentive service that seems the norm at Ōku.
Dessert at Ōku
Before the main dessert of Japanese Cheesecake with Coconut, almond crumb and passion fruit ice cream and Plum Sake- we were served a refreshing pear and Yuzu sorbet.
As a final farewell we were served a selection of friandises: dark chocolate with matcha mousse, a coconut marshmallow with yuzu curd, a strawberry mousse-filled mochi and an Ōku fortune cookie.
The fortune inside the cookies made us laugh given what’s going on in our lives at the moment. Lianne’s fortune read: “Financial improvement is on the horizon” which is quite ironic as she just dropped her salary to avoid retrenchment. Mine was around focus, which couldn’t have been more accurate given how intently I’ve been driving LED Lighting SA lately.
The Roasted Dad deal
The Kaisei menu is R1250 per person, with the wine or sake pairing normally an extra R900. However, Ōku is offering the pairing free of charge for The Roasted Dad readers until 1 November; just add TheRoastedDad to special requests when making your booking.
We left full, slightly warm from the sake, and with a folded bunny, a butterfly and an elephant to take home for our kids. While Ryan Shell’s Eleven is a modern take on South African cuisine, Ōku brings something totally different - both are a welcome break from the traditional French dining that dominates Franschhoek.
For more of what we got up to that weekend, read up about our stay at the Franschhoek boutique hotel.
Location and Opening Hours
You can find Ōku at Heritage Square, 9 Huguenot Road, Franschhoek
Contact info: 021 023 4695 | reservations@eat-oku.co.za
Opening Hours: Monday - Sunday Lunch: 12:00 - 2:30 pm / Dinner: 06:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Disclaimer: All opinions expressed are solely our own and based on our experience. At times we may be compensated for reviews placed on this blog, however we always maintain the rights to share our true opinion on the full experience, to maintain our integrity and the authenticity of the review posted.
About Shawn Godfrey
Photo credit: Niki M Photography
Shawn Godfrey is an entrepreneur based in Cape Town, South Africa. After the Covid-19 lockdown saw his business in financial distress, cooking was the creative outlet that helped to keep him sane. To keep track of his recipes, and encourage friends and families to join him, he starts his instagram account The Roasted Dad.
Fast-forward to late 2021 - on a whim Shawn (encouraged by his wife Lianne) enters MasterChef South Africa. It is a crazy time of life: running a 200 people business and struggling to keep it profitable, two small children with a third on the way, and about to move into a new house. But when Shawn gets selected to be one of the 20 contestants participating in the fourth season of MasterChef South Africa, he decides to go all in. Leaving his 7-month-pregnant wife to look after their then three and one-year-old children, he battles it out and comes back home five weeks later with the trophy and a million rand prize money in his pocket.
It all started with an Instagram account, but The Roasted Dad is so much more now. Shawn has stayed his entrepreneurial self and whilst he hosts Private Dinner Parties and Cook-with-Me Demos, does Restaurant Take-Overs, he still runs the lighting company and several other businesses.
On his blog, Shawn shares Restaurant Reviews and Accommodation Reviews, and gives an insight into the wild and wonderful life he leads together with his wife Lianne, and their three children Aiden (8), Olivia (6) and Harvey (4).
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