Utopia Cape Town Service Ambassador and Sommelier Loried Munetsi has just been featured in the latest Knight Frank estate agents ‘Standing Out’ digital newsletter.
I know Loried as a waiter at Utopia, and am impressed with his wine knowledge when I sometimes join the waitrons for wine tastings with winery representatives.
Loried has big dreams as far as enhancing his wine knowledge goes.
In the third year of The World’s 50 Best Vineyards being announced, the 2021 Top 50 Vineyard List includes three South African wine estates.
Creation has made the 10th rank on the list, with Delaire Graff (Rank 30) and Klein Constantia (44th Rank) on the Top 50 List too. Creation jumped dramatically from outside of the Top 50 List in 2020, while Delaire Graff slid dramatically from 14th Best in 2020. Continue reading →
On Friday evening I attended the launch of the 40th edition of the Diners Club International 2020 South African Wine Guide, at the Table Bay Hotel in the Waterfront, an event that is pretty much the same in format every year, yet was different this year, in the interest of making the event shorter.
More than 8000 wines from more than 900 producers were rated for the 2020 Platter’s Wine Guide edition. Of the 125 5-star wines awarded, 26 went to Chenin Blanc brands, 18 to Shiraz/Syrah, and 11 to Chardonnay brands.
It took six months and R62000 to get to eat at FYN Restaurant last night, the Japanese-style fine dining restaurant which Chef Peter Tempelhoff opened in Speakers Corner in the City centre at the end of November 2018. Whilst very apprehensive, given the unpleasant pre-history, I was most pleasantly surprised at the dining experience, with the exception of our waiter, who was a major let down for the restaurant! Continue reading →
Last night I attended the launch of the ‘Platter’s by Diners Club International 2019 South African Wine Guide’ at the Table Bay Hotel. It was an evening of some surprises, and new awards presented! But one thing was consistent – the Mullineux duo of Chris and Andrea lead this country in its consistent wine award performance, winning Winery of the Year for the third time in the 39 year history of the Platter’s Guide. Continue reading →
On Monday evening Condé Nast House & Garden presented its Gourmet Restaurant Awards 2017, in conjunction with Discovery Vitality, at Klein Constantia. Restaurants were awarded in a number of categories, with some surprises, and the awards may be an indicator as to which of the 30 Eat Out Restaurant finalists will make it into the Eat Out Top Ten Restaurant list on Sunday! Continue reading →
A record 111 South African wines received a coveted 2018 Platter’s Guide five-star rating at the Awards ceremony held at the Table Bay Hotel tonight. Raats Family Wines was named as the 2018 Winery of the Year. Continue reading →
I had not been to Spek & Bone yet, Chef Bertus Basson’s fourth restaurant, on Dorp Street in Stellenbosch. Bertus Basson @ The Ritz Revolving Restaurant is still awaiting official opening in Sea Point. I was severely disappointed with my visit to Spek & Bone with my friend Jenny last week. What was Chef Bertus thinking in setting up such a crap restaurant, given that he is on the Eat Out Top 10 list?! The c-word appears a number of times below, so sensitive readers are welcome to opt out of reading the rest of the review! Continue reading →
Three days after its opening, writer Llewellyn Lambert, architect Jan de Wet, and I visited The Silo Hotel, Cape Town’s new Tourism jewel located in the V & A Waterfront. We enjoyed lunch at The Silo Rooftop on its eleventh floor. Nine days later I returned for another Rooftop lunch. I compare the two lunches and document the changes which have taken place between my two visits below. Continue reading →
Even if the Cambridge English dictionary definition of a ‘Café‘ as an inexpensive (‘a restaurant where simple and usually quite cheap meals are served‘) eatery is accepted, The Granary Café still does not deserve its ‘Café‘ name, as nothing about the contemporary classic dishes served in the sophisticated dining area is ‘simple‘. It is a showcase of Executive Chef Veronica Canha-Hibbert’s playful interpretation of her favorite classic dishes.