In speaking to Homespun Chef Matt Schreuder about his new restaurant opening at The Andros Boutique Hotel next month, he told me that his father, the well-known restaurateur Dale Schreuder known for the Dale’s steakhouses he has owned over the past more than 30 years, has opened a new restaurant with a completely different concept.

Harvest Culture Eaterie is Dale’s tenth restaurant, and describes itself as a ‘modern Bistro’, ‘celebrating Earth’s bounty’ .

On Saturday I drove through to the Northern Suburbs, to Tyger Falls Waterfront,  to try the new restaurant, lunching with owner Dale Schreuder, and with Chef Matt and his partner Elri. We were the first lunch table to be cooked for by the kitchen and to be served by the waitrons.

Dale shared a lot of information about his hospitality background, going back fifty years. He studied at the Hotel School in Johannesburg. He spent a number of years as Food & Beverage Manager at Johannesburg hotels. In 1980 he opened his first own restaurant, Dale’s Place in Rosebank. Soon he expanded, and added Black Angus restaurants in Edenvale, Randburg, and Florida. He opened Stages Bar & Grill in Durban too. In 1986 he sold all his restaurants, and changed his life completely, doing youth mission work in Africa and in the USA. But the restaurant bug would not let go, and in 1990 he opened Dale’s Place in Table View, moving it into a house later, and running it for 14 years. A back injury whilst training for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro forced him to close the restaurant, turning it into a guest house which still operates successfully, and to heal his back. In 2008 he opened Dale’s Black Angus at The Paddocks, sadly closing it last year as the Lockdown regulations affected his business.

The restaurant bug bit Dale again, and he has just opened Harvest Culture Eaterie, with some steak dishes, but expanding the menu repertoire to include Vegetarian and Vegan dishes (his daughter Naomi is Vegan and the creator of the Vegan Chocolate cheese cake on the dessert menu) as well as Hawaiian-inspired Poké bowls. The cuisine style is described as ‘modern Bistro’, and daily specials will showcase the best of Cape Town’s seasonal produce. Chef Mark’s cuisine oozes infused flavours, quality ingredients, and skilled preparation, on the foundation of Dale’s restaurants’ heritage and tradition.  Dale emphasised that the foundation of his restaurants is Quality, Value, and Service, his emphasis being personal service and offering the best possible prices.

Dale’s wife Iris is a talented interior designer, having designed Chef Matt’s Homespun in Blouberg, and now very busy in designing his new restaurant at The Andros. She designed Harvest Culture Eaterie too, a lovely touch being plants all along the top of the restaurant walls. Dale told me that they are planning an in-door Hydroponic system, which will allow Chef Mark to pick herbs fresher than fresh.

The A4 menus are smart, in cream, and made from a plasticised material, which means that they can be cleaned and sanitised after use, and will not show wear and tear. I was surprised by the number of Starters and Main courses offered, and the variety of dishes on offer, suiting Vegetarians, Vegans, Pescetarians, and lovers of Dale’s famous steaks, including his Special Reserve 21, of which he says a million have been made over the years in his restaurants.  We ordered a starter and a main course each, and shared bites of each other’s dishes.

The restaurant can seat 80 diners. The restaurant is spacious, with tables well-spaced. All the doors facing the Tyger Falls waterfall and lake are stackable, and Dale intends to open the doors on good weather days, for outside seating.  The seating is comfortable, with ostrich-style upholstery and dark granite table tops. Cutlery is by Nova Vision, while the tableware is sourced by Continental China from Portugal, their Coco Cascais range, in beautiful blues, and some with swirls, an Instagramer’s dream.

Mitchell van Niekerk is a partner and GM of Harvest Culture Eaterie, and will be well-known to former Dale’s Black Angus clients, having been the GM of the former restaurant for seven years. Chef Mark Redman worked at Dale’s Black Angus too, and moved to Harvest Culture from Hillcrest Restaurant.

Harvest Culture Eaterie is not only a restaurant, but as a Deli it serves the staff working at 106 offices and residents of 580 apartments in the Tyger Falls Waterfront area, in offering sourdough bread and baguettes, scones, croissants, a range of cold meats and cheeses, preserves, jams, lentils and other legumes, different types of nuts, and baskets in which to take their Deli shopping home.  Freshly-made wraps and salads are available to take home to eat too. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner is served, from Tuesdays – Sundays.

We were surprised when GM and co-owner Mitchell brought a plate of Amuse Bouche treats to our table, to start off the meal. It was beautifully presented Smoked Wagyu brisket, with Fior di latte, and sprinkled with truffle oil, on toasted sourdough. As Elri does not eat meat, her Amuse Bouche was made with Salmon, Fior di latte, and basil pesto.

Our starters were a varied selection, all but two of the starters costing under R100. :

#   Steak tartare – this was Dale’s choice, the raw egg yolk placed on top of the mince stack, served with gaufrettes potatoes, and baby leaves. (R80). What an attractive dish this was, with the potato crisps surrounding the tartare stack.

#   Cured Salmon – this was my order, salmon cured in gin and citrus, served with Crème Fraîche, pickled red onion, cucumber, and mint, beetroot, and finished off with a coral tuille. (R90). It was a light starter, tasty, and well presented.

#   Korean Cauliflower wings – we shared this dish in addition to the very generous starters we had each ordered. The dish consists of Gouchajang (red chili paste)-glazed cauliflower florets, and served on a bed of Asian cashew nut slaw, and a scallion (spring onion) dipping sauce. (R60).

#   Burrata Salad – Matt ordered this starter, the house-made Burrata, Parma ham, figs, Rocket, mint, and a basil and ginger vincotto (grape must syrup). I loved the combination, tasting some of this starter, also beautiful in its presentation, (R90).

#   Prawn Ravioli – Elri ordered this colourful starter, served with a Masala velouté, mussel bahjias, and coriander foam. (R100). Elri and I traded one of her ravioli and some of my Salmon, the ravioli being large, in a tasty sauce.

Other starters offered are Smoked Beef carpaccio, Mussels, Baby Beetroot, Baked Camembert, Vegan Poké Bowl, and Salmon Poké Bowl, the latter two dishes costing R110 and R130, respectively.

Our immediate reaction was that the Starter dishes were too generous in size, especially as the main courses were still to follow.

The Main courses which we ordered were as follows:

#   Duck Breast – Dale ordered this dish, I being tempted to do so too. It was served with two Confit leg croquettes, ginger carrot purée, potato fondant, cherry gel, and port jus. (R190). I had a bite of the duck, delicious and tender.

#   Pork Belly – this was my order, consisting of cider-braised pork belly placed on a bed of cabbage, served with spiced apple purée, paw-paw chutney, and topped with crackling (R175). It was served with two very large potato pork croquettes, I only being able to finish one of them.

#   Line Fish – Elri ordered this dish, the fish of the day being Hottentot, a fish variety I had not eaten before. It was prepared pan-seared, with confit potato, broccolini, cauliflower purée, and sauce vierge. (R150). I was surprised by the distinctive fish taste of the Hottentot, compared to hake and kingklip, when Elri gave me a bite to try.

#    Dale’s Famous Special Reserve 21 Fillet – Matt ordered his dad’s famous fillet, a hallmark of his Dale’s restaurants. (R195). The 250 gram fillet is served with a unique secret sauce, Dale sharing that it includes Lazenby Worcestershire sauce, onion, garlic, herbs, and blended with whipped butter, creating a crust on top of the steak.  I had a bite of the steak, delicious and soft.

Other main courses offered are Smoked Brisket, Cauliflower Steak, Vegan Bolognaise, 3 Musketeers (medallions of Kudu, Springbok, and Ostrich), and Pork loin ribs. Sides cost an extra R30, and sauces R35.  All main courses cost under R200.

Even though we had eaten more than enough, with very generous portions served, Elri and I could not resist the desserts, a shorter list to choose from. My choice was 70% Dark Chocolate Cremeux, served with lime butterscotch, berry gel, and hazelnut ice-cream, the most beautiful presentation, with an azalea flower placed in a cone shaped wafer on top of the ice cream. Elri ordered the Vegan chocolate cheesecake, creamy and velvet smooth, accompanied by chocolate ice cream. Other dessert options are Malva chai-infused pudding, Crème Brûlée, and Raw Vegan Key Lime Pie ice cream. Dessert prices range from R60 – R70.

Breakfast is served from 9h00, with a Breakfast Menu that offers Avo Toast (R49), Mini English (R55), Full English (R99), Breakfast Wrap (R75), and Zucchini Fritters (R70).

Dale and Mitchell are planning music entertainment for the new restaurant.

Harvest Culture Eaterie is true to its promise of quality, value, and service. The food and its presentation was superb, with large portions at very reasonable prices. I was impressed that the fish dishes were served with fish knives.  The restaurant has a lovely view onto the lake and waterfall, and will offer outside terrace seating on warmer days. Parking is available in the building. Dale and his team are warm and friendly, welcoming diners to the restaurant, and making them feel at home.

Disclosure: I have been appointed as Communications Consultant of Harvest Culture Eaterie.

Harvest Culture Eaterie, 3B Tygerlake Building, Tyger Falls Waterfront, Durbanville, Cape Town. Tel 071 551 7776 www.harvestculture.co.za (still under construction). Instagram: @harvestculturerestaurant Tuesdays – Sundays 9h00 – 22h00.

 

Chris von Ulmenstein, WhaleTales Blog: www.whaletalesblog.com www.chrisvonulmenstein.com/blog Tel +27 082 55 11 323 Twitter:@Ulmenstein Facebook: Chris von Ulmenstein, My Cape Town Guide/Mein Kapstadt Guide Instagram: @Chrissy_Ulmenstein @MyCapeTownGuide