Mo & Rose had been recommended to me as the best restaurant in the greater Robertson area, but I had not got to it to try it last year as it only operates at night. Llewelyn Lambert and I had dinner there on Friday evening, and we were disappointed with the experience.

The best part of the experience was when we popped in at Mo & Rose on Friday afternoon whilst driving past close by, even if it was just to see the property, as I had never been there. Peter was at reception, and we asked if he had a table for us for dinner. He said that the restaurant was fully booked. I offered for us to come earlier or later, and he replied that all guests were coming at 19h00. I asked if it would be possible to come at 18h00, and leave at 19h00 when the guests for the table arrived. We also offered to pre-order our dishes, so that we would not hold up the kitchen in serving two courses in the hour. Peter agreed, and we honored our side of the agreement by arriving a little ahead of time. The timing was perfect, as it was light enough to take photographs of the restaurant and its surroundings. 

Mo & Rose is on a road to Klaasvoogds, on a smallholding called Soekershof. It has an impressive entrance, with an elephant on each entrance pillar, even though the meaning is not clear. Peter explained that the name comes from the previous owner (they have just sold) (Mo)nika, and that the other part of the name reflects that Robertson is well-known for its wine and roses. One parks behind the restaurant building, and enters onto a raised deck with a water feature, and seating, allowing one to see the view of an enormous cactus garden, with hundreds of cacti species and more than 200 bird species, the website informs. The restaurant is to the left, and the smallish reception office is on the right. We did not see the rooms in which the guests stay.

We had learnt from Henk van Niekerk, at a tasting of his Paul René MCC bubblies, that his sister-in-law had just bought Mo & Rose. Peter told us that Monika and her husband Axel were still at the property, in a handover phase, while the new owners were already running the business. Sadly we did not see any of the owners, the running of the restaurant left in the hands of Peter, interspersed with check-ins which he had to do as guests arrived. Peter told us that from next month they will only offer their in-house guests a table for dinner. 

One enters the restaurant via the blue-painted Bar, with a serving hatch which allowed us to see some chefs in the kitchen. Whether one can have drinks at the small bar counter is uncertain. We were told that the Chef’s name is Ilse, but Peter did not know her surname.

The tables have a wooden laminate topping, some of which was starting to come off in the section at which I was sitting. Cutlery is by Fortis Hotelware. There is no tablecloth, but a white napkin is offered. Our table had a dead cactus in a small glass holder! Chairs are woven plastic wicker, typical for outdoor furniture. There is no salt or pepper on the table. Each table had two Consol glass jar solar lamps, which were very efficient in their operation, but it was left to the guests to operate them. No other lighting is in the dining room, which is an add-on building with an enclosed roof, a reed ceiling, and is surrounded by glass doors. Lighting gets darker in the space as the sun sets, so I was grateful to Llewellyn for lighting up the plates I wanted to photograph. Music was terrible initially and too loud. Wooden salt and pepper grinders were brought to the table when we asked for them.

We were offered water, and I asked for a jug of tap water. We were told that the water is undrinkable, and we cynically wondered if that was true, or if it was a way to force us to order bottled water. Llewellyn studied the winelist, and I remembered nostalgically from many trips to Plettenberg Bay via Robertson and Swellendam driving past Zandvliet, one of the first red wines ( Shiraz) I drank as an adult. We ordered a bottle of 2014 Kalkveld Shiraz with a wax top, at R280, rated 3,5 stars by Platter. The winelist and menus looked impressive, presented in soft brown leather folders. 

Peter brought a bread basket with slices of ciabatta, and herb butter. We asked Peter for plain butter too. As he brought dishes to our table, Peter did not reiterate what was in them. Our starters were better than the main course. Llewellyn had ordered Pork belly with barley ‘risotto’ (sic) and cumin reduction, and it was well-presented with a Parmesan crisp. He gave me a bite to try, and the crackling was exceptional. My cold smoked duck breast starter was prettily plated, but overdosed on rocket. The orange and beetroot salad was an excellent accompaniment to the dish, but the little blocks of chewy fried halloumi were very odd, and the passion fruit saffron dressing spoilt the dish. A third option of homemade fish cakes with wasabi mayonnaise, cucumbers, and fennel salad, was offered. 

For our main course of springbok, red cabbage, blueberries, mushroom dumplings, and a cranberry jus Peter brought steak knives, also by Fortis Hotelware.  I told Llewellyn that the ingredient combination was very German, my mother preparing and serving game in this way too. Axel, one of the former owners of Mo & Rose, is German. The springbok was not as tender as one would have liked. The mushroom ‘dumplings’ were more like fricadels, a mix of chopped up mushrooms with bread crumbs having been fried, and tasted bland and definitely not of mushrooms. Other main course options were Beef Tagliata, Linefish, and aubergine and zucchini lasagne, with risotto Milanese.

Llewellyn is not a desert eater, and I had not seen anything that I liked for dessert. As Peter told us that three of four tables had cancelled their dinner reservations, we could stay at our table for longer, and  there no longer was pressure on us to leave. As I was on a nostalgia drive with the Zandvliet Shiraz, I decided to 
order an Irish coffee/affogato combination to add to the reminiscing.  Peter brought friandise of chocolate balls filled with a berry compote; and chocolate mousse in a sugar basket. Other dessert options are Don Pedro, Chocolate Fondant with Coconut Sauce, ‘passionsfruit’ (sic) parfait with berry ‘compot’ (sic), and vanilla ‘blue berry’ (sic) pannacotta with chocolate ice cream and caramel sauce.  

We felt that Peter had too much on his plate, with no guidance from the new or previous owners, and none of them to be seen throughout our time at the restaurant. The chef appears lightweight, and it felt that there was no love in the food which was presented to us. The website misleads, in describing the food as ‘handcrafted fare‘, as the food being ‘Cape Winelands cuisine (there is none) with a European twist’. Starters are described as ‘creative‘, misleading as are the main courses, described as ‘top-notch meat feasts prepared to perfection’!  The concluding paragraph regarding the Wine Bistro on the website is an over-the-top exaggeration: ‘Our passion fuels the creation of lip-smacking dishes!’– we saw no passion at all! The menu on the website is not up to date. 

Mo & Rose Wine Bistro, Soekershof, Klaasvoogds Road, off R60/R62, Robertson. Tel. (023) 626-4134. www.moandrose.co.za. Twitter: @moandrose Instagram: @mo.and.rose Two courses R 270, Three courses R350 Wednesdays – Saturdays from 18h00. Closed during July. 

Chris von Ulmenstein, WhaleTales Blog: www.chrisvonulmenstein.com/blog Tel +27 082 55 11 323 Twitter:@Ulmenstein Facebook: click here Instagram: @Chris_Ulmenstein