Tag Archives: Diner’s Club Winelist

Restaurant Review: A Tavola not at the table, expensive and poor service

From reviews I had read about A Tavola (‘at the table’ in Italian), it seemed that I had missed a gem by not having eaten at this Italian eaterie in the Southern Suburbs.  After having eaten there earlier this week, I cannot see what they were raving about – the food was average and expensive, and the service was shocking!

I arrived after a tasting of Old Vines’ wines (the Baron von Holdt exceptional) at the home of mother-and-daughter winemakers Irina von Holdt and Fran Botha/Potgieter, at 9.30 pm.  I was not sure whether I would be welcome at that time, especially as the two persons sitting eating at a table nearest the door (turned out to be the manager and a staff member) made no attempt to acknowledge my arrival.  I carried on walking, and was greeted by a waitress, pointing at all the empty tables, to make my choice.

Mike came to present his services as the waiter, and handed me a laminated standard menu, another photocopied menu of “Specialities” (these were defined by him as being on a menu that changes regularly!), as well as a paper winelist (No Diner’s Club Winelist Award for this one).  The menu highlights the ‘rules and regulations’ of this establishment – one may not be there between 4 – 6 pm, nor after 11 pm.  Heaven help you if you are having a good time, and you loose track of time.  No menu ‘changes or variations to any dishes please’, the menu stipulates – all reflecting the Italian ‘flexibilty’ of this restaurant!  All food items on the menu are in Italian, with English descriptions.  Corkage costs R30.

The restaurant is quite large, and I am sure that they can accommodate about 100 guests per sitting, especially as they have outside tables too.   The kitchen is open-plan to the restaurant, with a counter that runs along most of the length of the restaurant.   The walls are a deep-red, with lots of glass doors, which must be ideal for summer dining.  The red colour scheme is carried across to the staff dress, who look smart in uniform red shirts and black pants.  The chairs are unattractive, and make a terrible noise when diners get up and move them on the dark floor tiles.   The tables looked like they were covered with good white table cloths, until I heard the staff scrubbing the plastic (I kid you not!) tablecloths right next to where I was still eating.  There is a tiny deli section as one enters, with Italian products.   Italian music was playing softly.   A holder with Olitalio olive oil and balsamic vinegar is a standard on each table.

I ordered Vitello ai Funghi e Vino Bianco from the Specialities menu, and was disappointed when the “marianted” veal scallops arrived at the table – my plate had more pasta than veal on it, the wine sauce making it look as if there was more meat.  The ‘wild mushrooms’ tasted as if they were out of a tin. The overriding taste was one of extreme saltiness, dominating the promised wine in the sauce.  The dish, with four small veal scallops, cost R115.  I did not think this to be good value.

I asked Mike if I could keep the paper copies of the menu, and he said he had to get permission for this.  I did not get a response to the request.  The same reply came to the request for a copy of the laminated menu.  No reply was received but the Manager Kurt Henderson brought it to the table, being proactive in giving me the new menu effective 2 September.  This was the only interaction I had with him, even though he could see me – no one was interested in how I enjoyed my meal, despite Mike seeing me making notes.  I felt that the manager had little control over his staff – the waiters were huddled in a group, chatting, and I had to request a menu for the dessert, and a bill – nothing came proactively.

I noticed that the prices between the menu of 1 September, and that of the new menu, had decreased for almost all the dishes at A Tavola, with the exception of those for the desserts.  I called the restaurant the following day, and owner GianCarlo Pironi’s ‘buon giorno’ was welcoming and friendly, very different to what I had experienced the evening before in his restaurant.  He confirmed that the price reductions will hold for the time to come, as their supplier of Italian foods has managed to negotiate good deals with their suppliers, and therefore they could reduce their food prices – compliments to the chef for passing this price benefit on to the A Tavola customers!

With the introduction of the new menu, it would appear that the Speciality menu will fall away, as some of the dishes on it have been added to the new menu.  Antipasti dishes have come down in price by around R10 a starter, and start at R42 for Zucchini Fritti, up to R76 for a platter of parma ham, salame, mortadella, coppa, grilled vegetables, olives, brushetta and tomato.  In the Insalata section prices have come down by up to R14 for the calamari salad.  Most salads cost R58.   In the Primi section the pasta dishes have not come down much, and sound expensive in starting from R64 for Penne Arrabiata, Penne Napoli and Spaghetti Aglio Olio e Peperoncino, up to R92 for seafood pasta Linguine Marinara.   In the Secondi section prices have been reduced by R10, and now cost R 115 for almost all the dishes (mainly veal).  In the Dolci section desserts cost between R38 – R48, and the Tiramisu (an absolute weakness of mine) I ordered was most disappointing – I barely tasted the liqueur, and it seemed terribly dry, with little mascarpone cream.  I did like the chunky chocolate chips at the top of the dessert.  It tasted pre-prepared, without love.   A cheese platter for two costs R78 and gelato costs R38 (number of scoops not indicated).  The cappuccino came as a flat white instead of with froth, and when I questioned Mike about this, he said that this is the way it is made, take it or leave it!

The winelist offers Prosecco at R190, or local Simonsig Kaapse Vonkel at R165.  Food & Wine Guru Michael Olivier recommends Tierhoek Chenin Blanc on the winelist, at R140 a bottle and R46 per glass.  Other white wines include Haute Cabriere, Flagstone Viognier; De Grendel, Iona, and Paul Cluver Sauvignon Blanc; and Jordan Unoaked and Doolhoof Chardonnay, none more expensive that R165.   Red wines on the list range from Cederberg’s Cape Atlantic Merlot, at R115, to Morgenster Tosca blend at R245.  Five whites and five reds are offered by-the-glass.   Two Italian white and three red wines are offered, at under R 200 each. Certain wines have been crossed off the winelist – as it is a photocopy, it is unforgivable that the list was not revised and issued without corrections.  No vintages are specified nor are the wines described.  The winelist promises that the red wines are ‘cooled’ at 15 C, something I have never seen on a winelist before, but is commendable, says Graham Beck’s Pieter Ferreira.

When I paid for the meal in cash, R 30 more than the bill, I expected my change to be brought to the table.  I had to ask Mike to bring it to me, lest he thought that I was giving him an ueber-generous tip.   He came to the table sulking, and I asked him why he had not brought the change.  He then let rip at me, saying he had not expected a tip, as I had been ‘impossible’, ‘shutting him out’.  I explained to him that I had found his service to be absolutely reactive, and that he could not make an assumption about a tip, unless told to keep the change.   This was a bad note on which to leave the restaurant – Manager Kurt made no attempt to reprimand the waiter for his rudeness.

I won’t be back at A Tavola, given its rude staff (even though owner GianCarlo sounded really nice over the phone), its prices (even though they have reduced many of their menu items, off a high base), and average food.

POSTSCRIPT 11/4/13:  We received this e-mail today, clarifying that Giancarlo Pironi is not involved in the restaurant, and has not been for a long time: ‘I would like you to cancel the blog associating me with A Tavola restaurant in Claremont.  Yes is true that I started A Tavola Restaurant in december 2009 together with Kurt and David, but I left the partnership few months after the opening.  My Name is still used up to today by A Tavola, but now that I am about to begin a new venture in food I don’t want to confuse my future clients.  Thanking you in advance for your kind understanding I wish you all the best in the future.  Warm regards. Giancarlo Pironi’.

A Tavola, Shop 1, Library Square, Wilderness Road, Claremont (opposite Kingsbury Hospital, off Main Road).  Tel (021) 671-1763.  www.atavola.co.za.  Lunches Monday – Friday 12h00 – 15h00, Dinners Monday – Saturday 18h00 – 22h00.  Closed on Sundays and public holidays.   On Mondays the pasta dishes in the Primi section of the menu cost half price.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

Restaurant Review: Indochine at Delaire Graff a fine high note, after flat start

It is not often that an evening that starts as a disaster ends off on such a high note.  Our evening at the two month old Indochine at Delaire Graff could have gone horribly wrong, but the service recovery from the Duty Manager Sabrina D’Agrossi, chef Jonathan Heath and waiter Nick all combined to rescue the evening, pulling out all the stops to ensure that we were made to feel very special, and to enjoy the outstanding unique and special Asian-fusion menu.

I had booked a table for a Thursday evening two days earlier, and confirmed that I had pronounced the name of the new restaurant correctly, so there was no mistaking at which of the two restaurants on the estate I wanted to book.   We drove through the open gates at the security entrance, passed the Delaire restaurant, looking for the new Hotel, designed by French architect Pierre Bories, but there was no signage yet for the hotel, and the security guard we asked in the parking area had never heard of Indochine, nor had the person he asked via his walkie-talkie!  I then Googled the telephone number on my phone, and had the luck that Sabrina answered the phone.  She gave me the news that the restaurant was closed as they had no bookings!   I told her about my booking, and she told me where to find the hotel, through the gates, ‘guarded’ by the two Dylan Lewis cheetahs.  Nick met us outside, and walked us into the restaurant, showing us the tiny cinema, and we noticed the outstanding artwork inside the generous hotel reception area.  The chef was called and he came to the restaurant from Stellenbosch, to prepare our meal, with such graciousness that you could have sworn that it was a pleasure for him to be called away from home.

The owner Laurence Graff (owner of Graff Diamonds International Ltd, victim of one of the biggest jewellery robberies in London last year) is known as an art collector from the original Delaire restaurant, and he has invested in four further Dylan Lewis cheetahs on the lawn outside the restaurant, each costing R 250000, we were told.  He has also focused on father Anton and son Lionel Smit, with sculptures and paintings by the Smits, especially the latter featuring strongly.

The restaurant is a large open plan one, with the bar at the entrance, and two comfortable chairs if one wants to sit at the fireplace.  The interior design has been done by London-based David Collins, who did the Delaire restaurant and wine centre too.  If the Delaire restaurant leans to the orange side in terms of its decor, Indochine is definitely blue – blue leather chairs (strangely low, indirectly admitted by Sabrina as not intended to have been so low), and small blue leather couches with round dining tables, one could say “cut-up” and small versions of the large orange couches in the Delaire restaurant. The tables have a copper top, the colour a warm decor touch, but with a wooden bar underneath the tables facing one, which means that one can bump one’s knees against it, and one therefore has to put one’s legs on each side of it, an uncomfortable position. There is little art inside the restaurant, and it is understated relative to the sister Delaire restaurant.  The view must be magnificent by day, onto Stellenbosch.  The glassware probably is from Riedel, the cutlery is the most modern chic Italian, and a wooden board on the table holds a lantern with a candle.  The music is reasonably soft Eastern style.   The Hotel building only houses the spa and restaurant, and guests are accommodated in 10 “lodges” outside the hotel, with Cape Dutch style gables (the cost for one night starts at R8000).  Graff has so much faith in his team, that he has supervised the building work via DVD, the staff tell us, and he has yet to see his new hotel and restaurant.

We were presented the blue-cover menu and winelist, and were served a glass of Delaire Sauvignon Blanc (initially the Chardonnay was brought to the table in error) for my guest, and a Red Blend 2006 for myself (the Delaire Shiraz was a 2009, so I declined), expensive I felt at R50 and R60, respectively.  Only the Delaire wines are served by the glass.  Nick told us that they had not intended to serve wines by the glass, but have realised that there is a demand for it, so they will be added to the winelist.   Nick struggled to get away from serving us bottled water, when I asked for fresh Stellenbosch water.   The Delaire wine labels are beautifully designed. The winelist is interesting, in being only two pages (not likely to win the Diner’s Club Winelist Award), and offering a very restricted choice of no more than four/five brands, but in many cases only one or two per varietal.  Only the champagne (Billecart-Salmon Rose, Laurent-Perrier and Louis Roederer Cristal), and six other wines are imported (the Chateau Pichon Lalande 2005 costing R 5500, Hospices De Beaune 2002 R 1950), and Delaire Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Rose’, and the Red Blend are offered.   Vintages are specified on the winelist, but no wine descriptions are provided.

I noticed references to chilli, pepper and curry in the menu, and did not want to order anything that was too hot.   The chef came to the table, and explained the menu to us (what a great touch, given that the menu creation is his “baby”, so who better to describe it?).  I had not heard of Chef Jonathan Heath before, and most of his experience after he started his apprenticeship at the Lord Charles Hotel in Somerset West was at Southern Sun Hotels both domestically and in Africa, his last stop having been the opening of a Southern Sun in Nigeria.   He loves Asian-fusion food, and is therefore in his element.   Mr Graff does too, and that is why such a style of restaurant was selected for the hotel.   It also contrasts the cuisine of the Delaire restaurant, is healthier in that the food is only steamed and poached, and is light.   Chef Jonathan is a big fan of Heston Blumenthal, and is into foams and froths, and molecular gastronomy, he says.  He also sources organic produce where he possibly can.

Sabrina came to the table with a customer feedback form, so that the problems experienced can be addressed by the management, as well as a media pack.  She also brought a gift pack with a bottle of Delaire Shiraz, to express her apology.  She offered me her card, so that I could book directly with her in future.

The menu offers 2 courses for R 225, 3 courses for R290, 4 courses for R385, and 5 courses for R 470.  Like Overture, one may choose the dishes from any of the sections on the menu.   The Chef quickly sent an amuse bouche of duck liver parfait and a home-made paneer cheese, with a strong lingering aftertaste.  Chef Jonathan impressed us by bringing each of the dishes to the table, and explaining the ingredients to us.  My guest’s Tikka Duck Marsala was served with curried lentils, coriander, cumin, spring onion and red pepper, garnished with pea shoots, and had a wonderful cucumber and cumin riatta.  My duck springroll was made from rice paper and was steamed, Chef Jonathan saying that it has close to zero calories, with julienned carrots and beans, and served with pickled cucumber and daikon radish, a bamboo shoot salad and dipping sauces.   Other starters are marinated beef salad, tuna loin, poached tiger prawns, and wild mushroom salad.  This was followed by a wildberry and litchi sorbet.

My guest had the salmon trout, topped with squid and caviar, with tomato and chilli broth poured over it by the Chef at the table.  My four 7-Thai-spice braised pork belly slices also had caviar on them.  We ordered a bowl of Jasmine rice and a butternut salad with the main course (one is allowed one side dish each).   Other mains offered are seared scallops, steamed line fish, duck breast, and Green tea poached Quail Breast.  We did not order dessert, but were served a trio of treats with our cappuccino – pistachio mousse, a chocolate amaretto cycle, and a macadamia nut spear.   Dessert choices are de-molded chai brulee, butternut sponge, citrus baked cheesecake, 5-spice malva pudding, and passion fruit panna cotta.

Chef Jonathan impressed us with his ability to interact with his guests, with his creativity in food preparation and presentation, and the generosity of what was sent out of the kitchen (a 2-course meal had an added amuse bouche, sorbet and sweet treats).   He comes to greet and chats with guests as a matter of course.  One hopes it stays this way.  But none of this would have been possible without the calm and efficient way in which the Duty Manager Sabrina dealt with the problem, and had turned it into a wonderful evening.  The restaurant is one of the finest in Stellenbosch, its addition strengthening our call for Stellenbosch to be given the Gourmet Capital crown, and to develop a Restaurant Route.  Another fan of foams and froths, Richard Carstens, opens across the road at Tokara in October.

Indochine, Delaire Graff Lodges & Spa, Helshoogte Pass, Stellenbosch. Tel (021) 885-8160 (Ask for Sabrina to book). www.delaire.co.za.  On the Stellenbosch Restaurant Route.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com