Tag Archives: High Constantia

Makaron Restaurant: The ‘model’ Eat Out Style Restaurant?!

On Friday I had lunch at Makaron Restaurant at Majeka House in Stellenbosch, which re-opened after a R10 million new construction and decor upgrade in September.  It is a huge improvement relative to my visit to the (unbranded at that time) restaurant more than a year ago.  Given that its menu was developed with input by Eat Out editor Abigail Donnelly,  it may be a good idea for chefs to analyse the Makaron Restaurant menu, if they aspire to make Eat Out Top 10 Restaurant next year.

My motivation for going to the restaurant was to try the talented new Chef Tanja Kruger’s cooking, which I had experienced at De Huguenot Restaurant, from which she moved three weeks ago, and to see the newly created Makaron Restaurant, which is now branded, in line with a recommendation we made in our review after eating Chef Anri Diener’s creations there last year, and pronounced it ‘cuisine paradise’.  Chef Tanja is a talented winner of the Chaine de Rotisseurs Young Chef of the Year 2008, and a member of the South African Culinary Olympic Team, who moved to De Huguenot Restaurant earlier this year from Hunter’s Country House in Plettenberg Bay, having worked at Lanzerac, the Radisson Hotel and Five Flies before.

Majeka House is a 5-star boutique hotel, suitably located for the accommodation establishment in the quite Stellenbosch suburb Paradyskloof, off the road to Vriesenhof.  Its location as a restaurant is less favourable, as one has to know where to find it, as minimal signage is allowed in the residential area, and the name of the establishment and not of its restaurant is signposted.  When I arrived at the gate, the security guard wanted me to ring the bell, but one does not get close enough to the intercom (or does not have an arm long enough) to ring the bell, so he obliged.  There is ample parking on the property, and staff member Jacques was at the entrance, waiting to take me inside. What was once a restaurant leading into a lounge previously, has been separated. The original restaurant has become the ‘M’ Lounge, while the restaurant is in a new space on the opposite side, off the Reception.  The designer is Etienne Hanekom, who is an art director at New Media Publishing decor magazine VISI.  The reception area has been changed around slightly and modernised, and Hanekom’s love for quirky animals, especially pigs and deerheads, dominates the ‘M’ Lounge, which is blue-lit, with very busy decor, the luxury room crammed with leather couches and other furniture.  It must look cosy at night, when it is fuller.

Opposite is Makaron restaurant, with a glass door with the restaurant branding, flanked by a glass-encased collection of fine wines.   The restaurant is far more less-is-more in design, and there is no carry-over of the decor from the ‘M’ lounge, other than the gold colour of the lamps.  As one enters through the glass door, one sees the generous and trendy Gregor Jenkin table (also at Dash and Dear Me), filled with a large container of bottles, multi-coloured menus, and vases with beautiful garden-grown roses, over which hang gold-coloured lamps.  Against the wall are golden pots filled with succulents.  The restaurant has an L-shape, of which the ‘leg’ of the L can be cordoned off via a curtain for a private function, or closed off if it is not very busy.  With the curtains closed, the restaurant seems much smaller than the 60 it can seat inside (with another 30 outside), and becomes long and thin-shaped.  I saw some gold-upholstered chairs in the cordoned off section, picking up the recurring gold colour.  The bathroom is glitzy, with a glass sliding door with sensor, and the space inside is a little tight.  The floor is glass-lit perspex, perhaps an über-design element.  Off the restaurant is a cigar lounge, and a design feature is the collection of glass ashtrays on the coffee table.

I chose to sit outside in the restaurant courtyard, on the first real Cape summer day, not realising that workmen were busy laying paving around the nearby indoor pool, with a very strong adhesive smell and resultant noise.  There was good music to cover some of it, and I picked up that the music choice has improved from my previous visit.  There are fresh roses on each table, decked with a cloth, a silver underplate, and two sets of cutlery are pre-laid, an interesting mix and match of antique sterling silver and plate, none of the elements matching, or being part of a pair, but it is impressive that the owners are spending so much money on quality.  On the table were two bowls, one with black pepper and the other with beautiful Amoleh Iranian blue salt.  I absolutely loved the menu cover design, and this was a concept from the designer too – they are made to look like book covers, some with titles too, but the front has a cut-out spoon shape, behind which is a gold background.  For me, this was the most stylish element of the design at Makaron.  The spoon logo is on the menu and on the winelist, and even on some plates.  The menu has an introduction: “We have sourced the best produce available in the country; by doing so, we keep it real and fresh – the perfect recipe for a great dining experience”, and I could not help think that these words were written by Mrs Donnelly.

While I was there, I did not yet know that the restaurant would be named on Sunday evening as the Eat Out DStv Food Network winner of the Boschendal Style Award, but I did know that it was one of 18 contenders. The Style Award for Makaron Restaurant is controversial, as far as I am concerned, in a number of respects, as I wrote yesterday about the Eat Out Awards.  First, two independent sources told me in one day, when I mentioned that I had been for lunch, that Mrs Donnelly, Eat Out editor and sole restaurant judge, is a consultant to the restaurant.  I would have thought that Makaron would have not allowed itself to be in the running for any Eat Out award as a result, or that Mrs Donnelly would have recused herself from the judging of this award category, but she did not, and did not disclose her business link to this restaurant, blowing her credibility, in my opinion.  Second, the restaurant had only been open for a month at the time that the winner had to be decided, so that photographs could be taken, and the magazine go to print.  The designer is part of the New Media Publishing staff, which could be criticised too, from an Awards perspective.  Having Tweeted that Mrs Donnelly consults to Makaron, the PR company of the restaurant replied as follows: “Get a grip. Makaron is no where to be seen on Top 20. AD (Abigail Donnelly) has assisted on a project basis to get the menu right”, confirming Mrs Donnelly’s involvement with the restaurant. One of my information sources confirmed that he had been called by her earlier in the week, about a specific food item, demonstrating a far greater involvement!  In the Eat Out 2012 magazine, the Award is motivated and described, commending its dramatic lighting, quirky details, as ‘simply beautiful and unlike anything else ever seen in South Africa’ (a dramatic overstatement, in my opinion), calm, sophisticated, with playful touches, highly contemporary, functional and cosy without a commercial feel, ‘metal meets plastic and wood’, ‘chairs are ever so comfortable, making you feel very special’, with attention to detail.  Having been there so recently, the platitudes feel overwritten.

Chretien Ploum is the F&B Manager, and he attended to me.  He has worked as part of the opening team at the Table Bay Hotel, was the owner of the Ou Pastorie in Somerset West for four years, worked on The World Resort boat, and has been a F&B consultant.  He was very informative, patiently answering my questions. The 4-course meal costs R325, but one can order a la carte too. Chef Tanja has had little or no input to the current menu, inheriting it from her predecessor (via Mrs Donnelly, it would appear), but has changed small things already, she told me, and will develop her own menu over time.  What is interesting about the menu is that each course is not only paired with a recommended wine, but with a craft beer too!  The lovely waitress Phelisa, who served me on my last visit, brought a slate plate of beautifully presented breads and lavosh, with anchovy mayonnaise (not everyone’s taste), and olives.

Starters range in price from R55 for the warm salad of duck confit and foie gras, served with cherries and blackberries, which was my choice, to R85 for pan-fried sweetbreads, a Muscadel reduction and cauliflower purée.  Other starter options are a garden pea risotto with garlic froth and smoked olive tapenade; Franschhoek cured salmon, raw trout, beetroot and asparagus; and peppered beef carpaccio, parmesan mousse and garden fennel salad.  Eight main course choices are offered, starting at R95 for duck egg ravioli, young artichoke, white asparagus and truffle, up to R180 for springbok loin with red cabbage and walnuts, and also for Asian pork belly, scallop, pickled radish cucumber salad and honey jus.  Other options are Angus beef rib eye on the bone, served with foie gras butter and fine green beans; poached prawns, salmon, truffled bisque and celeriac; a beautiful and excellently prepared kingklip served with verjuice butter, confit tomato, bean fritters and chorizo crumbs (R110); Spier chicken, ‘local foraged mushrooms’, cepes sauces and lemon broad beans; as well as quail, masala and coconut cream.  I was not planning on having a dessert, but succumbed to the description of the Strawberry jelly, rose panna cotta and fresh strawberries, quirkily served in a glass jar with lid and fresh rose petals (R50).  One can also order coffee soufflé and peanut butter ice cream; Valrhona chocolate tart, naartjie pears and grapefruit sorbet; Elgin apple tart fine and salted caramel ice cream; or a cheese plate with lavosh and plum paste.

The winelist is presented in A4 size, with the same book cover feel and spoon logo, and contains a selection of mainly Stellenbosch wines. Five sparkling wines range from R44/R139 for Villiera Tradition Brut NV to R219 for High Constantia Clos Andre, with Pol Roger Brut NV costing R485.  There is a small selection of wines per variety, and one of these comes by the glass, with very reasonable prices, ranging from R31 – R38 for the white wines, and R35 – R44 for the red wines. Shirazes offered are Edgebaston 2008 (R38/R137), Tamboerskloof 2006, Pax Verbatim 2007, Rust en Vrede 2008, and Haskell Pillars 2007.

Chef Tanja proudly showed me her newly revived herb and vegetable garden, with baby plants growing through the straw, which has been designed by the Babylonstoren designer. Fruit trees on the property are creating new opportunities for Chef Tanja, and so a harvest of peaches has led to the creation of peach fruit butter, for example.  Chef Tanja and Chretien are also looking at ways to attract more business to the restaurant (I was the only patron there on Friday), and on 1 December they are hosting the first Fine Dining and Craft Beer pairing evening, at R295, which includes 4 courses, each paired with a Boston Breweries beer and a wine. Chef Tanja brought me a taste of her specially created Pumpkin beer ice cream which she has made for the tasting evening.

It will be interesting to see how Makaron Restaurant develops in the next year.  It is clear to me that the owners of Majeka House will do everything to get to the top, which includes getting Relais & Chateaux accreditation (they did not succeed a year ago) and to make Eat Out Top 20 (my speculation).  Its only downfall is its unfavourable location.  With the talent of Chef Tanja, Makaron Restaurant will be the place to watch!

Makaron Restaurant, Majeka House, 26 – 30 Houtkapper Street, Stellenbosch.  Tel (021) 880-1549  www.majekahouse.co.za. Monday – Sunday, Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

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

Restaurant Review: Dinner at Queen Victoria Hotel’s Dash is dashing!

I was invited to try out the 34-seater Dash restaurant in the Queen Victoria Hotel, which only opened in the Waterfront on Saturday, last night.   Chef Steven Tempelton is the leader of a creative team at Dash, whose food not only was visually appealing, but excellent too, and was responsible for a most dashing dinner.  Dash is one of the best fine-dining restaurants in Cape Town, and an Eat Out Top 10 Restaurant coontender for 2012.

The 35-bedroom Queen Victoria Hotel, previously the V&A Waterfront company head office, cost R53 million to transform into 5-star luxury, and the interior decor was done by master ‘craftsman’ Francois du Plessis, who has also just done Dear Me restaurant.  Cleverly, Newmark Hotels MD Neil Markovitz has arranged for the nearby Everard Read gallery to hang some if its artists’ works in the hotel, benefiting both parties. Dash has been honoured by a dominant work by Beezy Bailey.  The work is called “The Storm has passed”, and reflects the style of food created at Dash.  The back of the painting has a poem by Bailey:  “As the storm cleared/The dove escaped the cat’s claws/While the blueberry elephants passed by./As God’s tears hit the sky,/they turned into flowers”.

I was welcomed on arrival in the lobby, in which the 30-year old bonsai imported from China holds centre court, by Food & Beverage Manager Alton van Biljon, whom I had already seen in action last week, when I popped in for a tour around the hotel, led by Markovitz and the hotel’s PR consultant Ian Manley.  Alton has always been a most charming host when he worked at Balducci in the past four years, and has impressed with his knowledge of and passion for wine.  He started his career in retail. He moved into hospitality, and worked at Belthazar and Poplars before managing Balducci.

Chef Stephen Templeton grew up in Somerset West, and has been the Executive Chef at Sun City and the Mount Nelson Hotel.  He also was head of a team of 47 chefs at Harrods, the largest Food & Beverage operation in Europe, he said.  After a four year period in running Four Oaks guest house and restaurant in Montagu, he had an opportunity to sell it, and move back to Cape Town. It was in this time that he was approached by Newmark Hotels to become Group Chef, mainly responsible for their restaurants at the V&A Hotel, Dock House and Queen Victoria Hotel, all in the V&A.  Chef Stephen says that he was hands-on in the development of Dash, in sourcing its crockery, cutlery and glassware, in developing a fine winelist, and creating the unique menu.   The name for the restaurant was the result of a five hour brainstorm with the hotel’s executive team, and it was Ronan Jackson from the design agency that suggested the name, after Queen Victoria’s spaniel.  Chef Stephen and Francois du Plessis worked together to create a ‘New York sexy’ interior and menu that complement each other, and Du Plessis has said that it is the first time that his decor has been so well matched by a menu.  Chef Stephen is aiming at presenting ‘sophisticated, stylish, contemporary yet simple food’ at Dash, which he more than achieves.  He wants the food’s personality to shine through, not that of the chef.  Chef Stephen has an interesting team of nine chefs in the kitchen, with an average age of 24 years.   We laughed when we discovered that there is a Chef Jamie and a Chef Oliver in the kitchen.  I met Chef Oliver Cattermole, who created the ‘Alice in Wonderland garden’ of vegetables that is served with the beef fillet.  He worked at one-Michelin-star Novelli, and at The Ivy in London.  All staff have been taught to make coffee, and have tested the menu, to allow everyone to assist guests, as if one were in a guest house and not in a hotel, Chef Stephen said.  The waitress looking after me was Coral, and was honest in saying that she has just finished studying, and that Dash is her first job.  She was sweet, willing to execute every request, but still lacked some knowledge on how the magic is created in the kitchen.  She went to ask the kitchen all my questions. The staff wear a white shirt with the Queen Victoria Hotel logo on it, black pants and a white Dash-branded apron.

The welcome was warm, with Alton taking me through to the lounge, where I was invited to have a drink.  I chose a coffee.  Chef Stephen was happy to hear that I had starved during the day, in anticipation of the dinner.  Vegetable crisps were brought to the table as a snack.  I asked Chef Stephen what would happen if the 34-seater would run out of space in the 35-room hotel, and he assured me that they would pass the business on to the other Newmark Hotel restaurants in the Waterfront. Chef Stephen sees Dash operating in the league of The Roundhouse, The Test Kitchen and Aubergine. 

The restaurant has a black tile floor, an impressive black marble surround fireplace dividing the lounge/bar area from the restaurant, beautiful silver curtains, and a wonderful view onto Table Mountain.   The Beezy Bailey is the only colour splash in the room.  The tables are black metal, made by ‘in’ designer Gregor Jenkin I was told by Francois du Plessis, with white leather chairs.  There are no table cloths, but a good quality serviette, with very heavy and solid Sambonet cutlery imported from Germany, the first time I have seen this locally.  The glassware is excellent.  There is a little candle, and rather ordinary tiny white salt and pepper cellars, probably superfluous anyway, given the excellent food, not requiring seasoning.  The only criticism I shared with Alton was the music selection, being heavy jazz initially, and sounding hotel-like generally.  I reminded him of the great music one hears at Belthazar and Balducci.  The bar is lit with purple lighting at night, and bounces off the bar chairs, creating an interesting visual affect as one enters the bar area.  The colour of the lighting changes throughout the day.

I chose a starter of confit of crayfish on a cucumber sockle with a coriander and paw paw salad (R145).  The impressive part of its presentation was the paw paw crisp, creating a centerpiece to the starter, and tasting sweet and crispy.  Chef Stephen explained that paw paw is liquidised, then glycerine is added, it is baked for nine hours, and then thin slices are cut to create the crisp.  The cucumber was as fresh as could be, as was the salad, the paw paw in it echoing the crisp.  Sorrel foam completed the presentation.  No sauces got in the way of the natural fresh taste of the elements of the dish. No fish knife was served with this starter.  Other starter choices, ranging in price from R55 – R145, include beetroot cured salmon, oysters served on seaweed, wild mushroom ragoût, Ceasar salad, seared foie gras, and caviar (SQ).  The surprise was the most amazing sorbets that were served, and I was allowed three: I chose the Tomato Granite, to which Coral added vodka; a most refreshing Lime & Lemon; and the most amazing Rose, complete with its own rose petals dipped in egg white and crystallised.  The sorbets cost R25 for a choice of three.

The main course choice of Grilled fillet of beef with herb mash and spinach purée with vegetables and port jus (R140) has created a stir.  This menu description does not do justice to the amazing creation that arrived – three slices of fillet on mash, but it was the presentation of the vegetables that created the ‘wow’ response, dubbed by the staff as the ‘Alice in Wonderland garden’, an amazing symphony of carrot, tomato, mushrooms, orange-coloured mini corn-cob, baby radish, baby aubergine, baby turnip, sheets of cauliflower stalk, and tomadillo (tasting of tomato with the texture of aubergine, looking like a green gooseberry), so beautifully presented.  Chef Oliver called it ‘psychedelic vegetables’, and told me that he sources them from the Magic Man in the Karoo.  Main courses are reasonably priced, some being cheaper than the starters, and range from R95 to R145 for roasted sea bass, lobster tortellini, venison, tomato and beetroot tart, scallops, lamb noisette, and duck confit risotto.  The dessert list consists of four options, ranging from R50 – R70, in addition to a Cape cheeseboard (R115), and I chose the Pimms jelly, mint bavois and strawberry sauce, beautifully presented with a long elegant spoon, and well paired with a glass of Silverthorn The Green Man sparkling wine (made by Steenberg GM John Loubser in his private capacity). Other dessert options are chocolate fondant, coconut panacotta, and liquorice macaroons.  Coral brought a cappuccino made with Origin coffee to have with the dessert, and a sweet touch was a jug of extra froth, showing that Alton must have read a Tweet of mine a few days ago about the extra froth a waiter had brought me at Salt Deli, also a Newmark Hotel property.

Alton indulged my love for Shiraz, and poured a glass of Quoin Rock 2006 (R208 per bottle), with violet notes.  Coral brought tap water with an ice bucket and slices of lemon.  The winelist is impressive, bound in grey leather, with the hotel logo on it.  Champagnes and MCC sparkling wines are at the back of the winelist, normally found at the front.   Each wine variety is described, and the origin and vintage of each wine is presented, as are the tasting notes for each wine, generated from a tasting panel’s evaluation of each of the about 100 wines listed.  This is a future Diner’s Club Diamond Award winelist candidate.  The champagnes start at R 940 for Guy Charbaut Select Brut NV, going up to R3500 for Dom Perignon Vintage. Veuve Cliquot Rosé, Billecart Salmon Brut Reserve, and Pol Roger Brut Reserve are also available.  MCC’s start at R200 for Moreson Solitaire, with High Constantia Clos Andre costing R445.  Shiraz choices start at R 205 for Raka Biography, up to R 1390 for Saxenburg SSS Shiraz 2005. The wine-by-the glass policy is interesting – there are no prices for these, but one can order any wine on the list by the glass, within reason, and then Alton and his staff will try to sell the rest of the bottle to other guests.

If there is one taste at Dash that I will never forget it is that of the Rose sorbet – a taste I have never experienced before.  Dash is excellent, and perfect, and I know that the music selection will be addressed, as will the waiters’ food knowledge evolve.  They are so many items on the menu to return to, to try out.  From photographs of the other menu items it is evident that each dish is a work of art in presentation alone. The kitchen closes at about 22h30, but one can pop in at the 24-hour Dash bar for a drink, a coffee or even a dessert, ordered from the room service menu, after the kitchen has closed.  After being a loyal V&A Waterfront shopper for twenty years, it is refreshing to have such an excellent quality restaurant so close by, yet away from the hustle and bustle of the commercial Waterfront area.  I salute Newmark Hotels’ MD Neil Markovitz and his team in creating such an exceptional restaurant.

POSTSCRIPT 14/4: I went back to Dash for a quick coffee and more sorbet, and to show my colleague the Queen Victoria Hotel and Dash restaurant.  Restaurant Manager Darren looked after us, and organised the extra cappuccino foam on the side, from reading this review.  The hotel is almost booked out with delegates from Brazil attending a Tupperware conference.

POSTSCRIPT 8/5: Staying over at the invitation of the Queen Victoria Hotel presented an opportunity for me to introduce my son to Dash, which he was very impressed by.  Food & Beverage Manager Alton van Biljon was most generous in offering us a bottle of Hartenberg The Stork Shiraz 2005, knowing my love for an old-style shiraz.  The chef sent out two complimentary dishes to those we had ordered: the appetizer was a tomato, basil, and mushroom dust, served on a heavy slate plate, reminding me of the work of Eric Bulpitt, previously of Jardineand now at The Round House.  We both ordered a filling starter of wonderful wild mushroom ragout in puff pastry, served with green beans and bearnaise (R65).  Alex had the beef fillet with the ‘Alice in Wonderland vegetable garden’, while I ordered Springbok loin, carrot purée and turnip gratin (R135).   We shared a trio of Rose, Lemon and lime, and Orange and citrus sorbets (R25).   The chef sent out a complimentary pannacotta and lemon sorbet for usto share.   A wonderful evening, once again with an excellent meal, and charming and highly-impressive service by Alton.

POSTSCRIPT 15/5: I returned to Dash with Carole, my colleague in Hermanus, and we were well looked after by Restaurant Manager Darren and Chef Oliver Cattermole.  I tried the Duck Confit Risotto with citrus and herb potpourri, the potpourri containing tea, dried duck (tasting like biltong) and herbs, and served in a separate bowl, which I sprinkled over the risotto.  Carole had the Beef fillet and the ‘Alice in Wonderland’ vegetable garden.  For dessert we had the Chocolate Fondant, which oozed Valrhona chocolate sauce when we opened it, with orange ice cream, a beautiful presentation.  I had my cappuccino with a jug of extra foam, always a nice touch! It was great to meet One&Only Cape Town Hotel Executive Chef Jason Millar, who was celebrating his anniversary at Dash, and to hear a chef’s reaction to the food of another chef – he was most complimentary.  Chef Oliver Cattermole is the driving force in the Dash kitchen, in my opinion, and has created a vegetable and herb garden on the roof of Newmark Hotels’ V&A Hotel, from which he will harvest for his kitchen in future.  

POSTSCRIPT 25/5: Another lovely lunch with excellent service at Dash today, spoiling my friend Jenny to a birthday lunch.  She was surprised to receive a birthday card from the hotel, and a surprise chocolate fondant dessert with her cappuccino.  Jenny’s Beetroot cured salmon with horseradish apple slaw was beautifully presented.

POSTSCRIPT 1/7: Today I took Trevor Jordaan for a birthday lunch at Dash.  I ordered a Cape Malay butternut velouté, while Trevor had a chicory and pickled pear salad, both beautifully presented.  Happy to hear how well the restaurant is doing, and has appointed an Assistant Manager Andrea.

POSTSCRIPT 3/8: Sadly, Restaurant Manager Darren Morgan left the hotel on Monday.  F&B Manager Alton van Biljon has taken a leave of absence, and his return date is uncertain, if he returns at all.  Andrea confirmed this evening that lunch will not be served at Dash for the time being.

POSTSCRIPT 12/8: I had the Mushroom Ragout again this evening, and the pastry casing was tough, and the size of the dish has definitely shrunk.  No Andreas Shiraz was available, which I had tried at Dash for the first time a month ago, when Michael McKenzie and I popped in. The waiter asked how I enjoyed the dish.  I said I didn’t, due to the shrunk size and tough pastry, to which he confidently retorted that the perfect pastry casing is tough! Chef Jamie was in the kitchen this evening. I shared the problem with Hostess Connie, and she apologised.  The waiter told me that the kitchen was sending out a second Ragout, but Connie arrived with the bill, having taken the Ragout off it, saying that the waiter had told her I didn’t want the replacement Ragout.  I got up and left in disbelief at this comedy of errors, the first evening of serious dissatisfaction at Dash.

POSTSCRIPT 25/9: We had a ‘last supper’ at Dash this evening, one of the last nights that Chef Oliver Cattermole will be in the Queen Victoria Hotel kitchen, before he starts at What’s On Eatery on Saturday.  I chose the Foie gras with apple, excellent, but pricey as a starter at R140.  My son enjoyed his Duck risotto (R125).  The Rose sorbet no longer is dark pink, as photographed above, and doesn’t taste as amazing as I remember it. Service efficient but functional, and the personal touch has gone. Excellent Andreas Shiraz 2008 now my favourite Shiraz.  Sad to see us being only one of two tables.  Despite being told in early days that all wines on the winelist are available by the glass, the limit is that only bottles under R300 may be opened for wines by the glass.

Dash Restaurant, Queen Victoria Hotel, Portswood Close, Portswood Ridge, V&A Waterfront.   Tel (021) 418-1466.   www.queenvictoriahotel.co.za (The Dash menu and winelist are now listed on the website, but the Image Gallery does not contain enough photographs to reflect the amazing creativity of the Dash chefs).

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

Restaurant Review: There is no saffron at Saffron Restaurant in Paternoster

Saffron is a sacred spice, used for seasoning and colouring dishes, and is the most expensive spice of all, so its choice as a name for the restaurant of the new 5-star Abalone House in Paternoster is a misnomer, in that its food does not contain any of this special spice.

I ate at Saffron restaurant for four nights in a row, not having many other options in Paternoster, during a winter break.   The dining room decor is busy, with about seven tables squeezed around a central serving table, on which the breakfast and the afternoon tea are laid out.   At night this table plays no role, and therefore makes things feel a little squashed, especially as the chairs are large high-back ones.   Beautiful big bulbous red wine glasses, good quality cutlery and napery are on the tables.   The music sounds a little canned, coming from an i-Pod, and is piped through the whole guest house.

One cannot miss the work of Tretchikoff at Abalone House, as it is in most rooms. Tretchikoff prints of the Chinese Girl and Balinese Girl are in every bedroom and bathroom, and in the public areas as well.  Natasha, Tretchikoff’s granddaughter and founder of The Tretchikoff Trust (www.vladimirtretchikoff.com), stayed at the guest house one evening, and was charming when I met her and her husband at afternoon tea.   The dining room decor colours are yellow/orange, with splashes of purple.   Beautiful glass lanterns with a candle are lit at every table every night, even though I was the only guest at the guest house on most nights, giving the restaurant a romantic and festive atmosphere.  White orchids are everywhere.  It was cold in the dining room in the evenings, as the fireplace is in the lounge, and its heat does not spread to the dining room.

The menu and winelists have a gold colour, with the branding and logo of the guest house embossed in it.   Nowhere could I see the Saffron restaurant name inside the restaurant, except on a tiny silver plaque as one enters the restaurant.  The menu changes every three days.    Three choices are offered for each course, and on the first night I chose a celery and potato soup, which tasted more of leek, and was very thin.  I could not taste the potato.  The freshly baked bread brought to the table had a crispy crust, and was more-ish. Other starter choices offered were almond rolled goats’ cheese, as well as smoked salmon and potato salad, all starters costing R 45.

I skipped the main course on the first night, and had a lovely portion of the mixed vegetable side dish, at R25, with carrots, broccoli, and beans, all crispy and not over-cooked.  The fillet of beef on another evening, served with champagne mash and a red wine jus, was perfectly prepared medium-rare, as ordered, and a little expensive at R125 for a less than 200 gram portion of fillet.   Other mains offered were a duo of salmon and and hake (R 80), and roast vegetable and garden herb risotto (R70), the latter being an extremely delicious and generous serving of risotto with green pepper, courgettes, mushrooms and beans, and quite different to what I had expected from the ‘roast’ description.   I had the apple crumble dessert served with ice cream, at R 40, but the crumble part was very crumbly and burnt when grilled in the oven.   The cheese platter is very good value at R 45, with five cheese types, biscuits and fig preserve offered.

Red wines-by-the-glass are reasonably-priced, and on offer are Chamonix Cabernet Sauvignon (R45), Hermit on the Hill (R35), and Cloof Inkspot (R 25).  White wines offered by the glass are Withington (R 25), Journey’s End ‘The Haystack’ (R30) and COAV (R30).  R50 corkage is charged.  Unusually the winelist contained the following note: “All wines are subject to availability and vintages may change due to demand”.  Commendably the vintages are mentioned.   Each wine is briefly described on the winelist.   Champagnes stocked range from R605 for a Drappier Carte d’Or to R1 430 for Gosset Grand Milliesime.   Cap Classique wines range in price from R185 for Krone Borealis to R390 for High Constantia. Three Shirazes are offered: Migliarina 2007 at R 200, Tamboerskloof 2006 at R 190, and Catherine Marshall at R 125.

My biggest problem with the restaurant was with Rudi the waiter, who doubles up as the hotel’s guest relations person.  On the day that I arrived, he wore a pair of shorts and the guest house staff’s African style shirt – in Paternoster one does not feel to be in Africa.   He must have sensed me looking at his shorts (or legs), and he quickly put on a long apron, which made him look far more professional.  He was very vague in his knowledge of the menu (i.e. which vegetables are in the mixed vegetable side-dish), and had to keep going to Nickie Lawson, the chef, to ask her.   Nickie is a fun Irish lass whose mom lives next door, and this had led her to Paternoster.  I was a little weary about eating at the restaurant, as I had been warned that it had some problems, and after a poor start on the first night, the food got better and better on each subsequent night.  Rudi is extremely willing to please and made me the best cappuccinos for breakfast and afternoon tea (yes, this is part of the guest house package, not at the Mount Nelson level, but sandwiches, chocolate cake slices and the most delicious light scones are served with strawberry or berry jam and fresh cream every day).  His past as mechanic, self-confessed, may explain some of the rough edges, but he is kind, laughs a lot, and nothing was too much trouble.

On the second day, I was told by Ann, the Manager, that the owners Johan Jansen van Vuuren and Stef Venter had wanted me to have a bottle of wine on the house.  Rudi brought me a condensed current winelist, with only a few items on it, as well as the brand new well-presented winelist.  I liked the greater selection on the new list, and requested a Tamboerskloof Shiraz from it.  Rudi looked and looked in his bar, and very few of the wines on the new list were in the tiny bar, and he had to tell me that the bar stock had been stored elsewhere in Paternoster, but that he would have the bottle for me for the following day’s dinner.  He was true to his word, and the smoky Shiraz character of the wine went well with the (unintended) smokiness of the fireplace in the lounge.

Saffron Restaurant is expensive, but its pricing no doubt is based on supply and demand, and its five-star grading – there is no other reasonable equivalent in Paternoster, except for Gaaitjie and Ah! guest house, where I also ate during my holiday.  I will be back to try the restaurant under the new management of Darren and Lindsay Stewart, the new Executive Chef and GM, respectively.

Saffron Restaurant, Abalone House,  Kriedoring Street, Paternoster.  Tel (022) 752-2044.  www.abalonehouse.co.za(the Image Gallery is very slow to download.  There is no menu nor winelist.  The name of the new chef has not been updated on the site, which probably means that the dishes in the Image Gallery are those of ex-Chef Nickie).

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

Genevieve MCC a bubbly high-flyer!

One of the fringe benefits of writing is that one meets some very special persons.  One such lady is Melissa Genevieve Nelsen, who has just launched the first vintage of her new Genevieve Methode Cap Classique.

Melissa grew up in the lovely fruit-farming valley of Elgin, dreaming of becoming an air hostess.  Her late mother challenged her to think big, and to become a pilot rather than a hostess.  Despite the financial challenge of paying for the flying lessons, paid for by waitressing, Melissa persevered, and qualified with a commercial pilot’s licence, flying for a small charter company in Johannesburg.

When her mom became ill, Genevieve came back to the Cape to nurse her, and started doing beading.  She also planted buchu on her stepdad’s smallholding, the buchu oil forming the organic foundation of artificial flavouring.  This was followed by a stint at Wildekrans, where she ran the tasting room, and took over the marketing for the wine estate when the Marketing Manager moved to Plettenberg Bay.

Her boyfriend from school, Leon Engelke, a viticulturist at Beaumont in Bot River, entered a Garagiste Cabernet Unfiltered wine he had made at the Michelangelo wine awards, and to his surprise, won Double Gold for it.   This inspired Melissa to make her own wine too, and she decided that it should be a sparkling wine.   Using chardonnay grapes from a smallholding in Bot River, Melissa made her first Genevieve (her second name) Methode Cap Classique, receiving advice and support from Colmant, High Constantia and Ross Gower Wines.

The Genevieve 2008 MCC was launched at the Cape Royale Luxury Hotel 3 weeks ago.  It is made of 100% chardonnay, utilising “whole bunch pressing ensuring quality juice”.  A minimum of 18 months yeast contact time was allowed “before disgorgement”.   The sparkling wine was made at Ross Gower cellars in Elgin, it was riddled at Avondale, and is stored at Luddite.

Her tasting note says:”Delicately elegant, with fresh and subtle aromas of white fruits.   This 100% Chardonnay combines the characteristics of the grapes along with extensive time on the lees to bring depth and flavour to the wine.”   Her first vintage has a production of 5 500 bottles.  

Genevieve MCC: www.genevievemcc.co.za , cell 083 302 6562

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