Tag Archives: Mange Tout

Many restaurant openings in Cape Town and Winelands contrary to past winter trend!

Chef's Warehouse Street Food logo Whale Cottage PortfolioCape Town is seeing an amazing number of restaurant openings in mid-winter, a time during which one expects the opposite, it being usual to see restaurant closures.  Although a concern to some, we are seeing a rise in restaurant entrepreneurs, opening more than one restaurant in Cape Town, including Neil Grant with business partner Barry Engelbrecht (opening on Bree Street, as well as at the former River Café; Michael Townsend of the Harbour House Group, who must be the fastest restaurant-opener at the moment, also bringing star Chef Andres Conde from Michelin star restaurants in Spain to Cape Town; and grumpy Giorgio Nava, who is opening two Carne restaurants shortly! This list of restaurant openings and closings is updated continuously, as we receive new information:

Restaurant Openings

*    Chef’s Warehouse & Canteen has opened Street Food below the neighbouring hotel, offering Deluxe coffee, pastries, and Asian-inspired lunch take-outs. Operates from 7h00 – 15h00.

*   Idiom Wines is said to be opening a restaurant.

*   Lucky Fish & Chips has opened on Bree Street, on Regent Road in Sea Point, on Long Street, in Kalk Bay, and in Muizenberg, belonging to Harbour House group.  

*   The Butcher Shop & Grill is opening next to Sotano in Mouille Point.

*   Ragafellows has opened on Main Road in Hout Bay.

*   The Dogfather has opened in Sea Point.

*   The Restaurant at Cape Point Vineyards has opened, with Chef Clayton Bell of the former Constantia Uitsig Continue reading →

Cape Restaurant Week: new restaurant specials, new reservation system!

An Amsterdam restaurant concept has been introduced to South Africa, kicking off in Cape Town and the Winelands, offering a real-time reservation system, and introducing the first Dining City Restaurant Week of specials from 22 – 29 September, whereby locals will be able to enjoy two and three course lunches and dinners at reasonable prices, and experience the real-time booking system of new restaurant website www.diningcity.com.  In the Netherlands the most recent Restaurant Week generated 200000 bookings from more than 1000 restaurants.

DiningCity Restaurant Week is the concept of ​​the world’s leading online restaurant guide www.DiningCity.com. The company was founded in 1998 in Amsterdam, and is currently active in Belgium, Austria, Hungary, Italy and Spain, and outside Europe in cities like New York, Singapore, Dubai, Shanghai, and Beijing. On the South African website one can select restaurants on price, cuisine, location and atmosphere. Information about the restaurants is presented by means of photos, menus and videos.

The principle of the system is that for Restaurant Week restaurants in Cape Town and the Winelands offer a certain number of their seats to Restaurant Week, with a 3 course lunch costing R125 and a 3-course dinner costing R200.  Some restaurants will charge a supplement of R50, indicated with a star on the Dining City website (and in the list below). The condition is that all restaurant reservations must be made via the website, which automated system will confirm the booking, send reminders on the date of the booking, and will request feedback about the meal experience the following day. This will eliminate the taking of bookings telephonically or by e-mail, and should reduce no-shows, a problem which Cape Town restaurants experience regularly.  Initially the restaurants will not be charged to join Restaurant Week (in Amsterdam restaurants pay € 200 per year to be part of the system, said Dining City CEO Tertius van Oosthuyzen), but they will pay R10 per seat booked.  I caught Tertius just before his flight back to Amsterdam, and he was delighted that he had managed to get 20000 seats on board in the first few days of launching Restaurant Week almost a month ago. He is hoping to get 40 restaurants on board by the time that Restaurant Week starts.

The 38 restaurants which have signed up for Restaurant Week already are: Planet Restaurant*, The Roundhouse*, The Duchess of Wisbeach*, Pigalle*, 5 Rooms*, Ashton’s at Greenways, Baia, Balducci’s, Belthazar, Blakes*, Blues Beach House, Buitenverwachting*, Bukhara*, Café Chic, Café Dijon, Catharina’s*, Chandani, Five Flies*, Gold Restaurant*, Haiku*, Il Cappero, Jackal & Hide, L’Apero*, La Mouette*, Marimba, Myoga*, Paranga*, Pepenero*, Pure, Reserve, Roberto’s, Savoy Cabbage, Signal Restaurant, The Bungalow,* The George @ Romney Park Hotel, The Grand Café and Beach, Top of the Ritz, and Westin Executive Club*.

Few Winelands restaurants have been signed up to date:  Roca* at Dieu Donné, Haute Cabriere*, Dish at Le Franschhoek (photograph), Mange Tout*, Monneaux*, and Waterkloof*.

Tertius was at pains to explain that they are not taking on beleaguered Eat Out, the largest restaurant database in South Africa, and he was happy to see that they have posted a write-up about Restaurant Week on their site.

Restaurant Week will form part of Cape Town’s promotion of tourism in September. “We are keen to encourage locals to come out of hibernation, with an offer that will not be equalled in terms of quality and value, until the next DiningCity Restaurant Week,” said Tertius.  Next year Dining City SA will focus on Johannesburg, for the second Restaurant Week they will organise, in April.  It is planned to host two such restaurant special promotions every year.

POSTSCRIPT 22/9: The Restaurant Week started today, and I tried to make a booking at Dish Restaurant at Le Franschhoek via the Dining City website, but it has no link to the Restaurant Week website, on which one has to make the restaurant bookings for the Restaurant Week.  When I got to the right website, I could not make the booking, as it had already eliminated today’s date, and only offered dates from tomorrow onwards. Earlier in the day I was asked to provide feedback about the booking process by Dining City via Twitter, which I did, and I received a number of defensive and aggressive Tweets as well as DM’s (Direct Messages), basically questioning my intelligence about not understanding their websites and booking system.  The Tweeter was Tertius van Oosthuyzen, the Dining City CEO! Not a good introduction of this Dutch businessman to our local restaurant industry!

Despite the bad Tweet start with Dining City, I had a lovely evening at Dish Restaurant, and Chef Oliver Cattermole and his team were firing on all cylinders. Three courses at R200 is exceptional value. His amuse bouche was the highlight this evening, a cranberry-coated chicken liver ‘popsicle’.  The starter was a mushroom soup which I have tasted previously.  The main course was beef fillet with Chef Oliver’s famous ‘vegetable garden’ plating, using vegetables grown for him especially at La Motte by Daniel Kruger.  The dessert was a chocolate fondant made from 100% smoked chocolate, served with a cognac ice cream, and a hazelnut chocolate paste smear.  Chef Oliver sent a taste of Le Franschhoek’s new Lemoncello, which he made from the hotel’s own produce, to the table.

Dining City Restaurant Week, 22 – 29 September. www.DiningCity.co.za Twitter: @DiningCitySA

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

Restaurant Review: Birds Café & Gourmet Eatery has lost some birds, gained great chefs!

I only went to Birds Boutique Café (a misnomer, there being nothing Boutique about it all!) once, and awarded it a Sour Service Award after the visit, due to the couldn’t-care-attitude expressed by the then owners. Speaking to its new owners Kevin Mink and Leigh Trout (on the right behind the counter), it is now understandable, given that the previous owners had been looking to sell the Café for a year already, and it showed!  The new Birds Café and Gourmet Eatery opened on 1 September, and is a huge improvement, in its decor, service and food quality.  There are no bird tweets anymore!

Birds Café on Bree Street is diagonally opposite &Union.  Chef Leigh used to work for Chef Bruce Robertson at The Showroom, whereafter he worked on the exclusive private North Island in Seychelles.  He was at Mont Rochelle Hotel for a year, cooking for its restaurant Mange Tout, moving to Birds Café from there.  Chef Kevin has had a catering company ‘Art of Good Food’ for eight years, and has renamed it Birds Catering, working from upstairs in the same building.

The interior was decorated with a bird theme by the previous owners, and some of these touches, such as a collection of bird cages on a wall, cute swan ground pepper and coarse salt holders, and birds on the menu, have been retained. Bird egg sweets come with the bill.  What has gone is the curtained off kitchen, at which one was originally meant to place one’s order, except that they did not say so, adding spaciousness to the restaurant, and allowing one to see the buzz and busyness of the seven kitchen staff working with Chefs Keith and Leigh.  They told me that their emphasis at Birds Café is to work with smaller suppliers, sourcing only local seasonal organic products where possible.  While the emphasis is on the Café side originally while they find their new restaurant feet, they will open for dinners next year, offering sophisticated dining in the evenings, and retaining the Café style during the day, for breakfast and lunch.

The back kitchen wall is painted an olive green,  and I loved the upside down ‘bucket’ lampshades in the entrance room and over the kitchen section.  Seating is in two rooms (the one at the kitchen is more homely and definitely more popular) at large communal tables, with ‘seats’ made from milk crates (now covered with hessian cushions) too high relative to the table top, and not to everyone’s taste.  Unbranded olive oil and balsamic vinegar jars are on the table, with Consol glass jars containing cutlery.  Service is friendly, and water in a carafe is proactively brought to each new arriving guest.  Chef Kevin interacts with guests too, taking orders, and there is an amazing friendliness, quite unlike what I experienced on my previous visit. Clients kept arriving around lunch time, and filled up the restaurant.

There are paper menus for Breakfast and for Lunch.   A guest who shared the table told me that some items seemed familiar to her from the previous Birds.   Breakfast is served until 11h30, and offers a selection of four health breakfasts (cooked oats; raw beetroot with apple, papaya and seeds; fruit salad, granola and organic yoghurt; and citrus with yoghurt, almonds and pomegranate, costing R25 – R39); toast, jam, organic roasted peanut butter, creamed honey (R25); pancakes cost R20 – 25 for two, either with cinnamon or chocolate; and five egg choices (R38 – R45): poached eggs and bacon, sorrel and goat’s cheese omelette with wild forest mushrooms, fried eggs and bacon, scrambled eggs with kippers, and egg white omelette and roasted tomato and basil.  A number of health ‘shakes’ are available (R14/R28), and LavAzza cappuccino costs R16, served in a beautiful white cup with gold stripes, without saucer, the teaspoon in a separate bowl. The crockery in which the food is served is partly ex-Birds and what the chefs owned, all unusual and with a home-made feel to it.

For lunch, it’s a choice of open sandwiches (I saw the generous rib-eye beef and mustard hollandaise sandwich being served to a table next to me, and it looked delicious), salads, light meals, and ‘sweets’.   Sandwich choices are the rib-eye beef (R55); tomato, avocado and feta (R40); and roasted spiced chicken with hummus and egg plant (R45).  Salads include chicken caesar (R60), baby beetroot with goat’s cheese (45), and spring greens with asparagus, artichokes, broad beans, and peas.  I chose the poached free-range egg with steamed asparagus, greens, and parmesan shavings served with toasted ciabatta (R45), the herbs and dressing adding a special taste, although I found it a little too salty.   Chicken pie with a garden salad costs R60, and quiche and a garden salad R45.  For dessert one can have pancakes, cakes at R30 (carrot cake and cheesecake were the two options when I was there on Saturday), and chocolate brownies.  Only Graham Beck wine is served: Chenin Blanc, Rosé, and Cabernet Sauvignon (R35 – R45 a glass).

I liked the refreshing new feel to Birds Cafe, that both Chefs Leigh and Kevin came out of the kitchen to say hello, the friendliness from the staff to their customers, and amongst the customers themselves as they share tables, and the emphasis on healthy unfussy food that offers good value for money.

Birds Café & Gourmet Eatery, 127 Bree Street, Cape Town.  Tel (021) 426-2534. www.birdsboutiquecafe.com (The website, containing only the phone number and opening hours, is that of the previous owners.  It will be amended and updated). Monday – Friday 7h00 – 17h00, Saturday 7h00 – 15h00.

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

Summer Cape Town and Winelands Restaurant Specials

We are delighted that many restaurants in Cape Town and the Winelands have seen the benefit of offering specials, and are continuing to do so.  The Spring/Summer 2011/2012 specials for Cape Town and Winelands restaurants follow below, and will be updated continuously:

*   Pure at Hout Bay Manor: 3-course dinner for R 220. Summer. Tel (021) 790-0116.

*   Pepenero in Mouille Point : sirloin and chips R79, seafood platter R 129, 1 kg prawn platter R99, oysters R9 each, sushi platter R109.  Half price sushi all day.  Indefinite. Tel (021) 439-9027

*   Sinn’s Restaurant at Wembley Square:  Lunch (6 options) at R50.  3-course dinner with glass of wine R150.  Summer. Tel (021) 465-0967

*   Theo’s on Beach Road, Mouille Point: Oysters R 8 each, 15 prawns R99, line fish R99, 250 gm Sirloin steak. Kingklip and 6 prawns R125.  250g Sirloin steak and 6 prawns R125. 250g Lobster and 6 prawns R159. Summer. Tel (021) 439-3494.

*   Sevruga in the V&A Waterfront: half price sushi Monday – Saturday 12 – 6 pm; 25 % off sushi Sunday 12 – 2pm, 50 % off Sunday 2 – 6 pm, 3-course menu R160, daily, lunch and dinner; 2-course lunch R120. Summer. Tel (021) 421-5134

*   Beluga, The Foundry, Green Point: 1 kg Prawns R130, 50 % off sushi and cocktails all day Sunday, and from 12h00 – 19h00 weekdays. 2-course lunch R120; 3-course lunch and dinner R160.  Summer. Tel (021) 418-2948.

*   La Mouette, Regent Road, Sea Point : 6-course Tasting Menu R 165, with wines paired R 330. Monday – Sunday dinner, Friday and Saturday lunch.  April. Tel (021) 433-0856

*   Bertha’s in Simonstown: 1 kg Queen prawns cost R99 each, 1kg mussels R99, 1 kg chicken wings R99, full rack of ribs plus chips R99.  Half rack of ribs R59. Summer. Tel (021) 786-2138

*   Aubergine:  2-course lunch R198,  3-course lunch R254, Wednesdays – Fridays.  Monday – Saturdays except public holidays. Daily dinner specials. 3-course R375, 4-course R455, 5-course R565 degustation menu. Summer. Tel (021) 465-4909

*   Ferryman’s Tavern, V&A Waterfront: Buffet plus Castle draught weekday lunch, R65. Sunday roast R 55 Indefinite.  Tel (021) 419-7748

*   Hildebrand: 2 courses R99, 3 courses R130 if eat before 19h00;  Summer. Tel (021) 425-3385

*   Leaf Restaurant and Bar: 50 % off sushi all day, Dimsum 30 % off, Burgers R50 – R65.  Summer. Tel (021) 418-4500

*   Blowfish in Blouberg: half-price sushi Wednesday 5 – 8 pm; Eat all you can sushi Sunday 5-10 pm R149.  Summer. Tel (021) 556-5464

*   Vanilla, Cape Quarter:  Half price sushi 12h00 – 17h00 Daily. Summer. Tel (021) 421-1391

*   Knife restaurant, Century City:  Bagel R35; Salad R45; Rib, meatball, chicken wing and chip platter R60, all specials include a beer/glass of wine/colddrink and coffee.  Lunch special, 12h00 – 15h00, Mondays – Fridays. Indefinite. Tel (021) 551-5000

*   Saul’s Sushi @ Vegas, Sea Point: Eat as much sushi as you like for R115 Mondays and Tuesdays, 30 piece sushi platter R50 – Wednesdays and Thursdays; two for the price of one – Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Indefinite. Tel 087 151 4595

*   Trees Restaurant, Townhouse Hotel, Cape Town:  2 courses R 95, 3 courses R 130. Indefinite. Tel (021) 465-7050

*   Down South Food Bar, 267 Long Street:  Platter of ribs, chicken wings, prawns, chips, corn, sauce for R190 for two persons. Indefinite. Tel (021) 422-1155.

*  Cape Town Fish Market, V&A:  “All you can eat Breakfast Buffet” R 60, Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays; Seafood lunch buffet R125, Sundays and public holidays. Indefinite. Tel (021) 418-5977

*   Trinity, Bennett Street:  All you can eat rib R99 Mondays ; 2 Pizzas and 2 glasses of wine R99 Monday – Thursday from 12 pm;  I/2 price sushi, cocktails and tapas Monday – Thursday 16h00 – 22h00. Summer. Tel (021) 418-0624

*   French Toast, Bree Street: Bruschetta tapas free  Monday – Saturdays, 5 – 7 pm.  All wines costing R 400 or less half price on Mondays.  2-course lunch consisting of soup and choice of two tapas plus glass of wine or cup of coffee R89, Monday – Friday 12h00 – 16h00.  Summer. Tel (021) 422-3839.

* The Square, Vineyard Hotel, Newlands:  5 courses paired menu R 195.  Dinner only, Monday – Sunday.  Summer. Tel ()21) 657-4500

*   Dunes, Hout Bay : Sunday buffet with smoked salmon, oysters and cooked breakfast R100. Summer. Tel (021) 790-1876

*   Arnold’s on Kloof, 60 Kloof Street, Gardens:  Early bird breakfast half-price special if order before 7h00. Gemsbok Wellington R115, Vegetable stack Napoleon R68, Summer salad R55, Chicken schnitzel R69, Seafood platter R150, Crocodile loin R159.  Tel (021) 424-4344.  Summer.

*   Five Flies, 2-course meal plus glass of wine R100, book on website www.fiveflies.co.za.  Current. Tel (021) 424-4442

*   Balducci’s, V&A Waterfront: Alfresco Lunch specials – soup and salad R89, fish R89, calamari R89, seafood platter for two R245, Steak Roll and chips R85, Steak and chips R99, Burgers R55 – R75, Glass of wine R27, bottle of wine R99, open sandwiches R64 – R86.  Daily 12h00 – 16h00. Summer. Tel (021) 421-6002

*  Codfather, Camps Bay:  half-price sushi 12h00 – 18h00, daily.  Indefinite. Tel (021) 438-0782

*   Black Marlin, Simonstown:  2-course meal R115, 3-course R140 includes glass of wine. Indefinite. Tel (021) 786-1621

*   Cape Town Fish Market, Big Bay, V&A Waterfront, Canal Walk, Tyger Valley, Somerset West, Stellenbosch, Tokai, Grand West Casino: “All you can eat Breakfast Buffet” R60, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays; 4-course Seafood buffet lunch R125, Sundays and public holidays.  Buy one, get one free – hake on Mondays, sushi on Tuesdays, calamari on Wednesdays.  Indefinite. Tel (021) 554-5962.

*   La Bruixa, Sea Point:  Seafood paella for two for R260, includes a salad.  Summer. Tel (021) 434-8797

*   La Boheme, Sea Point:   2-courses R95, 3-courses R 120.  Summer. Tel (021) 434-8797.

*   The Round House, Camps Bay: 4-course a la carte menu R450, 7-course set tasting menu R595. Summer. Tel (021) 438-4347

*   Planet Restaurant,  Mount Nelson Hotel:  6-course Vegan Journey menu R300 (R380 from 15/9), 4-course The Journey menu R220 (R255 from 15/9 – 15/11), 6-course The Journey menu R380. Summer. Tel (021) 483-1000.

*   Café Manhattan, 74 Waterkant Street: Burger and a glass of wine R45.  Indefinite. Tel (021) 421-6666

*   Pepper Club on the Beach, Camps Bay: 6 oysters plus bubbly R 110, Shrimp cocktail and Avo Ritz R55, Prawn platter R 125, Grilled Portuguese sardines R45, Smoked salmon trout and asparagus R85, East Coast sole R110, Lamb rib R95, Rib-eye steak R115. Summer. Tel (021) 438-3174

*   Savour Restaurant, Sunday Lunch Buffet plus ‘never-ending supply of Methodé Cap Classique’ R265. Summer. Tel (021) 469-8037

*   La Colombe, Constantia: 6-courses R 600, or with wine R800, Monday – Saturday, Summer. Tel (021) 794-2390

*   Catharina’s, Steenberg Hotel: 2-course lunch R185, 3-course lunch R215, 3-course dinner R250.  Summer.  Tel (021) 713-2222

*   Constantia Uitsig: 3-course lunch and dinner R390, Monday – Saturday. Summer. Tel (021) 794-4480

*   Rick’s Café Américain, Park Road: 1/2 litre Paulaner, Erdinger and Valentins beer R 32, 5 – 7 pm; Lunch specials from R45; and more specials on drinks. Indefinite.  Tel (021) 424-1100

*   Barocca, Camps Bay Club: 2 for the price of one burgers Tuesday evenings; Pasta and a glass of wine R50 Thursday evenings.  From 5 pm. Indefinite. Tel (021) 438-1992

*   Seaforth Restaurant, Simonstown: Deep fried prawns R90 Tuesdays; hake and chips R38 Wednesdays; Eat as much calamari as you like R49 Thursdays; Steak and calamari R78 Fridays; Eat as much as you like pork spare ribs R88 Saturdays. From 6 pm. Indefinite. Tel (021) 786-4810

*   Pizzeria Villagio, Howard Centre, Pinelands: Free glass of Teddy Hall wine with home-made pasta on Tuesdays.  Indefinite. Tel (021) 531-4473.

*   Adega, Sea Point: 1kg King Prawns R119. Indefinite. Tel (021) 434-3029

*   Addis in Cape Ethiopian Restaurant, 41 Church Street: 2-course set menu R130.  Tel (021) 424-5722.  Indefinite.

*   Azure Restaurant, Twelve Apostles Hotel, Camps Bay (photograph above): 5-courses R315 includes movie and popcorn, Summer. Tel (021) 437-9000

*   Diva Pizza, Buitenkant Street: 2 large margherita pizzas with choice of two toppings R85.  Indefinite. Tel (021) 461-0013

*   Tokyo Restaurant & Sushi Bar: Buy one get one free daily until 5pm; Sushi Buffet Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturday evenings R110.  Indefinite. Tel (021) 424-5108.

*   OYO, V&A Hotel, Waterfront: Crayfish Special, 500 g R195. Summer. Tel (021) 419-6677.

**   BlueFin Seafood & Sushi, Plattekloof: 50 % off sushi 10h00 – 15h00; ‘Eat as much a you like’ Sushi R129; Monday – Sunday. Tel (021) 558-4281

*   Rhapsody’s, Green Point: 50 % off sushi daily from 12h00 – 18h00. Summer. Tel (021) 434-3004

*   Reuben’s, One&Only Cape Town, V&A Waterfront: One&Only Seafood Platter for Two R 995. Summer. Tel (021) 431-5888

*   Bayside Café, Camps Bay:  Order two main courses, and second person gets lower priced dish free, senior citizens only.  Until 30 April. Tel (021) 438-2560.

*   Café Chameleon, Plattekloof: Beer-battered hake and calamari with a glass of wine/beer/juice R69.  Until 31 March.  Monday – Friday lunch special of small pizza R 45.  Monday and Saturday dinner large pizza special R55.  Ongoing. Tel (021) 911-1025

*   Taiwan City Chinese Cuisine, Century City: 3 courses for 2 persons for R175. Until 30 June. Tel (021) 555-3081

*   Myoga, Vineyard Hotel, Newlands: 7-course dinner R 225. Until April.  Tel (021) 657-4545.

*   Zorba’s, Lagoon Beach: Seafood and meat platter for 2 R220.  Lunch and dinner daily (not valid Saturday lunch). Tel (021) 528-2093

*   Saints on 84 Kloof Street: Bottomless sodas with every meal; 2 flatbreads for price of one on Mondays; 2 burgers for the price of one on Thursday evenings; Craft beer on tap R20 for a pint. Current. Tel (021) 424-0030

*   Den Anker, V&A Waterfront: Vol au vent  with Vedett white beer R 85.  Until October. Tel (021) 419-0249

* F.east, Loop Street: chicken or vegetable curry lunch special R59. Current. Tel (021) 424-5903.

*   Sinatra’s at The Pepper Club Hotel has a business lunch special of R50 for a meal ordered, served and eaten in 50 minutes, or you get your money back. Monday – Friday. Current. Tel (021) 812-8888.

WINELANDS

Franschhoek

*   Allee Bleue, outside Franschhoek: choice of three 250g steaks at R115, including a glass of estate wine, current. Lunch, Wednesday – Sunday. Chicnic picnics daily (weather depending), R145 per person. Summer Tel (021) 874-1021

*   Allora in Franschhoek: 3-course Sunday lunch R99 all year. Daily lunch specials Monday – Saturday under R100. Until end April. Tel (021) 876-4375.

*   L’ermitage, Franschhoek: 3-courses R185 and a glass of wine. Lunch. Summer. Tel (021) 876-9200

*   Grande Provence Jonkershuis, Franschhoek: 4-course lunch and dinner chef’s table, minimum 8 guests, R 320.  Monday – Saturday dinner, Monday – Sunday lunch. Summer. Tel (021) 876-8600

*   Monneaux Restaurant, Franschhoek Country House:  3-course tasting menu Lunch with wine R 200, Monday – Sunday.  Summer. Tel (021) 876-3386

*   Mange Tout, Mont Rochelle Hotel, Franschhoek: 2-courses R230, 3-courses R280. Summer. Tel (021) 876-3000.

*   La Residence, Franschhoek: 2 courses R 380, 3 courses R 490, 4 courses R 600 per person, all inclusive of ‘house wines’ and local beverages. Dinner.  Daily.  Summer.  Tel (021) 876-4100

* Grande Provence, Franschhoek: Chef’s Table, 3-course meal for a minimum of eight guests, R 250 per person. 1 May – 30 September.  Tel (021) 876-8600.

Paarl

*   Bosman’s, Grande Roche, Paarl: 2-courses R120, 3-courses R155.  Monday – Sunday lunch.  Until April . Tel (021) 863-5100.

Stellenbosch

*   Towerbosch Restaurant, Knorhoek Wine Estate, Stellenbosch:  Asado Argentian-style braai on Sundays R165. Indefinite. Tel (021) 865-2958

*   Tokara Restaurant, Stellenbosch: Chef’s Menu – 8 courses, inclusive of amuse bouche and palate cleanser R 450.  Summer. Tuesday – Sunday lunch, Tuesday – Saturday dinner. Tel (021) 885-2550

*   Wild Peacock Food Emporium, 32 Piet Retief Str, Stellenbosch: Specials as per menu, dinner   Wednesday and Friday evenings. Indefinite. Tel (021) 887-7585

*   Johan’s at Longridge, Stellenbosch: 6-course lunch and dinner plus 6 glasses of wine R 400. Friday – Tuesday (closed Wednesdays and Thursdays). Summer. Tel (021) 855-2004.

*   Clos Malverne, Stellenbosch: 60 Minute Business Lunch, R58 – R108. Tuesday – Friday. Tel (021) 865-2022

*   Lord Neethling Restaurant, Neethlingshof, Stellenbosch:  choice of 6 main courses R115, Sunday buffet lunch R150.  Tel (021) 883-8966.

Hermanus

*   Season in Hermanus: Pork roast R66, 3-courses R 125 Sunday lunch; Hake and calamari platter R55, Thursday lunch and dinner. Summer. Tel (028) 316-2854

*   The Class Room, Hermanus: 3-course Sunday lunch R130. 6-course dinner R150 Wednesday – Saturday evenings.  April. Tel (028) 316-3582

*   Rossi’s Italian Restaurant, Hermanus: Small Pizza R38/R45, Lunch Mondays – Thursdays; Indefinite. Tel (028) 312-2848

*   Grilleri, Hermanus : Decreased prices, Tuesday – Sunday evenings, Sunday lunch. Summer. Tel (028) 313-1685

Plettenberg Bay

*   Nguni: Friday night special R50.  Tel (044) 533-6710

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

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