{"id":12278,"date":"2010-09-22T09:43:55","date_gmt":"2010-09-22T07:43:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=12278"},"modified":"2010-10-17T12:13:42","modified_gmt":"2010-10-17T10:13:42","slug":"restaurant-review-towerbosch-at-knorhoek-is-a-magical-feast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/wine-news\/restaurant-review-towerbosch-at-knorhoek-is-a-magical-feast\/","title":{"rendered":"Restaurant Review: Towerbosch at Knorhoek is a magical feast!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Even though Towerbosch Earth Kitchen on the Knorhoek wine estate has been open for\u00a0a year, it has suddenly become en vogue, with media coverage creating awareness.\u00a0 When we were told that our lunch stop\u00a0on the Eco Wine Tour<\/a><\/span><\/strong> would be at Towerbosch, I was delighted, as what I had read about the restaurant sounded good.<\/p>\n

Towerbosch means ‘magic bush’, and it is a unique restaurant setting with a\u00a0neat lawn, a\u00a0pond from which you imagine fairies arise at night, and\u00a0an unusually shaped thatch-roof building.\u00a0 Inside, the large\u00a0restaurant room has an interesting structure on the ceiling, made from white-painted woven branches from the farm, from which hang the lights, and an interesting collection of\u00a0cups, saucers, family trinkets,\u00a0and cutlery, a modern take on the chandeliers of Pierneef a La Motte<\/a><\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0 The interior decorator is Neil Stemmet, who also did the decor of Cuvee at Simonsig.\u00a0\u00a0Interesting too is the collection of tables and chairs, most of them completely different, some with wooden tops, others with white tops, and the chairs linked to each table also differ vastly.\u00a0 Everywhere there are collections of farm food, e.g. a table\u00a0with two pumpkins, another containing a bowl of lemons, and a lovely vase with proteas on the table near the entrance, on which the Knorhoek wine range is displayed.\u00a0\u00a0 A wall contains a collection of plates, as one would have in mom’s home.\u00a0\u00a0A lounge\/library\u00a0corner with a couch and bookshelves adds to the homely feel.\u00a0 \u00a0Stemmet says of his decor: “My inspiration came from my carefree inner child and love for natural artistry.\u00a0 I decided to steer clear of artificial, modern luxury to make room for an unassuming, homely eat-out destination where the senses are transported to a faraway, enchanting fairytale, almost back to one’s childhood, while indulging in a languid, home-cooked meal”.\u00a0\u00a0 The music is a mix, and very South African, including “Suikerbossie”, but a jazzed up version of it.\u00a0\u00a0 There is a large fireplace, but is not large enough to adequately heat up the restaurant on a cold wintry day.\u00a0 Blankets are available to warm one up, and heaters were brought to tables that needed more heat.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>A display blackboard lists the menu for the day, which changes daily to reflect the availability of supplies.\u00a0 As we were a group of nine, we were served a “feast table”, an unusual but clever homely presentation of the food in bowls from which one helps oneself, rather than a plateful being dished up for each person, just as one would eat this “boerekos” as a family at home.\u00a0 To start, the most wonderful warm home-baked bread with fresh farm butter, and ‘konfyt’ was served,\u00a0to get the appetite stimulated and to soak up the wine we had tasted in the morning on the tour.\u00a0\u00a0 Our main course was brought to the table, and consisted of smoorsnoek, chicken pie, a massive platter of to-die-for pork with crackling and the most wonderful roast potatoes, sweet potatoes, a bean and potato mix, a Greek salad with the most generously big chunks of feta and fresh fresh greens, and a tomato salad.\u00a0 We could not help thinking that this meal was like “Ma se kos”, a typical South African Sunday lunch in the middle of the week.\u00a0 We could have had melktert or malva pudding as a dessert, but declined due to the magnificent feast.\u00a0 In keeping with the Boerekos theme, there is no cappuccino machine, but ‘moerkoffie’ in a plunger is served.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Sundays Towerbosch serves something different – an Asado Argentinian meal, consisting of their lovely farm bread and butter, empanadas, soup or smoorsnoek, two or three meats\u00a0from the barbeque, and dessert, at the cost of R165 per head.<\/p>\n

We drank a bottle of Knorhoek Shiraz 2005, a lovely smooth wine.\u00a0 We laughed when we saw a metal bucket brought to another table, serving as an ice bucket!\u00a0\u00a0 The Knorhoek wine estate is a member of the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative.\u00a0 Only Knorhoek wines are available at Towerbosch, and include Two Cubs White Ros\u00c3\u00a9, and Red,\u00a0and Knorhoek Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinotage, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon,\u00a0Cabernet Franc, Reserve and Pantere.\u00a0\u00a0 Prices look very reasonable, and\u00a0only a small add-on relative to the cellar price makes them affordable.<\/p>\n

Whilst we did not get to meet them, the chef couple are Carmen van der Merwe and Wesley Muller, who previously worked at Terroir and Beluga.\u00a0 The chefs’ focus is on slow cooked and simple “traditional family meals”, with ‘heritage fare’\u00a0served on big platters.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0choice of this restaurant\u00a0for lunch for the Eco Wine Tour\u00a0is motivated by\u00a0the use of the recycled tables and chairs in the restaurant, the growing of their own herbs (with vegetables to follow), and their wonderful home cooked meals.\u00a0 Even though we all loved the four wine estates we visited, the highlight of the Eco Wine Tour was the\u00a0magical lunch at Towerbosch.\u00a0\u00a0 A definite for a repeat visit.<\/p>\n

Towerbosch Earth Kitchen<\/strong>, Knorhoek wine estate,\u00a0Knorhoek Road, Stellenbosch. Tel (021)\u00a0865-2114 www.knorhoek.co.za<\/a>. Open for lunch Wednesdays – Sundays, and for dinner on request for a minimum of 15 guests.\u00a0\u00a0 On the Stellenbosch Restaurant Route.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Even though Towerbosch Earth Kitchen on the Knorhoek wine estate has been open for\u00a0a year, it has suddenly become en vogue, with media coverage creating awareness.\u00a0 When we were told that our lunch stop\u00a0on the Eco Wine Tour would be at Towerbosch, I was delighted, as what I had read about the restaurant sounded good. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[124,20,31,21,19],"tags":[7435,7434,7433,1508,3969,7429,7438,7420,6001,32378,1514,7416,7417,7426,7428,4447,7441,7425,7422,7436,7424,7431,7418,7432,7421,6611,7423,252,3625,230,7440,7430,32376,6086,7427,447,7419,7344,7437,7439,32373],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t