{"id":14874,"date":"2010-12-11T10:37:09","date_gmt":"2010-12-11T08:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=14874"},"modified":"2010-12-11T10:39:42","modified_gmt":"2010-12-11T08:39:42","slug":"restaurant-reviewnguni-restaurant-as-hardy-as-nguni-cattle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/restaurant-news\/restaurant-reviewnguni-restaurant-as-hardy-as-nguni-cattle\/","title":{"rendered":"Restaurant Review:Nguni Restaurant as hardy as Nguni cattle!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Nguni Restaurant is one of my favourites in Plettenberg Bay, located in one of the oldest buildings\u00a0in Plett, having been built as a fisherman’s cottage 160 years or so ago.\u00a0\u00a0 It has been offering good value cuisine, with friendly service, for the past four years, and is withstanding the recession that has hit Plettenberg Bay badly.<\/p>\n

Nguni is the name of the language group comprising Xhosa and Zulu, but is also the name of a cattle breed, and it is the latter that the restaurant is named after.\u00a0 Nguni cattle offer the benefit of optimal production, are the mainstay of the Zulu culture, have multicoloured hides, and are hardy, much like the restaurant.\u00a0\u00a0 A painting of a Nguni\u00a0bull is on one of the walls, and a Nguni skin is under the largest table.\u00a0 Black and white photographs\u00a0of Plettenberg Bay adorn the walls.<\/p>\n

The restaurant forms part of The White House complex belonging to the Ovenstone family, its hall being used for functions, shows and exhibitions.\u00a0\u00a0 Nguni joint-owners Jacqui Carter-Johnson\u00a0and Natalie Eray\u00a0use their restaurant kitchen not only to cook for the restaurant, but also do catering for weddings and other events from it.\u00a0 The restaurant can seat 40 guests inside, and another 30 outside.\u00a0 An ornamental vine outside provides shade for the lunches.\u00a0 Inside\u00a0the original\u00a0wood-burning stove adds cosiness on cold winter evenings.<\/p>\n

Table overlays\u00a0have stripes on them, and are made from linen, as are the serviettes.\u00a0 The metal top tables remind me of those at Grande Provence in Franschhoek, as do the overlays.\u00a0\u00a0 Nice black water glasses match the black and white flowered upholstery on some of the chairs, whilst other chairs have light striped upholstery.\u00a0\u00a0 Candles are used extensively to create a romantic atmosphere at night.\u00a0 Good quality leather menu and winelist holders are presented to the table by the friendly waiter Robert, whom we first met when he was working at the Grand Caf\u00e9 and Rooms in Plettenberg Bay more than four years ago.\u00a0\u00a0 It is lovely to see his beautiful smile whenever we go to Nguni and he knows my love for water with lemon, the jug being ready at our table when we arrive.\u00a0\u00a0 Clint is the manager, and keeps an eye on things at night.<\/p>\n

Plettenberg Bay is suffering the effects of the recession worse than the Cape Town could dream of, and it was shocking to hear how many Plett landmarks have closed in the past few months.\u00a0 Therefore all the greater the relief that Nguni has survived, the catering side of the business helping to keep it alive.\u00a0 It was noticeable that the menu prices were very reasonable, and it felt as if prices have dropped since we were last there eight months ago.\u00a0 Yet the reality of the economic situation was that only four tables were booked in total for the dinner, and I was the only guest for lunch the day before.\u00a0\u00a0 In winter Nguni impressed with its weekly Wednesday special, down to about R50 a dish.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>One of the most interesting breads served in a\u00a0restaurant is that of Nguni, a wholewheat mini-loaf baked in a terracotta flower pot, and is meant to be shared.\u00a0 It is served with a generous slice of butter.\u00a0 I ordered grilled chicken breast for my main course, and asked Robert to ask the kitchen to leave out the quinoa in the salad with avocado and tomato it was meant to be served with. I felt that the chicken portion\u00a0(one breast) was too small to justify the R82 price tag.\u00a0 My partner ordered the lamb chops roasted in rosemary and garlic, prepared medium, \u00a0juicy and tender, served with roast potato slices, for R85.\u00a0 We felt that the plate needed some colour.\u00a0\u00a0 It is clear that Nguni is focusing on affordability, and while this is commendable, it may come at the expense of cuisine expectations.\u00a0\u00a0 When I muttered about the small chicken portion, manager Clint comped the meal, agreeing that it was not good value.\u00a0\u00a0Other main courses are a 350 g Nguni rib-eye steak, at R98, an ostrich “hot dog” (R65), seared tuna (R98), grilled linefish (SQ) and a Cape prawn platter is the most expensive at R160.\u00a0 Starter options are a chilled soup (R38), trademark Bobotie springrolls which\u00a0have been\u00a0on the menu since the restaurant opened (R38), smoked springbok carpaccio (R52), game salami and cheese board (R58), and a tomato and a goat’s cheese onion tart (R48).\u00a0\u00a0 Four salad options, ranging from R48 – R58, are also available.\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The cappuccino was a good foamy one, made with Illy coffee.\u00a0 We didn’t have any wine, as a long night of work still lay ahead.\u00a0\u00a0 The winelist is dominated by Sauvignon Blancs. Brampton is the entry level, at R30\/R88, and includes Thelema, Southern Right, and Ataraxia, at R147;\u00a0and Chardonnays ( R452 for Hamilton Russell and R195 for Jordan)\u00a0on the white side.\u00a0 No vintages are specified, but each wine is described and the region specified.\u00a0\u00a0 Saxenburg Grand vin Rouge is the only red wine offered by the glass, at an affordable R25\/R63.\u00a0 The varieties of the other red wines offer a good spectrum, Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir being the most expensive at R472.\u00a0\u00a0 The wine list states that Champagnes and Cap Classiques are available to order, but the brands are not specified.<\/p>\n

We will always go back to Nguni first when we visit Plettenberg Bay, ahead of any other restaurant, feeling so at home there.\u00a0 I also like that little changes there, other than the odd menu item, making it feel familiar, even after a longer absence.\u00a0 Most of all, it is special because the staff are so friendly.<\/p>\n

Nguni Restaurant<\/strong>, 6 Crescent Street, Plettenberg Bay.\u00a0 Tel (044) 533-6710. www.nguni-restaurant.co.za<\/a> (not much detail on the website and few photographs).\u00a0 Mondays – Fridays 10h00 – dinner, Saturdays 18h00 – dinner.\u00a0 Open Mondays – Sundays 10h00 – dinner in peak season.<\/p>\n

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com<\/a>\u00a0 Twitter: @WhaleCottage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nguni Restaurant is one of my favourites in Plettenberg Bay, located in one of the oldest buildings\u00a0in Plett, having been built as a fisherman’s cottage 160 years or so ago.\u00a0\u00a0 It has been offering good value cuisine, with friendly service, for the past four years, and is withstanding the recession that has hit Plettenberg Bay […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[124,592,20,21],"tags":[394,5218,4623,2013,4915,9033,32378,9030,32396,9024,32369,9029,140,1958,9034,395,9035,9023,9025,9022,9027,32390,9032,727,3625,9028,1926,3957,457,8860,403,3440,277,9031,32373,9026],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\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