{"id":16337,"date":"2011-01-31T10:51:15","date_gmt":"2011-01-31T08:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=16337"},"modified":"2011-01-31T13:43:26","modified_gmt":"2011-01-31T11:43:26","slug":"restaurant-review-no-mange-tout-at-mange-tout-but-trout-on-the-menu-and-in-the-kitchen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/franschhoek\/restaurant-review-no-mange-tout-at-mange-tout-but-trout-on-the-menu-and-in-the-kitchen\/","title":{"rendered":"Restaurant Review: No mange tout at Mange Tout, but Trout on the menu and in the kitchen at Mont Rochelle!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I had not been to Mange Tout Restaurant at Mont Rochelle Hotel\u00a0in Franschhoek for a number of years, and with the appointment of the new chef Leigh Trout seven months ago, I\u00a0felt that it was time to pay the restaurant a visit again.\u00a0\u00a0 There is no mange tout on the menu,\u00a0but Chef Leigh Trout serves a\u00a0good trout!\u00a0\u00a0 Service remains a weakness in this restaurant of the five-star Mont Rochelle Hotel.<\/p>\n

Security is an issue when one arrives at Mont Rochelle, yet it isn’t when one uses the magic password “Restaurant”, despite not having pre-booked, and the boom was lifted without question nor details taken.\u00a0 I was welcomed by a very confident security guard when I parked my car, and he offered his services to make my\u00a0booking, as he felt that there would be a table available for me.\u00a0 This meant going to the receptionist, who nodded her head, and did not bother to show me the way to the restaurant (had I been a first-time guest).\u00a0\u00a0 When asked, she said just go left and then right, and did not walk me to the restaurant.\u00a0 The entrance to the restaurant is not clear, and\u00a0what is intended as the main entrance door is rarely used, judging by what I observed.\u00a0 Most guests go to the terrace, and use that door to enter.<\/p>\n

The previous restaurant, called La Couronne (also the name of the hotel at that time), was reinvented after a renovation following a fire, when the hotel changed its name to\u00a0Mont Rochelle, and the restaurant had\u00a0its own\u00a0stand-alone name Mange Tout for the first time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

I arrived at 19h30, and it was still light enough to see the lovely view the restaurant has on the Franschhoek mountains and the valley below.\u00a0\u00a0 The restaurant has two sections, the view one being filled first.\u00a0 It was noticeable that the hotel guests (four tables) are seated at the window with the view, and\u00a0the non-hotel guests were seated away from the windows.\u00a0\u00a0 This section has a lovely fireplace, which makes the restaurant very cosy in winter.\u00a0\u00a0 The second section of the restaurant has no view at all.\u00a0\u00a0 The space is airy, and the thatched roof ceiling, the large tables with white table cloths and a mixture of light green and beige chairs create a light and attractive interior.\u00a0 Most interesting is the ‘handbag’ tables next to each table, which allows the ladies to store their bags on a place other than\u00a0the floor, something only a lady could have thought of! \u00a0Big candle holders are on the non-view tables, while the view tables have American-style table lamps.\u00a0\u00a0 A\u00a0large daisy is presented in a square glass container, filled with glass balls.\u00a0 There are candelabras and candles on the fireplace mantelpiece, creating a romantic atmosphere as the sun sets.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

A massive chandelier dominates the room, as does the white piano, played by Mont Rochelle legend Alfio, for whom guests return year after year.\u00a0 I found the 90 minutes of continuous piano playing beyond irritating, and would not return if I knew it was still going.\u00a0 But I was in the minority, the mainly British guests loving it,\u00a0 and even starting to sing along!\u00a0\u00a0 Alfio is such an institution that he has a sign with his name on the piano, and a dessert named after him (Alfio’s Duet).\u00a0 Before he started playing, Kfm-like music was ‘broadcast’, and when Alfio finished playing, there was deathly silence, relative to the piano ‘noise’, until somebody remembered to put on more\u00a0of the ‘Kfm’ music.\u00a0 I do love listening to Kfm’s music\u00a0in my car, but not at a 5-star hotel restaurant.<\/p>\n

Despite it being over 30\u00b0C in Franschhoek, all the windows of the restaurant were closed and the airconditioner had not been switched on.\u00a0 It became increasingly hot, and I had to ask for a window to be opened.\u00a0 I was really pushing the limits when I asked for another window to be opened, and the permission of other guests had to be requested.\u00a0\u00a0 The tables have good quality napery, contemporary cutlery – with a butter knife on the side plate –\u00a0and good glassware.\u00a0\u00a0 There are no condiments on the table, clearly signifying that the chef feels he can prepare a meal without the need for anything to be added.\u00a0\u00a0 The menu is printed on\u00a0good quality green A4 paper, with the Mange Tout name very low key on it.\u00a0\u00a0 It contains an introduction by chef Leigh, a new trend that\u00a0I have picked up: “Welcome to Mange Tout!\u00a0 Our Menu is an ever evolving work in progress, wherever possible focusing on the finest seasonal ingredients available.\u00a0\u00a0 We whole heartedly\u00a0(sic) endorse environmentally friendly farming practices as well as humane free range animal rearing and much of our produce used reflects this”.\u00a0 The last sentence seems quite a mouthful, sounding correct, but somehow artificial, in my opinion.\u00a0\u00a0 The\u00a0 five course\u00a0degustation menu is on the front page, while the a la carte menu is on the reverse side.\u00a0 The chef is flexible, and one may\u00a0chop and change the items between the two menus.\u00a0 The tasting menu costs R430 for 5 courses, but in reality these were 7 courses, with an amuse bouche and a palate cleanser as well.\u00a0\u00a0 The a la carte menu costs R240 for 2 courses (although not specified on the menu), R 280 for 3 courses, R360 for 4 courses and R430 for 5 courses.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The waitress brought the bread basket to the table, and rattled off\u00a0the contents\u00a0as being focaccia, “stick bread” and “rye bread”, the latter being ciabatta in fact.\u00a0\u00a0Commendably the breads were served warm, but I had a bite of each, and could not eat more, finding them so below average per se, and even more so\u00a0for a fine dining restaurant.\u00a0 The focaccia ingredients\u00a0included mushroom, olives and goat’s cheese, but\u00a0I only learnt this from the manager\u00a0Roelof later on, while the ciabatta was hard and tasteless.\u00a0\u00a0I found the quality of the waitresses far below par for a 5-star restaurant, and they come across as ‘robotised’, in rattling off a menu they had to learn but do not really understand, the Manager Roelof\u00a0being the only person offering quality service, and explaining the dishes.\u00a0\u00a0 One particularly gruff waitress, who looks intimidatingly bossy and made no attempt to make eye contact or even smile, has been at Mont Rochelle for 10 years.\u00a0 \u00a0Another waitress I asked has been there for two years, yet was unable to explain the dishes when brought to the table, just saying “trout”, for example.\u00a0 I had\u00a0asked for a jug of ice water,\u00a0but received a glassful, and had to request it to be topped up every time.\u00a0 It became warm over the course of the\u00a0evening, and I had to request ice to cool it down again.\u00a0\u00a0 There is no proactive service.<\/p>\n

I had no intention to, but landed up having the Tasting Menu, mainly because it was too hard to choose what to leave out.\u00a0 Chef Leigh cleverly has chosen favourite dishes\u00a0for his menus, including foie gras, asparagus, kingklip, tiramisu, souffle (which I was told is a signature dish of the hotel, preceding Chef Leigh) and of course ……. trout! \u00a0 The amuse bouche was a rather unattractive looking\u00a0dark green asparagus velout\u00e9 and oyster escalope, the waitress rattled off.\u00a0 When I asked her what was hiding under the daisy, she had to find out from the kitchen, and said that ‘the black things’ were caviar!\u00a0\u00a0 I am often disappointed by amuse bouches, as many chefs get them wrong, as being an opening shot at what they are capable of in the kitchen.\u00a0 The batter-covered fried oyster was very unusual, but the velout\u00e9 was bland.\u00a0 \"\"<\/a>The foie gras starter was beautifully presented, and Chef Leigh likes his greens and oranges in food colour presentation.\u00a0\u00a0 He used peach for colour, served au natural and as a mousse, with\u00a0two tiny triangles of ‘dark chocolate brioche’, not enough to have the foie gras\u00a0on, so Roelof brought a few more to the table – the bread basket offering would not have been suitable to have with the foie gras at all.\u00a0 A chocolate bean on each foie gras slice was unusual.\u00a0\u00a0 The steamed garden asparagus was a crispy composition in green, with fashionable micro herbs,\u00a0and contrasted with two dots of yellow created\u00a0with quail eggs.\u00a0\u00a0\"\"<\/a>Other starter options are springbok carpaccio, cauliflower soup and “Walvisbaai Red Crab Tortellini”.<\/p>\n

I couldn’t miss out on the seared Franschhoek Trout, and Chef Leigh\u00a0did his namesake proud.\u00a0 My dish was served\u00a0with\u00a0‘cucumber noodles’ (lovely thin strips of cucumber) and pea mousse.\u00a0\u00a0 The palate cleanser was apple sorbet, four balls being too much for what is intended.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I was looking forward to the\u00a0kingklip for the main course, but was disappointed with it,\u00a0having a\u00a0hard crust, and the chef’s sprinkling of coarse salt on top of the fish, something one cannot see until one takes a bite, making the mouthful taste\u00a0too salty.\u00a0\u00a0 It was served with braised fennel, an unfortunate combination, I believe, as\u00a0the vegetable\u00a0has a very dominant taste, and it was not well washed, still having sand in it.\u00a0\u00a0 Miniature sweet potato gnocchi was tasty, but very salty, and looked like little dog food pellets in colour and shape.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Orange and miso completed the composition.\u00a0\u00a0 \"\"<\/a>Other main course options on the a la carte menu were lamb puttanesca, lemon chicken ballottine, and beef tenderloin.<\/p>\n

I loved the principle of the ‘deconstructed’ Tiramisu, which consisted of marsala sabayon (tasted warm and uninteresting), the mascarpone mousse piped on the plate, a wonderfully delicious coffee and savoiardi biscuit ice cream, and the cutest mini meringues, over which was presented a work of sugar art, which was ‘overkill’, as far as I was concerned.\u00a0\u00a0A peppermint parfait, the souffl\u00e9, Alfio’s Duet and\u00a0a Vineyard Cheese Platter are other dessert alternatives.<\/p>\n

Somehow the colour co-ordination went terribly wrong with the winelist, given the gentle white, beige\u00a0and green tones of the restaurant interior and menu, with\u00a0its blood red cover.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0The winelist is a collection of mainly Mont Rochelle wines, and also describes the Winery, and the sister restaurant Country Kitchen.\u00a0\u00a0 The first page lists all the Mont Rochelle wines, and these are the only ones that one can order by the glass.\u00a0\u00a0 The Ros\u00e9 costs R26\/R100, and white wines include a Reserve Sauvignon Blanc (R49\/R194), an Unwooded Chardonnay (R44\/R173) and Barrel Fermented Chardonnay (R54\/205).\u00a0\u00a0 The Miko Chardonnay sur Iie costs R509.\u00a0\u00a0 The red wines include a 2004 Merlot (R58\/R231), Miko Cabernet Sauvignon (R546), Artemis (R56\/R200)\u00a0and the Syrah at R75\/R289, which had the following description “smokey nose with black pepper, plumbs (sic) and black berries”.\u00a0 I commented on the coldness of the Syrah, and I was told that it was chilled at 14\u00b0C.\u00a0 I prefer a warmer red wine. \u00a0 An impressive list of champagnes contains sixteen options, starting at R385 for Tribaut Tradition, and peaking at R2450 for Krug Grand Cuv\u00e9e.\u00a0 Eight MCC sparkling wines are listed, starting with Villiera (R194), while a Graham Beck Brut\u00a0Ros\u00e9 is charged at R310.\u00a0\u00a0 Two to three wines from other wine estates are featured per variety, each variety broadly described.\u00a0 Wines from Austria, Germany and France are also available.\u00a0 The Shiraz section includes two Franschhoek brands: Stony Brook 2006 (R176) and Boekenhoutskloof 2008\u00a0(R546).<\/p>\n

Roelof was receptive to my feedback about the disappointing quality of the bread (surprisingly the pastry chef comes from the One&Only Cape Town)\u00a0and\u00a0the waitresses, and he is aware of the problem with the latter.\u00a0 He is working on a\u00a0programme with Chef Leigh to improve their knowledge and service.\u00a0 The bill arrived as duplicate slips, and I asked Roelof why that was, and he said one copy is for them.\u00a0 It was hard to read in the low light.\u00a0 The bill was ‘served’ with chocolate\u00a0friandes, not very exciting.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even though Chef Leigh tried very hard to make his food look amazingly good, it fell short on the delivery, especially the bread,\u00a0kingklip, and friandises.\u00a0 Maybe he is trying too hard.\u00a0 The service deficiency relative to the quality of the food and the hotel star grading is a serious deterrent to going back, as is the piano!\u00a0\u00a0 The restaurant has such amazing potential, but it seems as if\u00a0an ‘old’ La Couronne is fighting a new\u00a0Mange Tout, with old habits resisting and disturbing\u00a0the good work Chef Leigh and Manager Roelof are trying to do.\u00a0\u00a0It was disppointing that Chef Leigh did not come out of the kitchen and greet his guests.<\/p>\n

Mange Tout Restaurant<\/strong>, Mont Rochelle Hotel, Franschhoek.\u00a0 Tel (021) 876-2770.\u00a0\u00a0 www.montrochelle.co.za<\/a>\u00a0(the website seems to be down – the restaurant has one page only, and contains the menu\u00a0– which is the same one as for the evening when I dined there last Thursday\u00a0– and has a few shots of the interior,\u00a0but only one food shot).\u00a0\u00a0 Wednesday – Sunday dinner, and Saturday and Sunday lunch.<\/p>\n

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

I had not been to Mange Tout Restaurant at Mont Rochelle Hotel\u00a0in Franschhoek for a number of years, and with the appointment of the new chef Leigh Trout seven months ago, I\u00a0felt that it was time to pay the restaurant a visit again.\u00a0\u00a0 There is no mange tout on the menu,\u00a0but Chef Leigh Trout serves […]<\/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":[124,14,20,21,19],"tags":[2746,9655,9656,389,32378,9659,32369,2696,2357,3998,386,9653,899,7170,1094,6058,252,3625,9657,9658,6056,8958,9654,32373],"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