{"id":18602,"date":"2011-03-28T08:58:50","date_gmt":"2011-03-28T06:58:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=18602"},"modified":"2012-06-15T20:15:14","modified_gmt":"2012-06-15T18:15:14","slug":"restaurant-review-bonthuys-is-back-casparus-unique-marriage-between-palette-and-palate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/restaurant-news\/restaurant-review-bonthuys-is-back-casparus-unique-marriage-between-palette-and-palate\/","title":{"rendered":"Restaurant Review: Bonthuys is back! Casparus unique marriage between palette and palate!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It was a Tweet by Mike Ratcliffe of Warwick on Friday that ‘announced’ the long-awaited\u00a0opening of Casparus on Dorp Street, the new restaurant\u00a0of both renowned (for his sauce-based food)\u00a0and infamous (for his temperament) Etienne Bonthuys, who had been at Tokara restaurant for 10 years, but had left last October to make space for Richard Carstens, another iconic chef.<\/p>\n

Being in Stellenbosch, I had called the restaurant and tried to make a booking for dinner before the start of a concert at the Endler Hall, but the person answering the phone said their dinner only starts at 7.30 pm (information which turned out to be incorrect – they open for dinner at 7 pm), putting an end to that plan, and I went to Christophe’s<\/a><\/span> <\/strong>instead.\u00a0 Not one to be put off easily, I decided to pop in after the concert, just at the\u00a010 pm kitchen closing time, I had been told on the phone, even if it was just for a coffee.\u00a0\u00a0 I was most surprised when I was greeted and seated with great friendliness,\u00a0and offered a menu and winelist.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

At this point I was in awe – I have never seen a restaurant interior quite like this, and one quite so large, one long open-ended area, made up of numerous ex-rooms, in part looking unfinished, but so by design, an open-ended construction that opens into the open air and eventually a garden and trees, with a Bauhaus look on one side mid-way in red and blue.\u00a0 Let me start at the beginning though.\u00a0 The exterior of the building on DorpStreet is a 1820 historical home, and there were very tight restrictions on renovations to that part of the restaurant, so it has been kept as it was, a generously-spaced\u00a0open-plan room through which one walks to get to\u00a0the huge restaurant part.\u00a0 A dispute with a neighbour about the\u00a0approval for a window caused the long hold up in completing the building work and opening.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The entrance room has the feeling of an art\u00a0gallery, and only in talking to Bonthuys’ wife Jane Moses did I understand that the new restaurant is jointly owned by Bonthuys and his\u00a0friend Strijdom van der Merwe, a land\u00a0artist I had to admit I had not heard of before, but whose work in tying red bows on oak trees on Dorp Street (not sure what symbolism was intended then) was well publicised in the local papers.\u00a0 Bonthuys and Van der Merwehave different creative strengths, and it is evident that they feed off each other, and will continue to challenge each other.\u00a0In the entrance room, a\u00a0modern artwork which has become the logo, reflecting the ‘unfinished’ wooden roof ‘planks’, fills one wall, another wall is filled with photographs of the red ribbon tree project, and a third wall has the original plan of the erf, dating back to 1820, printed onto the wall!\u00a0 Of course one does not appreciate any of these images until one sits down, and someone explains it all.\u00a0 The first owner of the erf was Dr Casparus Termytel, and he was allocated the land in 1791, being the “Burgergeneesheer” of the Dutch East India Company, and the restaurant has been named in his honour.\u00a0 The records do not show whether Dr Termytel actually erected\u00a0a building at that time, having died in 1793.\u00a0 The first recorded plans for a building on the\u00a0erf are dated 1820.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>One walks through an in-between room, which is a smaller section containing the bar, and the cash register.\u00a0 It looked a little untidy, but one is so ‘distracted’ by all the artwork hanging on the left, being photographs of ‘naturescapes’ created by Van der Merwe, and presented as banners, to ‘hide’ the kitchen from view.\u00a0\u00a0 Bonthuys must be suffering from ‘Platzangst’, having had a massive kitchen\u00a0at Tokara, and he is far more constrained in space at his new ‘home’.\u00a0\u00a0Having only heard the worst about Bonthuys, and that he never ventures out of his kitchen, I asked Jane to photograph him for me.\u00a0 She sweetly took me to him, and I even got a smile out of Bonthuys, yet looking rather shy and bashful.\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

To continue the guided tour – beyond the kitchen the restaurant becomes very broad, and extends deeply towards the garden area, now totally modern, with a protective sheet over one of the sections, as if the building construction is not complete, and a set of planks criss-crossed above the seating area, also looking unfinished.\u00a0 Looking carefully, one can see the doors that can be locked at night, but the general effect is one of a massive open space with an unfinished look above it.\u00a0\u00a0 On one of the walls inside the seating area a slide show runs continuously, showing lovely old historic homes of Stellenbosch, projected against one of the walls.\u00a0 The slide show is one of Van der Merwe’s ‘works’ too, and is the third slide show Van der Merwe has compiled since the opening of the restaurant, and is the one that has attracted the most positive\u00a0feedback, Jane told me.\u00a0\u00a0The tables are all wooden, a mix of more old-fashioned ones as if coming from someone’s\u00a0home, and others contemporary, and the chairs at almost every table are different, but that is probably also part of Van der Merwe’sdesign.\u00a0 There is no table cloth, but a good quality material serviette, trendy Fortis cutlery, and a little table light, as the back end of the restaurant is very dark.\u00a0 Jane told me that heaters and fires in drums are planned.\u00a0 I saw the guests at\u00a0a table next door wrapped up\u00a0in blankets, provided by the restaurant.\u00a0I also saw these guests smoking, which could put\u00a0other guests off – the open roof makes it difficult to draw the line about the smoking\/non-smoking sections, if there is such a delineation.\u00a0There is seating for 60, but they can expand to 80 should they make use of the garden at a later stage, Jane said.\u00a0 Bonthuys has retained most of his kitchen staff from Tokara, but most of the waiters are new, and therefore Jane was assisting.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The restaurant is a gallery too, and ideally needs a guide to explain its artworks, and the meaning of\u00a0and rationale for the ‘unfinished’ construction look\u00a0of the restaurant.\u00a0 Jane was a wonderful ‘tour guide’, and explained all the art and action at Casparus.\u00a0 I could not have wished for a better person to talk to, so as\u00a0to find out more about the restaurant,its chef and the artist.\u00a0 Bonthuystrained in Belgium, and started his cuisine career with Rosenfontein in Paarl in 1997, and then owned Floris Smit Huis and then Bonthuys in Cape Town.\u00a0 He opened\u00a0at Tokarain 2000, a massive restaurant space with a wonderful view, and a huge kitchen.\u00a0 Here too there were no table cloths, and the staff were allowed to dress how they wanted to, something that surprised me then, and does at Casparus as well, where the same staff policy has been introduced.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jane explained that Bonthuys wants the staff to look as if they are eating at the restaurant too!\u00a0 She also told me that Bonthuys likes anonymity, and that is why he likes to stay in the kitchen – do not expect him to come out of his kitchen enclave to greet his guests, but Jane more than makes up for this in charm and friendliness.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The menu and wine list look neat in black leather covers.\u00a0However, the pages in the menu look heavily used already, while those in the wineliststill look fresh and new. A crispy bread roll was brought to the table, with a substantial slice of butter.\u00a0 When I expressed surprise about the unbelievably low prices,\u00a0Jane explained that Bonthuys wants to serve a ‘bordkos’,\u00a0which their customers\u00a0can afford and enjoy to eat there regularly, and not be a ‘fine dining’ restaurant that customers only visit once a month or less often.\u00a0\u00a0 He wants Casparus to become a ‘home’, a place\u00a0one can pop in to, much like I did on Saturday evening.\u00a0 There are 13 starters to choose from, and Jane said that\u00a0Bonthuys’ oyster starter served in a delicious sounding Cap Classique wine buttersauceis a signature dish, and is the most expensive starter at R80.\u00a0 A carrot soup, and an avocado soup with a prawn, cost R30 and R35, respectively, the least expensive starters.\u00a0 One can also order a Caprese salad or Salad Nicoise,\u00a0hake souffle with shimejimushrooms, salmon tartare, and mushrooms in puff pastry.\u00a0\u00a0 I wanted to have the grilled kingklip(R90) as a main course, but it was sold out by the time I arrived. I settled\u00a0for a\u00a0wonderful Norwegian salmon, served witha delicious light chive sauce witha taste of mushroom, as well as\u00a0superb baby\u00a0potatoes and asparagus (R100).\u00a0 The signature main course is beef fillet with bone marrow served in a\u00a0red wine sauce, and has come to Casparus from Tokara, costing R140. Grilled springbok served with a lobster sauce\u00a0is the most expensive dish, at R150, and all the other main courses cost less than R100.\u00a0\u00a0One can also order linguini with prawns, tagliolini with Thai chicken, baby calamari and oxtail in a saffron sauce, as well as rump\u00a0or sirloin.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The dessert\u00a0selection is smaller, but the prices are unbelievable, in ranging between R30 – R45.\u00a0 Most of them contain ice cream, Jane saying that Bonthuys is also known for his\u00a0home-made ice creams.\u00a0 On her suggestion, I tried the Meringue Negresco, praline ice cream served on\u00a0a meringue and topped with Advokaat, absolutely delicious and amazing value at R30.\u00a0\u00a0Other dessert options are Sabayon Surprise, a sorbet selection (raspberry and pineapple), frozen dark and white chocolate mousse with mandarin custard, a trio of ice cream (chocolate, praline and coffee), and fresh berries with mint ice cream.\u00a0The cappuccino was foamy, and very strong.<\/p>\n

The wine list details the vintage of the wines, and simply lists the brand names and prices per variety. There are wines at low, medium and higher price points. No wine-by-the-glass is indicated.\u00a0 Sparkling wines are Pierre Jourdan Brut (R165) and its Cuv\u00e9e Belle Rose (R200), as well as Steenberg Chardonnay Brut (R175).\u00a0 Sauvignon Blancs range from R85 (Kaapzicht) to R110 (Alluvia Ilka, Neil Ellis Groenkloof and Tokara Reserve).\u00a0 The cost of the eleven Shiraz wines start at R80 (Tokara Zondernaam), and Waterford Kevin Arnold is the most expensive, at R240.\u00a0 AA Badenhorst\u00a0Family Wines’ white blend is the most expensive wine on the list, at R435.<\/p>\n

The newness of the waitrons showed, especially with the waiter serving me – I asked him if it was his first night working at the restaurant, as he had no idea of the ingredients of the desserts, yet he was willing to ask the kitchen everything.\u00a0 His sweet yet smart reply was that “this is one of my first nights”!\u00a0\u00a0 Jane will need to up the training of the waiters, not only their product knowledge, but also that of the artworks and of the meaning of Van der Merwe’s interior design.\u00a0 What is exciting is that Casparus will be an exciting palette, likely to be continuously changing.\u00a0 One hopes Bonthuys has left all his quirks and tantrums behind at Tokara, and that his six-month wait to open the new restaurant will have helped him to find himself.\u00a0 No doubt Casparus will become a talking point, for its excellent and value for money food and wine, its creative and unusual interior decor, and its art gallery.\u00a0\u00a0Casparus is a new star on the Stellenbosch Restaurant Route<\/a>,<\/strong><\/span> in the new Gourmet Capital of South Africa.\u00a0 I predict that Casparus will feature on the Eat Out<\/strong> Top 10 Restaurant list in 2012.<\/p>\n

POSTSCRIPT 28\/3<\/strong>: I was in Stellenbosch today, and returned to a (closed) Casparus to photograph the building exterior.\u00a0 It struck me how humble and low key the brand name is on the windows – one would never guess what an exciting restaurant is deeper inside the restaurant building, not visible from the street when closed.\u00a0 I spoke to the Manager of Detail Interior Design shop across the road, asking her if she had seen it, and she had no idea that it was a restaurant.<\/p>\n

POSTSCRIPT 30\/3<\/strong>:\u00a0 Emile Joubert has sent this background to Etienne Bonthuys, and his restaurant history: “Just a bit of Bonthuys history:\u00a0 Rosenfontein opened in the late 1970s, not 1997. I was 16 yrs old when I bit into a piece of venison he cooked at Rosenfontein and had a \u201cdid the earth move for you?\u201d moment. The late Anton Rupert used to fly business associates from Jhb to Cape Town to dine at Rosenfontein.\u00a0 After Rosenfontein he had headed up the restaurant at Buitenverwachting where Bonthuys had a major impact on Cape Town\u2019s culinary pedigree during the 1980s. Floris Smit followed, and in the early 90\u2019s he opened up a restaurant in Belgium, returning to Cape Town in 1995 as owner\/chef of Bonthuys in the CBD where Jinja used to be. Tokara followed. And I can\u2019t wait to visit Casparus as like Elvis, Bonthuys will to me always be The King.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>POSTSCRIPT 9\/4<\/strong>:\u00a0 I had to go back!\u00a0 The Oysters in Cap Classique butter (R80) beckoned, and were amazing.\u00a0 I asked for a spoon to have every last bit of the sauce!\u00a0\u00a0It is one of Bonthuys’ signature dishes he brought along from Tokara. \u00a0They were delicious with a glass of Pierre Jourdan Brut at R40.\u00a0 \"\"<\/a>I had a second starter, to allow the indulgence in one of Bonthuys’ fabulous desserts.\u00a0 It was mushrooms in puff pastry with bacon, sundriedtomatoes and butternut cream (R55).\u00a0\u00a0 The puff pastry was very tough, even hard to cut with a knife, but its content was delicious.\u00a0\u00a0The Trio of ice cream (to-die-for coffee, praline and chocolate, all made by Bonthuys) in a chocolate cup (R35)\u00a0tasted even better with the glass of 2003 Cabriere Pinot Noir, which Achim\u00a0von Arnimbrought to\u00a0my table.\u00a0\u00a0I ate the ice cream with a teaspoon, to make the enjoyment of it last even longer!\u00a0\u00a0The waitress, Katrien, is the daughter of Johan Slee, the architect of Casparus and a good friend of Bonthuys and Van der Merwe.\u00a0 Her service was excellent, and she was knowledgeable about the menu.\u00a0 Whilst there have been complaints about slow service, I did not experience this, despite the restaurant being full.\u00a0 Jane Moses came to say hello, and told me that they had their best night last night, with 78 covers.\u00a0 Strijdom van der Merwe launched a new slide show today, focused on his ‘naturescapes’, and how they are made.\u00a0 I have found such amazing energy at Casparus.\u00a0 I chatted to the Von Arnims, as well as to Louis Nel, winemaker of Hidden Valley, Jonathan Snashall of hunter gatherer vinter blog, and Georgie Prout of Glen Carlou, adding to the enjoyment of the evening.\"\"<\/a> The question on everyone’s lips was what would happen in winter, with so much of the restaurant being open-ended, so to speak.\u00a0 A fire was lit, and was quite smoky initially.\u00a0 The architect comes to pop in regularly, and the thinking is that he will address protection against the Cape winter weather when it comes!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>POSTSCRIPT 16\/4:<\/strong>I am Casparus-addicted, and told Etienne Bonthuys so tonight\u00a0– I cannot stay away. My third visit tonight, after another concert at the Endler Hall, and it was so nice to be recognised by\u00a0two waiters Pierre and Katrien, who served me last Saturday.\u00a0 It was exceptionally busy at 9.45 pm when I arrived, but the waiting time for my amazing thick and creamy Avocado soup with cucumber and prawn (R35)\u00a0was not long.\u00a0 My bill for R120 for the soup, another lovely ice cream dessert, a glass of Kaapzicht red wine and cappuccino came to R120 – one cannot beat Casparus for value.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>POSTSCRIPT 21\/4:<\/strong>It was my first lunchtime visit today, and I missed the magic that the dark brings to the restaurant.\u00a0 The slideshow by Strijdom van der Merwe cannot be projected, as it is too light.\u00a0 Given the first bite of winter, some of the tables have been moved to the ‘voorkamer’, the room one enters. \u00a0The kingklip, served with the Cap Classique sauce from the Oyster starter instead of the balsamic sauce, was exceptional, and amazing value at R85.\u00a0\u00a0 I did not like the frozen mousse as much as I love the ice creams.\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

POSTSCRIPT 30\/4<\/strong>:\u00a0 I noticed the hand of Strijdom van der Merwe in the design of the sand outside the restaurant.\u00a0 It was lovely to be welcomed back to my 5th visit by three waiters who have served me previously.\u00a0 I also met Martin, the winemaker of Kaapzicht, the housewine at Casparus, as well as the marketing manager of Nederburg, sitting at the neighbouring table, and to\u00a0chat to\u00a0Delaire Graff chef Christiaan Campbell.\u00a0\u00a0 \"\"<\/a>The salmon in the Linguine (R85), with prawns, was the softest and tastiest I have ever eaten.\u00a0\u00a0 Happy 60th birthday chef Etienne Bonthuys for tomorrow.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

POSTSCRIPT 13\/5<\/strong>: A 6th visit to the restaurant followed a disappointing concert at the EndlerHall, and at 9 pm the restaurant was still full, so I was seated in the ‘lounge’ outside, withfires.\u00a0 I had a lovely light clear soup withshellfish (the mussels removed, and including salmon, scallops and prawns).\u00a0 Then I had sirloin steak with a delicious mushroom sauce. \"\"<\/a>The steak was a little tough and fatty in sections.\u00a0 The bill arrived with a R90 charge for\u00a0a bottle of wine, but I had not ordered any.\u00a0 The charge was quickly removed by Pierre when I pointed this out to him.\u00a0 An Irish coffee was well-made.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

POSTSCRIPT 21\/5<\/strong>:\u00a0 My seventh visit, and the most disappointing one – the kingklip I had before had noticeably shrunk in portion size, and the wine list had at least two wines advertised as 2007 vintages available only in 2009 – the waiter\u00a0honestly told us that most of the wine vintages are out of date, unforgivable for a restaurant less than 2 months old.\u00a0 When I chatted to Chef Etienne about it afterwards, he just shrugged, and I had the sinking feeling that nothing will be done about it.\u00a0 The winelist is a collection of typed pages, and the vintage information can easily be rectified.\u00a0 Tried the Sabayon Surprise dessert for the first time – still love the home-made ice creams more.<\/p>\n

POSTSCRIPT 17\/6<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0Visit number 8!\u00a0 \u00a0Nice to know that Jane and Etienne are reading this blog, and read my previous comment about the winelist.\u00a0\u00a0I was happy to see the winelist amended with the new vintages, on a\u00a0return visit tonight.\u00a0 Also loved the staff saying yes, without hesitation,\u00a0to my arrival at 22h30, for a cappuccino and Bonthuys’ wonderful ice cream.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>POSTSCRIPT 4\/2:<\/strong> I have lost count of the number of times that I have been to Casparus – it remains my favourite! \u00a0The prices have increased slightly (by R5 a dessert, for example), and more main courses are over R100. \u00a0New dishes have been added, including this delicious rump of lamb with lobster sauce!<\/p>\n

POSTSCRIPT 15\/6:<\/strong> A colourful addition to the menu is pork loin with\"\"<\/a> citrus segments, prunes, and a mandarin sauce. \u00a0Very poor service from the waitress unfortunately, bringing the credit card machine whilst we were still eating, unasked.<\/p>\n

Casparus Restaurant<\/strong>, 59 Dorp Street, Stellenbosch.\u00a0 Tel (021) 882-8124.\u00a0 No website yet. casparus@afrihost.co.za<\/a> Tuesday – Saturday lunch and dinner.<\/p>\n

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

It was a Tweet by Mike Ratcliffe of Warwick on Friday that ‘announced’ the long-awaited\u00a0opening of Casparus on Dorp Street, the new restaurant\u00a0of both renowned (for his sauce-based food)\u00a0and infamous (for his temperament) Etienne Bonthuys, who had been at Tokara restaurant for 10 years, but had left last October to make space for Richard Carstens, […]<\/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],"tags":[10754,10751,3667,4645,10741,6113,10735,10739,2881,32378,11308,10740,1736,6304,10744,7208,4569,1644,6230,10755,10747,10742,10743,405,3602,10745,399,10752,228,3625,62,10748,10750,10746,231,32376,6086,10736,10753,3285,1988,3598,9171,32373],"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