{"id":19835,"date":"2011-04-26T11:20:16","date_gmt":"2011-04-26T09:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=19835"},"modified":"2011-04-30T02:57:38","modified_gmt":"2011-04-30T00:57:38","slug":"restaurant-review-cafe-dijon-zorgvliet-is-a-boere-bistro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/restaurant-news\/restaurant-review-cafe-dijon-zorgvliet-is-a-boere-bistro\/","title":{"rendered":"Restaurant Review: Caf\u00e9 Dijon @ Zorgvliet is a ‘Boere Bistro’!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Caf\u00e9 Dijon has operated in Stellenbosch for about three years, and its operation there did not impress me.\u00a0 On\u00a0hearing the praise heaped upon\u00a0the Stellenbosch restaurant\u00a0by Michael McKenzie as well as restaurant reviewer JP Rossouw, I decided to try the\u00a0recently opened Caf\u00e9 Dijon @ Zorgvliet, on a wine estate at the foot of the Helshoogte Pass.\u00a0 The co-owner of Caf\u00e9 Dijon called it a ‘Boere Bistro’, given\u00a0its local touch to a French-style bistro, with a seasonal country kitchen.<\/p>\n

I had never been to Zorgvliet before, only having read about it in Noseweek <\/strong>in two respects – the neighbours being up in arms about the loud music when they host weddings on the wine estate, and that Nedbank forced the previous owner into an auction, which was to his financial disadvantage.\u00a0\u00a0 One drives past the function rooms when one arrives, and then down a romantic\u00a0tree-lined lane, with\u00a0a lovely fresh country smell that reminded me of mushroom picking on Paarl Mountain as a child.\u00a0 One passes the winery, and the coffee shop and picnic building, around which there are lovely lawns.\u00a0 A little further along is a Cape Dutch building, previously the manor house which housed the Herenhuis restaurant, but now is the Zorgvliet tasting room.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Caf\u00e9 Dijon @ Zorgvliet has opened in the building that was previously the tasting room, its owners having found the manor house\u00a0too stiff for the more casual and relaxed atmosphere they wish to create.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The owners of Caf\u00e9 Dijon are not French at all, as I thought, but locals.\u00a0 Johan (‘Dup’) du Plessis grew up on a neighbouring farm and his wife Sarah comes from Somerset West.\u00a0 Sarah\u00a0trained at\u00a0Silwood Kitchen and then worked in Monaco for Sir David Brown of Aston Martin fame.\u00a0 Dup grew up in a household in ‘which real men don’t cook’, but he did learn to, and they met at Deltacrest outside Franschhoek.\u00a0\u00a0 When it burnt down, they decided to open a ‘Thirties style bistro in Stellenbosch, opposite the Town Hall, offering classic French dishes and comfort food, which Sarah said suits the design of the venue perfectly.\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The restaurant interior is very large, and looks like a tasting room, with barrels on the walls and still having the tasting counter.\u00a0\u00a0 It was much nicer sitting outside on a lovely pre-winter Saturday afternoon,\u00a0 and here seating is very casual\u00a0at long green benches and tables, and a few small caf\u00e9-style tables and chairs.\u00a0 Cheap striped placemats are on the table, with Eetrite cutlery.\u00a0 There\u00a0are no table cloths.\u00a0French music plays inside, and when I heard Fran\u00e7oise Hardy singing it brought back nostalgic memories of seeing her concert in Cape Town about\u00a0forty years ago.\u00a0\u00a0She is one of Dup’s favourites.<\/p>\n

Almost all the waiters were previously employed by the Zorgvliet restaurant, and Wilma was friendly and efficient.\u00a0 It was odd to see a manager hiding inside the restaurant, when all the patrons were sitting outside.\u00a0 She only checked on one’s satisfaction after each course was served, but did not stay outside to check on things generally.\u00a0 Wilma had to ask Sarah some of my questions, so she came to chat, sitting down at the table, and I found her to be very charming, down to earth and passionate about what she is developing at Zorgvliet.\u00a0 She showed me a patch that is to become their vegetable garden, visible from the outside seating.\u00a0 She wore a House & Garden <\/strong>apron, and both she and Dup cook, meaning that one is assured of the best.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>There is no printed menu, but a blackboard lists the menu items, which means that what is offered can be changed regularly, depending on what the chefs have in stock.\u00a0\u00a0 The menu has mainly starter type items, and I chose two of these – a generous serving of duck liver pat\u00e9 (R50), served with redcurrant jelly and toasted baguette, which unfortunately was burnt, so I asked for more of the crispy untoasted baguette, which had been brought to the table with Olyfberg olive oil and balsamic vinegar.\u00a0 This was followed by Norwegian salmon on which was placed a tian of fennel avocado, cucumber\u00a0and prawn (R60), a lovely fresh summer treat.\u00a0 \"\"<\/a>Other starters include fior de latte caprese, venison springrolls, three-cheese-tartlet with salad, parma ham and melon, and chicken and mango salad, ranging in price from R50 – R65.\u00a0 Sirloin and fillet cost R115, Karoo lamb R130, pork belly R100, braised veal short ribs R110, butternut ravioli\u00a0and gnocchi bolognaisse (R80), and vongole linguini R90.\u00a0 Desserts cost R30 – R35, and include chocolate mousse, creme br\u00fble\u00e9, and home-made ice cream (flavours on Saturday were coffee, condensed milk and Frangelico with walnuts).<\/p>\n

The winelist is in a brown plastic cover, and only Zorgvliet wines are available, under the Zorgvliet (R145 for whites and R150 for the reds) and Silver\u00a0Myn (R110 for whites, R125 for reds)\u00a0brand names, the latter wines being offered by the glass too, at R25 for the whites and R28 for the red wines.\u00a0 One can order Zorgvliet White, Sauvignon Blanc, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as the Richelle 2005,\u00a0which costs R500.\u00a0 The Silver Myn is available in Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Viognier, Cabernet Sauvignon,\u00a0Shiraz, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir.\u00a0 The vintages are listed on the winelist.<\/p>\n

The opening of the new Caf\u00e9 Dijon @ Zorgvliet has created confusion, with some readers of the\u00a0restaurant write-up in The Month <\/strong>thinking that the Stellenbosch branch has closed down, Sarah said.\u00a0 They have a good team there, and Sarah and Dup will be\u00a0mainly based at Zorgvliet, being closer to their home. The menu is similar but not identical at the two Caf\u00e9 Dijons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I was impressed with the food served at Caf\u00e9 Dijon @Zorgvliet, but found the venue too large for the few guests.\u00a0 It was lovely sitting outside, and I am not sure how the large venue will work with inside seating on winter days.\u00a0 Chatting to Sarah made all the difference to my enjoyment of being there, and she is a valuable asset that should be connecting to her guests, as she is a good people’s person, and as her manager is not fulfilling this role.<\/p>\n

Caf\u00e9 Dijon @Zorgvliet<\/strong>, Banhoek Valley, Helshoogte Pass, Stellenbosch.\u00a0 Tel (021) 885-2580.\u00a0 www.cafedijon.co.za<\/a>\u00a0 (The new Caf\u00e9 Dijon @Zorgvliet is not yet on the website).\u00a0 Wednesday – Sunday lunch, Friday and Saturday dinner.<\/p>\n

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

Caf\u00e9 Dijon has operated in Stellenbosch for about three years, and its operation there did not impress me.\u00a0 On\u00a0hearing the praise heaped upon\u00a0the Stellenbosch restaurant\u00a0by Michael McKenzie as well as restaurant reviewer JP Rossouw, I decided to try the\u00a0recently opened Caf\u00e9 Dijon @ Zorgvliet, on a wine estate at the foot of the Helshoogte Pass.\u00a0 […]<\/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":[124,20,31,21,293],"tags":[11254,11260,11248,6117,11247,32366,32378,11255,11250,11256,11257,1688,11249,11258,2688,6520,10141,829,4949,456,3625,11251,11259,11252,11253,32376,32373,49,9193],"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