{"id":7224,"date":"2010-03-29T11:03:35","date_gmt":"2010-03-29T09:03:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=7224"},"modified":"2010-03-29T11:03:35","modified_gmt":"2010-03-29T09:03:35","slug":"restaurant-review-there-is-little-of-jardine-at-jardine-restaurant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/cape-town\/restaurant-review-there-is-little-of-jardine-at-jardine-restaurant\/","title":{"rendered":"Restaurant Review: There is little of Jardine at Jardine Restaurant"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A Twitter friendship with co-owner Wilhelm Kuehn, and a challenge from him to visit the restaurant to do a review,\u00a0was the reason for returning for a meal at Jardine Restaurant\u00a0in the Cape Town city centre, after 18-months since the previous visit.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jardine Restaurant\u00a0makes me think that it is somewhat ‘schizophrenic’ – a fine-dining ex-Top 10 restaurant, which also has an informal take-away\u00a0at its Jardine Bakery section, and an informal sit-down lunch at tables and benches outside the door on the pavement.\u00a0\u00a0 Restaurant founder and co-owner George Jardine has opted out of city living, to start a new country restaurant on Jordan wine estate\u00a0in Stellenbosch, and now only cooks at Jardine Restaurant\u00a0“2 or 3 times a week”, I am told, but the restaurant still carries his name.\u00a0\u00a0 Wilhelm tells me that Waterkloof and Tokara were alternate options George Jardine had evaluated for his new restaurant.<\/p>\n

Jardine has handed over the chef reins to Eric Bulpitt, who has worked at the Winchester Mansions Hotel, The Showroom, Ledbury in London, and at Jardine Restaurant\u00a0with George.\u00a0\u00a0Kuehn was a lawyer, and now is the\u00a0General Manager, keeping a fine\u00a0eye on things\u00a0upstairs, walking the floor to check that all runs smoothly.<\/p>\n

Jardine Restaurant\u00a0had to face the humiliation of falling from 3rd place in the Eat Out <\/strong>Top 10 Restaurant list of 2009 to between 12 – 20th place last November.\u00a0 One does not know if the judges felt that things had slipped, or because they felt that an award cannot go to a chef when he is not cooking there all the time any more – Jardine’s move to the winelands had been widely announced.\u00a0\u00a0 Kuehn says the Top 10 award result last year created introspection, but Bulpitt’s new menu for the restaurant is drawing in regulars.\u00a0\u00a0 I heard tourists, and\u00a0recognised Howard Godfrey,\u00a0MD of @home, as patrons, on an almost-full Thursday evening.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When one arrives one is met by Johan.\u00a0 I had not booked, but he made a plan to make a table available.\u00a0 I told him I would be out by 9 pm, but Jardine is not for fast in-and-out dining, mainly because the menu requires one to have a minimum of two courses, and I therefore only left after about two hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The downstairs section has never made an impact, and is set up as a bar and lounge.\u00a0\u00a0 Upstairs the restaurant space has a central middle area, and tables against the windows, separate from the rest.\u00a0\u00a0 It is not a particularly attractive space decor-wise, only a pop-art painting by Richard Scott on the far wall creating a splash of colour, one of a few artworks on the walls, coming from Worldart.\u00a0\u00a0 A functional shelf holds functional cutlery holders and crockery.\u00a0 Close by, an old-fashioned cash register has an untidy collection of paperwork next to it.\u00a0 The tables have white tablecloths, and attractive and comfortable brown leather chairs.\u00a0I sense a woman’s hand is\u00a0lacking in the decor of the room (as I did at the Warwick tasting room recently) – all is very functional here.\u00a0\u00a0 The chef and his kitchen crew of five work in a very small space, preparing each dish.\u00a0 Chef Eric is in the centre, finishing things off.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wilhelm\u00a0comes to chat and we talk about Twitter, other restaurant Twitterers, and the soon-to-open nearby Cookery School.\u00a0 A waitress brings the menu, printed on strong board, and it changes day by day.\u00a0\u00a0 One chooses two (R 230) or three courses ( R 260), a 5 course chef’s menu (R 400) or a wine pairing menu (R350), the last two\u00a0options not being explained by the waitress.\u00a0\u00a0 A side salad is specified as costing R 45 extra, and other (unspecified) sides at R 35.<\/p>\n

The menu choice was five starters and mains, and four desserts.\u00a0 The starters seemed esoteric (‘Evita and Princess figs’ -two varieties of figs, I was told\u00a0and\u00a0‘vegetable patch’) or too fishy (oysters, mussels and salmon)\u00a0for my taste.\u00a0\u00a0 Main choices were line fish, Frazerburg lamb leg, seared Kroondal duck breast, rump, and grilled elf mushrooms.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

An amuse bouche is served, almost over the top and\u00a0‘airy-fairy’, very foamy in general, and is meant to be an olive tapenade covered by a “tomato spoon” (missed the tomato taste), white pepper and a basil leaf.\u00a0 It is extremely light and aerated, and I am brought another because the air will have escaped while Wilhelm and I talk too much.\u00a0 I love duck, and was surprised when it was served – I call it “deconstructed”, with\u00a0four little bits of duck, and little portions of “parfait en croute, celeriac, pomegranate and shallot” spread out on a wooden platter.\u00a0\u00a0 The tiniest of tiny flowers, nuts and other ingredients are sprinkled across the plate.\u00a0\u00a0 Had I not ordered a side of the most wonderful crunchy green beans sprinkled with flaked almonds, I would have still been hungry after the main course.\u00a0\u00a0 The parfait is outstanding, the little that is offered.<\/p>\n

The dessert options were chocolate torte, citrus tomato minestrone, pineapple souffle flambe,\u00a0and a selection of South African cheeses (gorgonzola, camembert, labare-style cheese, ash-rind goat’s cheese and gruyere served with walnut toast and watermelon konfyt).\u00a0\u00a0 The cheese platter, served on an extremely heavy granite slab, was an excellent choice, and was an enjoyable slow eat.\u00a0\u00a0It was decorated with the finest apple slices, always great with cheese, and slices of strawberry and raspberries, as well as nuts and blueberries.<\/p>\n

The waitress was very efficient in explaining the menu items, but each item has so many components, that when the dish is brought to the table, one has long forgotten what exactly the chosen dish entails (Opal Lounge has the same problem).\u00a0 But the waitress was patient in running through the ingredients again.\u00a0 One irritation is the waitress offering her\u00a0personal recommendation of the duck\u00a0– I know that many restaurants do not allow their staff to eat the restaurant’s food, so I always\u00a0reject such “recommendations”, as tastes do\u00a0differ.\u00a0\u00a0I chose the duck, because I love duck, not because she recommended it.<\/p>\n

The winelist is attractively presented in a brown leather cover, matching the chairs.\u00a0\u00a0 It is an extensive list, separating bubblies, whites and reds, each sub-divided into varietals and blends, followed by two pages of mainly French and some Spanish wines.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Wines by the glass\u00a0are reasonably priced – a Villiera\u00a0by-the-glass\u00a0costs R 40, a Tribout R 120.\u00a0\u00a0 A Jardine (made by Paradyskloof) Unwooded Chardonnay costs R 25, a Lammershoek Roulette Blanc R 40.\u00a0 The La Motte Millenium and Sterhuis cost R 45 each (for 125 ml).\u00a0 For the tasting menu one can order 60 ml portions of wines too.\u00a0\u00a0 Billecart-Salmon champagne is served in various options, ranging from R 950 – R 7 000 a bottle.\u00a0 Two Graham Beck Cap Classiques cost R 410, the VIlliera R 190.\u00a0\u00a0 Red wine options number 35, and range from R 95 for a MAN Shiraz to R 990 for a Muemve Raats De Compostella\u00a02006; 27 white wine options range from the Jardine Unwooded Chardonnay at R 100 to R 780 for the Platter 2010 White Wine of the Year, the Sadie Palladius.\u00a0\u00a0French wines start at R 1 600 per bottle, to R 8 600 for a Chateau Lafitte-Rothschild 1995.<\/p>\n

The sommelier Jaap-Henk Koelewijn is told that I have ordered a glass of La Motte Millenium 2007, and that I would like it poured at the table (I distrust wine-by-the glass service).\u00a0\u00a0 Johan tells me that they have actually found a bottle of 2006 – what luck!\u00a0\u00a0 Koelewijn comes to the table, does not show me the bottle, as I ask of him twice, and just carries on pouring the small portion.\u00a0I ask him if I may not taste the wine.\u00a0 He retorts that he has done so already!\u00a0\u00a0 There was no “hello, my name is Jaap, I am the sommelier, let me tell you some more about the La Motte Millenium…” from him.\u00a0 Why is that sommeliers have such attitude and arrogance\u00a0(like at Bosman’s and Reubens in Franschhoek)?\u00a0\u00a0 The minute I started the cheese platter, he was back to offer me another top-up of the wine or a port.\u00a0\u00a0 No question was asked whether I had enjoyed the first glassful.\u00a0 \u00a0The empty glass was probably taken to communicate that it was good!\u00a0 I had to ask for a cappuccino to accompany the coffee, as this was not offered as a beverage\u00a0option.<\/p>\n

The lunch menu changes regularly too, and that of 11 March had four starters (oysters and mussels as per the dinner menu) and two salads, 3 mains (line fish, rump and mushrooms, as per the dinner menu), and 3 desserts (chocolate torte and cheese as per the dinner menu).\u00a0 Here the prices look reasonable, and one can order per dish.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The sums do not add up if you see the lunch prices for individual menu items, compared to paying for 2 or more dinner courses.\u00a0 Wilhelm says the lunch menu dishes are simpler.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

If Wilhelm had not come to chat, I would have left without the “connection” to Jardine Restaurant.\u00a0 There is some very soft music, so soft that it is inaudible.\u00a0\u00a0 It gets progressively hotter in the room, as the airconditioning is on but the windows are open, defeating the\u00a0function of the aircons.\u00a0\u00a0 A fan is brought from around the corner, and makes a difference.<\/p>\n

Jardine Restaurant<\/strong>, corner Bree and\u00a0Bloem Street, Cape Town.\u00a0 Tel (21) 424-5640.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 www.jardineonbree.co.za<\/a>. \u00a0Twitter @JardineCapetown.\u00a0 Open for dinner Monday – Saturday evenings, lunch is served Wednesdays – Fridays.<\/p>\n

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

A Twitter friendship with co-owner Wilhelm Kuehn, and a challenge from him to visit the restaurant to do a review,\u00a0was the reason for returning for a meal at Jardine Restaurant\u00a0in the Cape Town city centre, after 18-months since the previous visit.\u00a0\u00a0 Jardine Restaurant\u00a0makes me think that it is somewhat ‘schizophrenic’ – a fine-dining ex-Top 10 […]<\/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":[3,124,20,21],"tags":[3852,3848,220,143,3862,3855,32378,3854,3067,3849,32369,2185,226,3851,3863,3846,3859,1211,3858,3864,3850,3267,3861,3860,41,3853,1072,32376,400,32,59,1587,2837,3598,3056,32373,3847,190,3856],"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