Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Dinner at Volare, Peddlars & Co, Constantia

Volare, Oh Oh Oh

Peddlars on the Bend has been a well visited pub in Constantia for years. It has now been acquired by Chef Brad Ball (who is also the CEO) and partners Steve and Rob Fleck and has been renamed Peddlars & Co. Their new upmarket Italian themed restaurant, Volare, has recently opened and we were invited to visit and dine last Friday evening. Soon there will be four venues on the property: Volare, The Local  - a bar serving craft beers and platters, The Oak Terrace offering Al Fresco dining and Graciales offering small delicious plates for sharing 
We arrived to find that Klein Constantia had a small tasting of their Rosé at the door of the Restaurant
and had a warm welcome with a glass of Steenberg’s MCC bubbly from Chef Brad Ball, who explained their concept and told us of some of the things they are doing now and plans for the near future at Peddlars with the four venues. The staff were also very warm and welcoming and we really loved our waitress Amelia who has lots of character
The Italian concept menu is impressive. Chef Brad says he concentrates on local fresh food with the focus on the ingredients. It is arranged in the usual four courses you might find in an Italian Restaurant: Antipasti, Primi, Secondi and Dolci. He wants to do sophisticated cutting edge food that will appeal to people
We certainly had no trouble choosing from this menu
and a very good wine list with local wines and some imported. We applaud the fact that they also serve 250 ml carafes of wine (approximately a glass and a half) for those of us who want both a white wine and a red wine without needing a bottle of each. We think that these are very reasonably priced
We decided to share all our courses. This was the crisp fried arancini rice balls with gooey melted mozzarella cheese inside them. They were on a thick tomato and basil base. The truffle oil promised was slightly shy
Tonno crudo: Beautifully presented yellow fin tuna (locally caught and very plentiful this year) carpaccio topped with capers, a scattering of minute chopped shallot and a basil emulsion, tasted of the sea and was very fresh and light
John had a carafe of Spier’s Signature wooded Chardonnay (we went there and back in a taxi) while Lynne stayed with her glass of Steenberg bubbly
The restaurant was fully booked and is light and airy with a slight colonial feel – must be all those ceiling fans
There is a multiplicity of different lights and lamps plus candles on the tables. The seating is comfortable and we applaud the fresh white linen tablecloths and napkins
and there is a temperature controlled glass fronted wine room
The Primi course: Ricotta gnudi (lightly fried cheese and flour gnocchi) light and fluffy, served with braised tongue in a red wine and cream sauce, topped with rosemary pangritata (crisp fried breadcrumbs) which add great texture to the soft dish
Pork Ragu with Pappardelle. Lynne had seen this cooked on the Food Channel this week, so was very keen to try this. The pork ragu (a pork and tomato stew) is cooked long and slow until the meat is falling apart and then the thickly cut pappardelle noodles are incorporated. We loved the addition of the fennel seeds which go so well with pork. It is a very rich and substantial dish, almost (but not really) too much for those of us who have sworn off pasta for the last year but very good indeed. It was topped with a melting goats cheese fondant
We could not resist ordering carafes of the Villa Travignolli Chianti Ruffina Sangiovese DOCG from Tuscany to accompany this course and the next and it went perfectly, cutting through the richness of the dishes and adding a good fillip to the food of Italy. Very well priced at R63 a carafe, comparable to the local reds on the wine list
Then came the pièce de résistance of the meal, and one we thoroughly recommend that you go and try for yourself. The menu reads Caledon Lamb, caponata, ravioli, peas, onion condito, bagna corda, jus. The lamb arrived glazed with a thick glistening burgundy coloured sauce. Lynne tasted and then had to asked Chef Brad to confirm that it was indeed in a master stock. He cooks the lamb long and slow with a mirepoix. He then dips it into his four day much reduced master stock and serves it topped with a single ravioli, onions, peas and pea puree and a creamy foam. The marmitey master stock is superb and so unctuously concentrated, it almost sticks your lips together. It is one of the best ‘jus’ we have tasted in a very long time. A triumph of a dish
Our other main course was not too shabby either: Tender roast porchetta with crisp crackling – the pork from the acorn fed pigs on Oak Valley farm in Elgin, topped with a crisp piece of Parma ham and accompanied by artichokes, crisp sage leaves and sprouting broccoli
We just wish we had more room to venture into the desserts, which all sound very delish, but we were finished!
This is the outside terrace bar
Full on a Friday evening with people enjoying themselves
John sneaked into the very orderly kitchen at the end of service
and watched Chef Brad dressing a dish of the lamb
He is really enjoying running his own restaurant
And then, after two double espressos, it was time for our carriage home to Sea Point. Lovely for John not to have to drive so he could enjoy more than a glass of wine
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015

No comments: