Burrata has a very well-chosen wine list, but we chose to celebrate the occasion with a bottle of Chablis 2008 from our cellar, which went extremely well with the food, and pay the corkage of R65. Very lean, crisp and dry, this was better as a food wine than a wine to sip.
Burrata Puglia, the signature dish of the restaurant. A burrata is a fresh mozzarella ball that has cream inside it. This soft and creamy cheese was then dressed with a little olive oil and some chopped chives, Oryx dessert salt and served with melba toast. They are made by the Puglia company from Stellenbosch.
The other starter we shared was a tender and flavourful beef carpaccio with good tangy Klein Rivier grana padano cheese, parsley dressing and fried caper flowers. Not big enough was our comment!
An extra dish, sent to us to try by restaurant owner Neil Grant (you may remember him from Rust en Vrede): Soft and creamy risotto, perfectly cooked, topped with deep fried, crisp, shredded pork with cubes of granny smith green apple and surrounded by a sweet and sour currant vinaigrette. This dish really impressed us in its combination of textures and flavours and it definitely is one to return for. The pork, which resembled candyfloss, was actually quite crisp, caramelised and chewy and one of the best parts of the dish.
The wood burning pizza oven serves pizza non-stop and really warms the restaurant on a cold evening.
Fun lamps made from recycled bottles filled with led lights
A great way to store wood in circles of metal set on a window
A view of the spotless kitchen through their glass walled charcuterie cupboard
The interior of the restaurant is full of natural brick and warm wood surfaces This wall is made from recycled pieces of timber.
Lynne’s main of Porcetta of suckling pig roasted in the pizza oven, accompanied by herb mash, salted preserved onions and caramelised fried Brussels sprouts. This was the special of the evening and cost R130. The pork was beautiful, if very rich, but could have benefitted from a little longer in the oven. The potatoes and the really good jus were also great accompaniments. Lynne is not a fan of sprouts so John had one or two. We have not had onions prepared like this before. Only slightly pickled, but very salty and crisp, they need to be approached with slight caution, we felt, or you would need to drink a lot of water afterwards.
Johns’ main of pizza with Prosciutto, sliced parmesan reggiano, fresh mozzarella and rocket with a tomato base. The lovely crust is wood oven seared and the pizza was very enjoyable and filling.
Photographs © John Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2012
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