Lunch at Mariana's, Stanford

After our visit to the Elim Festival, we spent the night at a friend’s daughter’s holiday house in De Kelders, where we had a lovely relaxing evening and morning, reading papers and our books, cooking huge prawns for supper, watching whales and poachers, getting some sun while doing the crossword and then it was time to head over to Stanford, where we had managed to get a reservation for lunch. We have not been for several years, as this small restaurant is amazingly popular (deservedly so) and bookings are hard to get. We were warmly welcomed by Peter Esterhuizen and given a lovely table outside on the vine-covered terrace, facing Mariana’s legendary vegetable garden. Then came the wonderful food.

A whale in the bay with its calf

Chilling with the Sunday Times crossword

The entrance on Du Toit Street, Stanford
The impressive vegetable garden, flanked by mulberry trees laden with fruit and birds

The stoep

Overflow seating in the garden

Our table for (most of) lunch

Chef Mariana bringing fresh herbs to her kitchen

The lunch menu. It is fresh, real food and there is something for everyone. We loved the literal - Peter had not noticed that he had written Waterblop soup instead of waterblom.

Peter explains the food

and takes our orders

We took wine from our cellars. The first bottle was an excellent Oak Valley 2011 Sauvignon blanc, which was followed by one of Lourens van der Westhuisen’s magnificent 2011 Barrel-fermented Chardonnays

Then, from our cellar, a magnificent 2001 Malbec from Fairview. A bit of sediment, but glorious fruit

The cork broke on removal so it had to be strained and presented in a jug. Lovely aromas, no faults and its flavour lasted in the jug

The very beautiful broad bean quiche

We shared two starters. The first was the Stanford starter: Dolmades, good salami, olives and fresh-from-the-garden broad bean humus

The second was the savoury and rich Springbok Rillette served with seed bread and cucumber pickle

The Waterblom soup with a breadstick

Rows of broad beans and beans in the garden with the mountains in the distance

Tempting broad beans

And lovely lettuces interplanted with what looks like tarragon and a rouge arum

Their house is the other side of the garden

Umbrellas up under the pergola as rain was expected

A wheelbarrow planting

Lynne having a laugh at the weather. What was supposed to be a forecasted minute of rain turned into rather a long and heavy thunderstorm. We didn’t mind at all

Main courses arriving. Confit duck for John on a bed of carrots and grains, a broad bean salad and some preserved kumquats

Perfectly cooked trout with waterblom, braised leeks and new potatoes

The cheese roulade stuffed with spinach with oven baked tomatoes

Lynne had the simmered lamb shoulder with a great green pesto, fresh beetroot, white butter beans and roasted tomatoes

The rain made it impossible to stay outside, so we moved, with nearly everyone else, inside

The chef, Mariana Esterhuizen, who is the heart of the establishment, came to see if we were enjoying ourselves. We were

There was one table who braved the elements on the stoep. It was cosy inside, but all were having a good time

Rabbit décor

The garden in the rain

An important notice at the front door

Um, I thought that said "no dogs"? A cute Boston terrier puppy, carried in a bag by a young customer. Maybe she was too small to count

Dessert choices

Mulberry season in the garden

enjoyed by an olive thrush

“We really don’t mind the rain”
Welcome shelter from an early summer storm

Of course, John had the chocolate "Chocup"! Rich, warm and gooey, served with marmalade and almond Langue de chat biscuits

Ronnie could not resist the Doodskoot (lit. translation Dead shot) Double Espresso, served with a shot of local grappa and some homemade vanilla ice cream with almond cantuccini biscuits

It’s so rare to see Mulberries on the menu, so Lynne and Loraine had to have the Mulberry Trio. Dark and intense mulberry sorbet, a mulberry marshmallow and a tiny mulberry tart with superbly crisp pastry. A superb lunch

The sun came out and all was fresh and new

We will definitely be back. This is the food that all the top chefs are trying to achieve

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Text and Photographs © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014