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
