We
have been meaning to return to Borage all year after an excellent lunch there
just after they opened and jumped at the chance when an advertisement appeared
on Groupon this week with a very special offer for a three course meal for two.
Lynne admits she relished the thought of someone else cooking a great meal for
us after a very, very tiring week and it did made a great finish to it, as we
had lovely food in a very necessary relaxed atmosphere.
Chef
Frank Marks has worked under some top chefs here and abroad and has had his own
restaurant in Portside, the FNB tower on Hans Strydom Drive for just over a
year. It's a bistro and is open for breakfast and lunch Monday to Saturday and
dinner only on Friday and Saturday and closed on Sunday. Check out their menu
on the web site www.borage.co.za
The kitchen is open and there is a good
atmosphere in the restaurant
We took along a bottle of Hartenberg
Chardonnay 2008 and it went excellently with the food we ordered. Corkage is
R45
The menu
Beautiful fresh" in season" seared
tuna as a starter delighted Lynne
John chose the Pot au Feu (pot on the
fire) with its rich meaty broth. An unusual starter and thankfully a small
portion as this is normally a very substantial and filling French meal; you
drink the soup then eat the beef brisket and vegetables which have been cooked
long and slow in the stock. Normally you then don't need to eat for a day or
two. We jest
Watching the chef assembling the
dishes on the pass
Well sauced confit duck leg with
creamy buttered mash, braised fennel, & Brussels sprouts in a spicy wine
sauce was John's choice of main course
Lynne chose the very tender belly of
pork with a wholegrain mustard sauce on mash, sugar snap peas and green beans and
both green and red cabbage. Not too fatty, with a good deep flavoured sauce. No
crackling sadly. The mustard sauce was not entirely to her liking, but this is
just a personal taste, others would love it. The cabbage was
We do tend to be quite predictable
when it comes to dessert. Lynne often doesn't have one, but if Tart Tatin is on
the menu, she will order it. It was, it was delicious and very much worth
having, if slightly different from the usual sliced apple. Here the apple was
almost a purée infused with caramel. It came with a rich and unctuous vanilla
parfait
John will normally veer towards
anything chocolate so he had the Chocolate fondant, suitably warm, melting and
gooey in the middle and very dark and chocolatey. It came on a cherry coulis,
with a kirsch and ice cream with toasted almonds
Our very reasonable bill with service
and corkage added. This is definitely a restaurant to visit soon and we hear
they are going to be part of Restaurant Week which starts 22nd October to 1st
November.. Check it out on the Internet
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015
