To say we have been meaning to visit this
restaurant for months is no lie; when we saw it was on Restaurant week we felt
there was no excuse not to book and plan well ahead. We think George is one of
the best chefs in South Africa and he never disappoints us. His sauces are
legendary and we never allow any to go back to the kitchen
A warm welcome from his wife
Louise, who very kindly sent us complimentary glasses of Graham Beck Brut Rosé.
Chef George was not cooking on Friday, but we know he always trains his staff
so well that the food would be the same as if he had been there, and we were
right
The Jardines have recently refurbished this compact restaurant on Andringa Street in the centre of
Stellenbosch. We arrived at 12 and parked in the Eikestad mall
In the other room
First comes the bread and how
witty the design of the serving 'plate' - looked like a butcher bird's hoard! Warm
seed load, some Banting crackers and some speared baby cucumbers, carrots and
radishes to dip into the aioli topped with pesto
The menu: Two courses for R250,
three for R300 and some great choices
We decided that a bottle of
Pinot Noir from Oak Valley, their Sounds
of Silence would be a good match for many of the courses we were having. We
were with two friends who are both vegetarian
The vegetarian starter of new
season globe artichokes, light potato gnocchi, crisp sage and a parmesan cream
sauce
John chose the delectable
terrine of smoked chicken and leek, with truffled leek dressing, creamy chicken
liver parfait balls and crisp chicken skin
Lynne is convinced hers was the
best, although it had some competition. East coast hake and prawn Boudin blanc (white
sausage) slices on crushed pea purée with chervil, in a sea of marvellous prawn
bisque. the boudin slices were topped with nasturtiums. Delicate boudin with
texture of the prawns and fish, deep and wonderfully flavoured bisque. One to
remember for a long time. Clean plate returned.
On to the main courses. John
chose the perfectly pink and tender peppered fillet which had been seared; the
onion was stuffed with rich braised brisket, falling apart. It same with a
square of potato fondant, a good rich jus and some spinach purée
The vegetarian main course was
a poem of fresh glazed Kokstad porcini mushrooms, with mushroom mousse balls
rolled in hazelnuts, quince and kale, on a crisp, tart, fine flaky pastry base. Just
how to showcase simple fresh mushrooms
Another deceptively simple dish
for Lynne. Sea Trout, moist and perfectly cooked with crisp skin, served with
broad beans - yes! And kale - no! Sprouts and crisp waterblommetjies. This had
a lovely light cream, lemon and chive sauce
We are being served a LOT of
kale recently, so we assume it is in season. This was quite soft and edible but
it is not our favourite vegetable, it has little flavour and is often so hard
to chew and sometimes has a texture like glass (not here). We are told it is
healthy. So is spinach. Please - leave it for the cattle.
And so to dessert. We can often
pass, but not here. We all succumbed and had no regrets. This was the Valrhona
chocolate mousse, fruity with tropical flavours, dark, light and sublime,
topped with the Valrhona torte - rich and dense with crisp edges like those on
a brownie, topped with a creamy chocolate ice cream. Signs of satisfaction were
heard. And another four clean plates returned to the kitchen – yes, we did
decadently use our fingers to swipe up the remains and prolong the joy. Thank
you George and Louise, a memorable meal
The bill followed four good double espressos. R810
per couple for three courses with wine and service seems very reasonable for
food of such quality
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2017
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