Friday, August 18, 2023

Lunch at Eike, Stellenbosch

 Chef Bertus Basson has always produced exciting and unusual food in his restaurants,
so we were very keen to go to his new Eike restaurant in Stellenbosch
An invitation from the Stellenbosch Wine Tourism board fulfilled that wish
The restaurant is at 47 Dorp Street. One does not, however, enter from the front
There is a small alley next to the restaurant and you drive through that to find a good parking area
(finding street parking in popular central Stellenbosch is not easy)

The rear of 47 Dorp Street. It is not the restaurant

 which is behind this rather hidden, inconspicuous entrance which has no signage

The interior shows the wonderful old building off well, with its yellowwood ceiling and the open kitchen at one end

The current seasonal menu
If you are allergic to anything, do let them know when you book; they are very happy to oblige

The three "Happies" (small bites) were excellent
L to R: Onion Jolly Jammer is a take on a Jammy Dodger sweet biscuit but much better
Two small crisp sablé biscuits filled with flavourful cream cheese and a dab of onion jam in the centre
The partnership of crunch and flavour was such fun

Next a small souttert (savoury tart) filled with powdered biltong and topped with Huguenot cheese
The more we experience this cheese we see how good it is and how much it adds to food

The Jamestown Daltjie is a tiny crisp deep fried Chilli bite

Our solution as to what to drink with a menu as varied as this is a light crisp Rosé
The Rainbow's End Cabernet Franc Blanc de Noir fitted the bill well

The bread course arrived next with crisp crunchy crusted mini loaf of Potbread,
a life changing dip of chicken schmaltz with fermented fruity garlic honey, dotted with tiny pieces of crisp chicken skin
We refused to give it back and kept adding it to other dishes
The dish of pickled beetroot, carrot and fresh baby radishes was also much appreciated
A nice touch which we have also had when in France

Now we were primed for the First Course of Potato and Leek soup, topped with a perfect poached egg
with the yolk runny and able to be incorporated into the soup
Small potato croutons, onion ash and a green sorrel oil all added to the complexity of the dish

A close-up of that poached egg

The restaurant has some very good features that would help them toward a Michelin star, if we had them in South Africa
The handles on the backs of the comfortable upholstered armchairs,
the small table for handbags or camera bags which is supplied to each table
Service was impeccable, responsive and friendly
Thanks to Manager Piet Pretorius, who takes care of all the customer needs, and our waitress Busi Mqumbisa
We were also thrilled when Bertus' wife Mareli, who runs the business, came to say hello
and then Chef Daniel Oosthuizen came to chat to us at the end of service
He is quite young to be in charge of a restaurant, obviously competent after the food he served us, and adventurous
He was well trained at the CIA, has an impressive resumé and, no doubt, will go far
And thank you Bertus for inviting us! We loved it

Some homely kitchen touches at the other end of the restaurant

The Second Course had an ingredient we have not had before, a thin slice of air-dried Yellowtail fish,
not quite bokkoms (salted, air-dried fish) and not quite fish biltong
 It was served atop a slice of tender barbequed salted belly of pork and set in a mild Butter curry sauce
and topped with daikon radish and turnips and spinach leaves

Third Course was a choice
Lynne chose the really satisfying Lamb from Frankie Fenner's butchery, rolled and beautifully braised,
so tender and well-seasoned
  Topped with tiny lambs' kidneys (a favourite of Lynne's who regrets that we don't see them very often),
accompanied by a Jerusalem artichoke purée and topped with tiny deep-fried slices of that excellent vegetable,
also rarely found, and baby nasturtium leaves

We were also served one of the side dishes, the (Not) Slap chips, Maldon salt (and malt vinegar, which we passed on)
They are actually rosti, formed into chip shapes and deep fried till crisp

John chose the fish, braaied Kabeljou, mussels and fish soup,
with courgettes, fennel and dune spinach wrapped around the plate, much enjoyed

Then a Savoury. Shaved, frilled and petalled creamy and intense Dalewood Huguenot cheese
on a slice of pear with cream and macadamia nuts
One to copy even if we don't get the presentation right

And, to finish, dessert. We must admit that, while the dishes are small, we were feeling very replete
It changed John's entire lifelong opinion of guavas
Deseeded, peeled and poached gently in orange, in a guava consommé, topped with a guava sorbet
and an excellent, sweet, crisp Sablé biscuit and served with a rich vanilla-redolent Crème Anglaise
Heavenly, and we don't often do desserts
A tour de force of excellent, interesting food moments; a big experience

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