Our
First night: a cottage in McGregor and great dinner out
The
Robertson Wine Valley and McGregor Country Getaways organised our accommodation while at
the festival and for our first night we did self catering at Country Cottages
in McGregor. The country views on the way are lovely
Our home for the night was Orchard
cottage, right in the middle of an apricot orchard which will be ripe in a week
or two. It is in a gated centre with several other cottages
Our back garden
It has two bedrooms, one with a double
bed
and another with two single beds
The lounge and kitchen area is
spacious and well appointed. John was delighted to see the television over the
fireplace as he was able to enjoy the Rugby, SA playing Wales
We only cooked breakfast the next
morning, but it is a very well supplied kitchen
There is a pool in the orchard
We looked on Trip Advisor and read how
popular and good Green Gables Country Inn restaurant in McGregor is, so Lynne
had booked a table for dinner. We were welcomed by the pianist, professional
musician John Hargreaves
John was the Timpanist with the Cape
Town Symphony Orchestra for years and he also used to make his own wine, which we sold in
the shop. In the background is the very friendly owner Jill Meyer. She and her
late husband Tiger have run the hotel for 16 years
It is a wonderful old house with
eclectic decor. Our table was next to the window
The restaurant was full; it is very
popular, so always book. They do put up a lot of people who do the walk through
the pass from Greyton. Jill told us that many come intending to walk back the
next day, but then get a car back as the walk is quite taxing
We took some older wines from our
cellar for our week away, like this bottle of Cordoba 1999 Merlot, and did not have to pay corkage.
We are glad we opened this now, it needed drinking. It went beautifully with
dinner
There was no menu. It is a set three
course meal, but you pay for the courses you eat, so you can skip the starter or
the pudding. We skipped the butternut soup starter, as it was a very warm
evening, and went straight for the roast pork option. We could have had roast
chicken. Just like eating a well prepared Sunday roast. Roast pork, done two
ways in a rich meat gravy, crisp duck fat potatoes, carrot ribbons and a sticky
sweet, brown sugar dusted, pumpkin fritter which was a great accompaniment to the
pork
It is a lovely dining room with lots
of art on the walls, some for sale. There is a TV lounge at the end
Dessert did not appeal to us, but we
are so glad we said yes to the cheesecake. It is from a secret recipe and is lighter
than air with a good caramel topping. Dinner cost us just R100 a head, which we
think is marvellous value
You can also dine on the terrace which
has views of the garden and the countryside. And, of course, you can stay a night
or two. Rates start at R400 pp. Address is Smith St & Mill Street, McGregor,
6708 Phone:023 625 1626
Friendly and professional owner Jill
Meyer with her poodle.
Rugby in the TV lounge
Night view of the garden
Sunday morning on McGregor's Main Street
It is a lush valley full of vineyards
...
... and hills
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor
& Bacchus 2015
