It's that time of the year
again, where to go for our Anniversary dinner? We chose one we have been
meaning to visit for ages but, because of the Cycle Race and everyone (still!) carbo
loading, we were turned down. John thinks it's because we were only two and they
make more money from bigger tables. Anyway they run a two tier system, so they are
off the list. We do NOT want to eat at 6 and be out by 8 unless there is a
really good price incentive, nor do we want to get our main course later than
10 pm. So Lynne remembered that she had seen some really good reviews on a site
she follows in Facebook: Cape Town Restaurants - the good, the bad and the
nastyyyy ... And so a reservation was made at Bones Kitchen and Bar in the
Palms Centre in Woodstock. It’s a safe centre behind a barrier, with its own
paid parking. And what a great time we had with lovely food and excellent
service
The Menu. Prices are very
reasonable for what you get; it is fine dining with some conventional dishes
and some new and exciting. And we do love the sharing aspect, if our appetites
are in tune
Might have to try them for
breakfast too. And Yay! They have Green Tea.
The wine list is quite
eclectic, mostly good with some wines we like. We did order the Rosé by the
glass and found that you get a very generous carafe with nearly two glasses
each. However, we think they might need a better house wine. Not the best rosé
we have ever had. Lactic and a little bitter
Moooooose anyone. Very
atmospheric! The restaurant is spacious and there is a very good buzz in the
room of people enjoying themselves
The rosé was to drink with
our starters - it goes well with seafood and other dishes, so usually a good
choice
It lasted well into the main course
John had the Mussels velouté;
superb, rich and full of plump mussels and crisp pancetta pieces
The stock they
used was really good
Lynne had been dreaming of
gnocchi at the first restaurant and so was delighted to find them on this menu
too. In a lovely thick flavourful Gorgonzola sauce, topped with sun blush
tomatoes and micro greens. They were quite light, but we think they might have been
in the water just a little too long. The small pieces of crisp Parmesan tuiles
were inspired. Our Pinot Noir was a great match for this dish
For our main course and
because of some of the reviews, we went for the shared Pot Bones and chose the
shin of beef - excellent value at R375 for 2 . Absolutely magnificent. We were
told that they would take about 20 minutes extra to arrive and we were very
happy to wait. The beef was slow cooked in this casserole with red wine and
vegetables, plenty of rosemary and it simply fell apart. The flavour is
extraordinary and it is served with a side of creamy, buttery mashed potato. Of
course we couldn’t manage the whole thing and had the remains put in a doggy
bag. Lunch the next day of course. The lamb choice was lamb ribs and we saw it
on our neighbours’ table and that looked great too. But John does not do small
bones. The other choice was chicken, cooked long and slow in these pots. We so
recommend you go and try these. Wish we had a dog for that marrow bone. All its
flavour is in the dish
We took along a special
bottle from our cellar and it was perfect for the dish. We asked before we
ordered if they have a corkage policy and they do for one bottle. A reasonable
R50 given that this wine is expensive. And although, on opening, we thought it
needed more time, it quickly opened up into the classic Burgundian elegant
Pinot Noir we were expecting with a floral nose and lovely deep dark fruit,
soft tannins and complexity. No faults and so enjoyable
Absolutely no room for
dessert but we will be back, with friends. Service was seamless, we had two
excellent, helpful and friendly waiters and despite a shift change nothing went
awry. Thank you Carlson. Sadly we didn’t get the name of the first waiter
