On Sunday, 25 November, the 2012 Eat Out DStv Food Network
Restaurant Awards were announced. The event, held in The Westin Cape Town’s
Grand Ballroom, announced the new Top 10 restaurants. Unsurprisingly, 8 of the
Top 10 restaurants are in the Western Cape, with four of those in Stellenbosch,
one in neighbouring Franschhoek, and three more in Cape Town.
Chef of the Year went to Margot
Janse of The Tasting Room
in Franschhoek and The Service
Excellence Award to Rust en
Vrede in Stellenbosch.
The Top 10 restaurants in South Africa are:
1. The Test Kitchen (Cape Town)
2. The Tasting Room (Franschhoek)
3. Jordan Restaurant (Stellenbosch)
4. Overture (Stellenbosch)
5. Rust en Vrede Restaurant (Stellenbosch)
6. DW Eleven-13 (Johannesburg)
7. La Colombe (Cape Town)
8. The Greenhouse (Cape Town)
9. Terroir (Stellenbosch)
10. Hartford House (KZN)
Number three
on the list, Jordan Restaurant, have
long been one of our favourite places and top of our list when recommending
fine dining to our guests.
Great
location and views, excellent food and good service. Scottish chef George
Jardine used to have a great restaurant in Cape Town, and then opened this more
“country”, earthy restaurant. His wife, Louise, oversees front-of-house. It’s
pared-down modern here, with accessible and delicious dishes that change with
seasonal availability and a completely open-plan kitchen so you can see the
chefs at work. Also noteworthy is the walk-in cheese room, where you can go to
pick your own artisan cheese to enjoy after dinner.
Jordan Restaurant is
open for a la carte lunch from Monday to Sunday from 12h00 till 15h00 and a six
course set menu on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 18h30 to allow
maximum time to savour the view. On pleasant days the sliding doors are thrown
open, and all the tables are moved to the deck with its views over a dam and of
the gorgeous Stellenbosch mountains in the distance. www.jordanwines.com/restaurant/
At number four
is another one of our favourites; Overture
Restaurant on Hidden Valley Wine Farm, a stylish, modern restaurant
constructed of glass, steel and natural stone on Helderberg Mountain with
spectacular views. Chef Bertus Basson focuses on using the best ingredients to
create well-constructed and original dishes with unusual combinations.
Unintimidating
fine dining with a relaxed ambience and an open kitchen, two sides of the
dining room are further made entirely of glass to allow, not only the beautiful
view, but also a lot of natural light.
Overture is open for lunch every day, but
open for dinner only on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. www.dineatoverture.co.za
Fine dining at
its best, the original wine cellar at Rust
en Vrede Wine Estate, a National Monument, has been converted into what is
today the award-winning restaurant, and number five on the list. The kitchen is
placed “front and centre”, creating a relaxed, but vibey ambience. Handcrafter
crockery and stemware contribute to an unforgettable experience.
Well-trained staff offer a high level of service without an overdose of
formality, and always with a smile, beginning from the moment you get out of
your car and are walked to the front door. The dishes created by Chef John
Shuttleworth are creative and use only ingredients of the highest quality to
offer a sensation of flavours found in few other restaurants, while highly
qualified sommelier Neil Grant will make some excellent suggestions regarding
your wine choices.
There are two dining options to choose from, with a four course menu
allowing you a choice between three different options for each course. These
courses are not specifically paired with wines, but do ask for Neil’s opinion!
The six course menu is a set six courses, and also has the option of having a
wine paired with each course.
Rust en
Vrede offers their 1 course set menu wine makers lunch of the day, Tuesdays to
Saturdays from 12:00 – 3:00pm, weather dependent and are open on Tuesdays to Saturdays
from 06:30pm for dinner. http://www.rustenvrede.com/restaurant
Number nine, Terroir Restaurant on the Kleine Zalze
Wine Estate, is dressed down country chic, laid-back, but still efficient.
Classic French country fare are on the seasonal chalkboard menu that changes
daily according to fresh, seasonal ingredients and specials. Deceptively
simple, but elaborately crafted on the plate, Chef Michael Broughton’s
signature lies in simplicity and subtle combinations, with respect for the
natural flavours of locally sourced ingredients and artisan fare.
Terroir is open from 12:00 - 2:30pm for
lunch every day, and from 06:30 pm – 09:30pm Mondays to Saturdays. http://www.kleinezalze.co.za/terroir.html
Why not make a
weekend of it and try as many of these fantastic restaurants as you can, while
staying at the Oude Leeskamer, of course! We are always happy to make reservations
at restaurants on your behalf and even arrange a shuttle service to and from
them, if you plan on drinking a glass or two of wine, as we highly suggest you
do! After all, you are in the Winelands…
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