Restaurant Mosaic at The Orient Hotel

Sensational, sensational, sensational, this is easily the best dining experience in South Africa. Where do I start as there are so many superlatives that originate with this experience. Firstly, on arriving at The Orient hotel you are enveloped in a Moroccan theme with luxurious colours, rich tapestries, art and furniture that make a massive impression on you.

The attention to detail is fantastic and the service is equally so as the staff are friendly and courteous, yet unobtrusive. This was not our first visit as we have made the trek out here on a number of occasions before, the venue however never ceases to amaze us every time. Whilst waiting for our guests to arrive I decided to look through the bible, our term for their wine list (rather a large thick book) as it is probably the most comprehensive wine list I have come across in SA, for a suitable champagne to start the afternoon with. The champagne duly arrived and we tried a rosewater and pomegranate syrup with it, simply delicious and a novel way to start the day.

We were escorted to the Tiffany room for lunch, a quiet dining area away from the other tables with a lovely view and its own lounge to relax in after the meal. Our guests were blown away and they hadn't even tasted the food yet. Lunch was an easy choice as we selected the five course menu with wine pairing. Chantal arrived for a chat before lunch and appeared before each course to go through it with us. The food she prepares is simply sublime and she fully deserves her place in the top ten, hopefully she will be number one soon as she fully deserves it.

The menu takes you through a wonderful array of flavours and tastes as you journey through it. She starts with her signature truffle custard, always a winner, and moves on through the courses getting richer and deeper in flavours as the main course approaches. All three of the main courses on offer were ordered and all were full of praise for the food. On reflection however I have to admit that the duck accompanied by the duck mousse, her signature main course, was the best overall. It saw one of the guests requesting more, and this from a person who doesn't eat duck. It really has a wonderful chocolate and rich duck flavour to it and I admit that I would have been happy with that for dessert. The cheeses, desserts and coffees were a perfect conclusion to an exceptional meal and afternoon. Another joy was the presence of a sommelier to explain and take us through her pairings of wines and the meal. It always helps to understand why and what we should be looking for to enhance our experience.

Chantal took us on a tour of their cellar and spent much time chatting to us. It really is great to chat to her about food and our experiences elsewhere and as my wife says, she speaks beautifully and is always great to listen to. Our friends knew they were in for something special when we invited them to join us. We had previously introduced them to Roots and they have thoroughly enjoyed that ever since, but they agree with us in that this is simply a step above, simply the best dining experience in South Africa. This is even more relevant when taking into account that one of the friends specialises in inbound tours and regularly frequents the top hotels and restaurants in the country.

La Belle Terasse - Westcliff Hotel

What a disappointment. We were expecting a lot from this evening out with friends. Instead we were embarrassed when opening the menu and seeing the prices and small menu on offer. Our friends are not foodies like we are, so would not necessarily go and pay these prices for the fare that was available. We expected expensive, but not exorbitant.

The menu was very limited and the starters averaged about R140. The mains were averaging at about R240 and we did not even look at the deserts. The wine list was again exorbitant and did not really do the establishment any justice. One wonders if the pricing and menu had anything to do with the IPL being in town as I cannot imagine that they believe that the food on offer is worth the price you pay for it - its simply outrageous!

I had the fillet and again using the French Connection as a benchmark, this is no better, in fact not even as good, and priced at R45 more for your meal. On the Sunday I was chatting about our experience to a friend of mine and he stated that they had a similar experience at the restaurant with a burnt dish which was not appropriately replaced or apologised for.

The most amazing thing is that Dario is the head chef at the restaurant and we had hoped to see some of his influence coming through in the menu and wine list, but it certainly does not seem so. We have been avid followers of his at Yum and Yum Nostalgia and feel that his offerings there are far superior and better priced than what is on offer at this restaurant. Very, Very disappointing.

The Sugar Club - Beverley Hills Hotel

I must admit that after having heard so much about this hotel that I had rather large expectations from its restaurant. I had previously been for a lunch, but looked forward to the supper menu. I found the menu fairly limited in what it offers the diner and was expecting more. The food however was good and I enjoyed my meal. The real disappointment though was the price of the food as I feel that at these prices the food should be exceptional whereas I thought the food was good at best. My feeling is that they should be charging two thirds of the price if they are going to serve food of this quality. French Connection would still be a better bet though even at reduced prices.

The Vic 1906 Hotel

We were actually on our way to another establishment when we passed the Vic. It has an upmarket 50's look to it and we thought we would make an effort to get there if we could. We arrived at the original establishment for lunch to find it was closed. It did not take long for us to retrace our steps and we found ourselves at the Vic.

A quick glance at the menu saw us looking forward to a hearty country meal. We again marvelled at the relatively cheap pricing of the food and the wine. We had hearty main courses with a bottle of Springfield wine for under R200, amazing. Yet another establishment in Montagu has surpassed our expectations at to the quality of their fare and wine, at very reasonable prices. We would also certainly recommend this establishment to anyone looking for a good South African country meal. Loads of real chicken in the pie and a worthy bobotie, something I am very particular about.

Templeton's

Certainly the find of the weekend and what a find this was. The restaurant was rated in the top 20 a couple of years ago and we were unsure of what to expect. The restaurant is very well done out and certainly creates the feel of an upmarket restaurant. The menu, although small in size certainly caters for a wide variety of tastes and we found more than enough to entice us. They carry a wide selection of wines and we certainly tucked into a couple of our favourites (Raka). The quality of the food was excellent and the portions were generous as well, which certainly helps to achieve that feeling of well being.

When it came to the desserts we struggled to select only two, so we ordered three as from what we had eaten before we did not want to miss out on any possible gems. The desserts went down a treat and we were certainly satiated for the evening. We highly recommend this restaurant and would suggest that it not only be tried in passing through the town, but that you make an special effort to go out to Montagu to enjoy it as well, you certainly will not be disappointed.

Mimosa Lodge

We booked into the lodge after a friendly greeting from the staff. We had booked to join them in their restaurant for their set 4 course menu and they advised us that pre-dinner drinks would be in the pub at 18:30, before dinner was served at 19:30. We duly arrived to find Welsh and Kiwi visitors who would be joining us for dinner. A complimentary glass of red muscadel turned into a few more and we ended up chatting merrily with everyone before we went off to dinner.

The menu was very interesting and unusual in some of the dishes served, but all worked well. It certainly was the first time I had borscht or a version thereof, and beetroot at that as well. We enjoyed a local chardonnay from a boutique winery which was very pleasant for only R65. The meal overall was very good and there certainly were oohs and aahs from the tourists as the food set in front of them was far superior to what they would eat at home for a similar price. We would certainly recommend the Mimosa Lodge and its restaurant as we feel they provide very good quality at a very reasonable price.

A really wonderful meal was followed by an evening of unusual entertainment as all the guests sidled off to the pub again and it was not long before the Welsh contingent asked us to sing our national anthem. Luckily we were assisted by the kitchen staff in singing as I am not sure that we would have had any guests left if they were exposed to my singing as part of a duet with my wife. We were of coarse accompanied from about halfway by the Welsh. Next up were the Kiwi's, again accompanied by the Welsh. And lastly it was the Welsh with great pride and fervour and for good measure they gave us a few more songs as well. It really is great to see people that enjoy singing this much and who are not naturally inhibited as we South Africans are.

They really provided us with an entertaining evening and we had some long discussions about living in the UK and how lucky we are to live here in SA. I must say I agree with them although unfortunately sometimes we fail to see the wood for the trees.

Montagu

It was my birthday over the weekend and my beloved decided to take me to Montagu for the weekend. What a lovely discovery! The town boasts:

Hot Springs: We could not quite put my finger on Avalon Springs - in some respect it is a resort stuck in the 1970's but yet has the most beautiful modern Swiss chalets emerging from the mountain slopes! One thing is indisputable though; the friendliness of the staff and especially the talent of the blind switchboard operator to remember mobile numbers!

Good Food: The town is full of great places to eat! We highly recommend the restaurant at Mimosa Lodge, The Vic 1906 Hotel and Templeton's, all of which we have detailed individually!

Sweet Wines: Plenty sweet wines are on offer at ridiculously cheap prices! I am clearly a snob as I paid a little extra for a green glass bottle and cork as I could just not bring myself to walk out with the 5 litre plastic bottle which contained exactly the same liquor for less!

Markets: On Saturday morning there is a lovely market, right next to the church which dominates the town's sky line. We found a very proud pig farmer selling lovely pork products (roasts, bacon, chops)!

Shopping and Galleries: There are a number of great little shops (home decor, bric-a-brac and fresh farm produce) and art galleries to stroll through as you walk off your last meal!

Beautiful Homes: The homes about town are simply exquisite!

We thoroughly enjoyed touring around the town and spending an evening with tourists from Wales and New Zealand (parents of Toby Morland, the Chiefs scrumhalf). They were all very complementary on the friendliness of the people they had met along their travels. Other positive comments related to the general cleanliness of the country as well as the relatively cheap accommodation and food. All points to a hopeful return back to our shores in the future by these travellers.

One of the most amazing things noticed during our stay was how cheap the wines on the various restaurant menus were. We must commend all the establishments we visited as they provided us with a good mix of local boutique wines as well as fond favourites such as Springfield. It really is nice to be able to order another good bottle of wine without worrying if you are going to break the bank.

We would certainly recommend Montagu for a visit!

Lemon Butta - Hermanus

On our way to a weekend away after the elections, we stopped off in Hermanus for a bite to eat. Not knowing what was good or not, we picked a spot that looked like it had a good view and hoped for the best. The restaurant looked pretty cool and was sushi and fish orientated with a great view out over the bay.

We ordered starters which were good and started looking around at the other tables to see what people were eating. My wife opted for the seafood pasta (when she should have gone with the very popular fish and chips) which I must admit was not a sound choice as the dish seemed to lack flavour and the pasta wasn't well done. I however hit the jackpot by ordering the baby kingklip done on the coals. This is easily the best kingklip I have ever eaten and I would certainly recommend it to anyone who is a fish lover. The flavours are simply superb as they use an Asian rub on the fish and it works perfectly with the flavour from the coals. My compliments to the chef for an innovative way to serve the dish and for the meal overall.