This much vaunted Durban restaurant was a disappointment to say the least! We managed to get a table for two about an hour before opening, never a good sign really, although when chatting later to one of their managers he stated that they had turned people away because they were fully booked. Stretching the truth a bit or were we just incredibly lucky?
Upon arrival we were shown to our table and found that we were sitting next to the distinct smell of fresh paint - obviously dolling up the place before the season starts! The waiter eventually arrived and we managed to order a bottle of water, although this took some time to arrive and was kindly placed on the table so that we could pour the water ourselves. Unfortunately this was a portent of things to come. It was not that the waiters were not trying, it is just that they were clueless about their role! They simply had no idea about the menu and what was on it. We enquired three times as to what was on their Madame Mauvis platter and eventually got a garbled reply which still did not define exactly what was on the platter.
We were informed that they had the best langoustines ever and this was the house special, at R375 for 4 very large ones. We mulled over the menu and eventually decided that we would have a three course meal with starters, the langoustine dish to share and a main course. The wine menu has a large variety to choose from with some very good wines available, some of them a bit more expensive than at other restaurants though.
We decided as it was raining and cold that we would have the De Toren Z, a wine well known to us and much enjoyed. When the wine arrived and we tasted it though, something was not right. We called the manager, Francois, over and he proceeded to tell us that the wine was fine and that he knows De Toren well and went through its virtues, pity he was talking about the Fusion wines and not the Z. He however stated that if we were not happy with the wine he would replace it with something else. I take my hat off to him as many restaurants would not offer you this option. He did however admit later that the wine was indeed not quite right. We then drank the very pleasant Morkel Bellevue Tumara blend.
Francois then kept us entertained throughout the evening with some of his wine stories, pity the rest of his crew were not as good. The starters (my wife had a choux pastry filled with spinach, cheese and salmon and I had the garlic snails) arrived and were mediocre at best. We waited for the langoustines and "very large" is certainly in the eye of the restaurateur instead of the diner. They were however perfectly done with a great garlic and peri peri sauces as accompaniments. We certainly didn't feel that we got value for money on this dish though.
The main courses arrived and were not great: the duck my wife ordered was smothered in a cherry (instead of orange) sweet sauce which soon made the crispy skin soggy and my pepper fillet was ordinary. The frites (thin potato chips) were the highlight of the main and were really good. We decided to skip dessert and head off home rather than tempt fate gain. All round not very good and would not recommend that you go there for seafood unless you have loads of cash and are looking to impress. I believe you can find the same quality seafood elsewhere at a better price.
We were in KZN for a wedding and decided to make use of the opportunity to spend some time at one of KZN's top getaways and culinary destinations. It is not a long drive from Durban and if you are living in Gauteng it is pretty easy to get there, but coming from the Cape, it takes a bit more planning and travel. 
The effort to get there however is certainly worth it, idyllic living in the middle of a very impressive stud farm with horses and other animals surrounding you. We arrived in the afternoon and were given a refreshing cocktail before retiring to our room for a well deserved nap after the previous evening's wedding festivities. We awoke, all ready for the dinner that evening and joined the rest of the guests for pre-dinner drinks in the main house.
We had had a glimpse of the five course menu and were really excited to see what was to be produced. We enjoyed a glass or two of bubbly with some canapes which wet our appetites for the main attraction. 
The wine list is excellent with a host of fantastic wines to choose from at what must be the best pricing I have seen in quite a while. They really allow you to enjoy your food with very reasonably priced wines. To illustrate this point we enjoyed a bottle of Chocolate Block on the Friday night and Meerlust Rubicon on the Saturday night without getting a call from the bank manager. I am surprised though that a wine pairing was not offered with the dinners as this would certainly elevate the experience even higher than its current lofty heights.
Mick Goss, the owner, took us through a brief history of Hartford House and then left us in the extremely capable hands of Jacqui Cameron. What a feast, it was exceptional. The caramelised onion soup was fantastic, so was the salmon main course, the dessert and the cheeses, but the standout dish for me on the Friday night was the spicy lamb bunny chow which had a wonderful richness and depth in flavour that left me thinking that I would certainly like a main portion of that. A wonderful elegant interpretation of what is a favourite dish in SA.
This left us very excited about the Saturday evening meal as it would be a completely new menu. Before dinner Mick Goss, with his wonderful story telling ability, gave us a history of the area including the many wars that have been fought there and we were then treated to some Zulu war dancing by the local youngsters, very very impressive indeed. Jacqui had a lot to live up to and did not disappoint, we thought she even outdid her efforts of the Friday night.
Again, all courses were delicious, but the one that stood out for us and was probably the best dish of the weekend was the fillet with shitake butter, truffle infused potato creme with a fantastic truffle sauce. This dish really set itself apart from the others with its wonderful textures and stunning flavours. In fact, the truffle sauce was so good that we requested some bread to mop up what was left on the plate. Hey, if the Europeans can do it then so can we!
Not only does Jacqui provide fantastic dinners, she also provides the most different, in a good sense, breakfast menu I think we have ever seen. It really is very funky and we spent some time deciding on what to eat. Luckily we had two days of breakfasts so that we had a number of goes at trying out different dishes from her menu. They were all very good and we really enjoyed the banana smoothie, jungle oats with whisky, cream and sugar, the omelet and the traditional English breakfast. To top the main breakfast off we enjoyed the desserts, particularly the bucks fizz as it was cold and refreshing on a hot spring morning.
Hartford House really is a fantastic venue and is highly, highly recommended if you have the chance to visit. The setting, surroundings and best of all, the food are fantastic. This fact is borne out by it screaming into our top 10 destinations and restaurants. A very special destination indeed!
