By
Roberta Muir
Within
half an hour of the centre of Cape Town is South Africa’s oldest wine region,
Constantia. The city has now grown south to engulf it, but it lives on as a
remnant of the past set amidst beautiful rolling farmland. The wines, especially the Sauvignon Blancs,
are good, and some of the food is excellent.
Constantia Uitsig wine farm is a large estate, producing very good
Chardonnay and Semillon and catering for everyone and every mood with three
distinctly different restaurants: the casual River Café, the Italian-inspired
Constantia Uitsig and the extraordinary La Colombe.
La Colombe
After
eating here for the first time in 2005, I wrote in my diary: “WOW! One of the
best dining experiences I’ve ever had”. That’s a big statement I know. Perhaps
it was one of those holiday romances, the relaxed rustic ambience of dining
outdoors around a fountain in the pebbled courtyard with a grapevine covered
trellis creating a delightfully sun-dappled space? The original restaurant was
the pool house (with the pool in the courtyard) and the bar was the cricket
changing room (they have one of the country’s few privately owned cricket
ovals, as well as another area for equestrian events). Renovations in mid-2004
saw the 30-seater restaurant expanded to seat 100, without losing any of its
charm.
But
it was more than just the bucolic setting. The service was excellent, without
pretension and with a ‘nothing’s-too-much-trouble’ approach. Large concrete
tables were set with double linen and the beauty was in the details: the
Crabtree & Evelyn toiletries in the bathrooms, the waitress who took time
to sit with us and talk about the restaurant’s history, and the willing offer
to serve half portions so we could try more dishes.
Chef
Franck Dangereux is a man for whom food is a sensual obsession. Like any
Frenchman (but so few restaurants), he expects his bread to be baked twice
daily. The restaurant’s wood-fired oven turns out focaccia-style bread with
tomato, onion or olives baked into it as well as great plain breadsticks fresh
for each service (with the leftovers given to a local orphanage, an important
touch in a still-developing country like South Africa where dining well can
sometimes seem inappropriately decadent). Crudités arrive in little terracotta
flowerpots, which could be a touch chi-chi if the accompanying basil dipping
sauce wasn’t so moreish. An amuse bouche of kingklip samosa in a spicy
lemongrass froth works equally as well, setting the palate for what’s to come.
While
hardly a revolutionary concept, an entrée of deep-fried goats cheese in a
sesame seed crumb works because of the contrast between melting cheese and
crunchy coating and the quality of the produce. Quality produce also brings a
more rustic pan bagna (baguette slice soaked in ripe tomato with a very good
balsamic, green leaves and green beans) to life, while steak tartare, with the
lovely detail of a yolk in a speckled halved quails egg, is lifted by a green
sauce providing just the right foil to the creamy, fresh meat.
Dangereux
trained in his hometown of Cannes and gained experience in the Caribbean and
northern Africa, before being lured to Constantia in 1996 to open La
Colombe. He isn’t afraid to serve
quality produce simply – a thick slice of kingklip (a large white fleshy fish
similar to blue-eye trevalla) is topped with slices of fresh garlic, steamed
and served with a sauce of sautéed onion, tomato and parsley, the slightly oily
richness of the sauce, a perfect balance to the light, fresh fish. Yellowtail (another popular Cape fish) is
served in a rich bouillabaisse sauce, with a drizzle of spicy rouille. Veal is tender white meat, beaten thin and
served in crisp crumbs. The accompanying
potato fondant is meltingly creamy and moresish and the selection of cauliflower,
beans, carrots, squash, zucchini and grape tomatoes are much more than an
afterthought on the side. The considerate practice of offering half serves
makes it easier to save room for desserts such as a crisp, buttery pastry
basket full of warmed raspberries in a sea of crème Anglais.
And to finish it all, excellent coffee and petits fours (sadly still not
a given in the Cape).
While
a drive through Constantia wine region is a must for any visitor to Cape Town,
a meal at La Colombe is a must for any visitor to South Africa (fly down from
Jo’berg if you must).
Score: 8/10
For more
information or bookings:
La Colombe
Tel.: +27 21 794
2390
Open for lunch
and dinner - bookings essential.