So for various reasons it’s been a little quiet on Eating Covent Garden. But don’t worry, that does mean I have much to tell you about and it’s going to be coming your way regularly over the next few weeks. I’m currently in the beautiful city of Cape Town where a little bit of my heart always lives. The Mother City is scenically stunning, has an infectious positive energy, and dishes up some of the best food and wine on the planet – see why my heart is here!
And one of the best places to sample some of this food and wine is to take a short drive into one of the many wine regions surrounding the city. Today we’re heading through the Durbanville region to tell you about somewhere new we’ve discovered this year. It’s called Groot Phesantekraal (translated from Afrikaans as large pheasant’s paddoc) and is an old farm first established in 1698. In 2013 a mule stable that was built in 1767 was converted to a wine tasting venue and the restaurant opened in 2014. I’m appalled that it’s taken me 10 years to discover this little gem.
The seasonal menu is created by chef Darren Allsopp who describes his food as “a mix of contemporary country style and bistro cooking”. The menu changes regularly which turns out to be good news for us as we managed to visit for lunch in January and February and enjoy a totally different menu each time.
We opted to sit outside under the canopy of vines with beautiful views across vineyards and mountains. First up is the all-important wine choice and we were soon to find out that there are some beauts here. The bubbles is perfect, both the rose and sauvignon blanc are lovely and the cabernet sauvignon is quite simply fabulous. So good that we’ve ended up making several wine runs to restock with vital cab sav supplies. When you know there’s such good wine so close, resistance is futile.
Welcome to Groot Phesantekraal and some of the tastiest morsels around. Here’s a selection of the dishes we chose across our two visits, starting with these luscious figs wrapped in bacon and served with a silky blue cheese sauce. So sweet, savoury, rich and lip-smackingly tasty. It better come back on the menu soon!
And then there were these deliciously fluffy pumpkin balls. The sweet/savoury combo working beautifully again – and no chewing required as the little puffs melted in our mouths.
My pork belly was falling apart and topped with beautifully crunchy crackling. And served with the sauce on the side which always makes me happy – I’m not a fan of an oversauced plate.
And how’s this perfectly pink beetroot salmon gravalax? The perfect summer starter that I actually had as a main course – portions are pretty substantial.
And now for something incredibly novel – a Ploughmas pizza. Why has no one every thought of this before. A thin pizza base topped with cured meats, local cheeses peserves and fresh furit and salad. Wow!
Pork is clearly a favourite and this is again a sizeable starter portion – honey and mustard pork belly bites.
And here I am hitting my sweet spot with a glass of bubbles and my lunch choices decided on. Happiness is lunch on a wine farm and Groot Phesantekraal is now right up there as one of our very favourites. And don’t forget to stock up on that Cab Sav. You won’t regret it.
So, if you are looking for the perfect spot Where to eat out for a special occasion and want something extraordinary treat yourself at Groot Phesantekraal. If you add great food, wine, and an idyllic setting to that mix you may as well have stumbled upon something very special.
Today’s Price Point
Two courses will cost you around R320 (£13.28 at today’s exchange rate). It’s astoundingly good value.
White wine and rose starts from R111 a bottle (£4.60), bubbles from R318 (£13.30) and red from R203 (£8.40). Cellar door prices are even less. Now you see why it’s impossible to resist buying wine to take away – I feel like the more I spend the move I save.
Cape Town we love you!
Groot Phesantekraal is at Klipheuwel Way (R302), Durbanville, Cape Town
www.grootphesantekraal.co.za
Definitely on a bucket list next in Cape Town. I actually read up about this restaurant featured in the House and Leisure quarterly magazine… excellent mag by the way. Great review