Noun. epicure, gourmet, gourmand, gastronome mean one who takes pleasure in eating and drinking. epicure implies fastidiousness and voluptuousness of taste. gourmet implies being a connoisseur in food and drink and the discriminating enjoyment of them.
A few of Cape Town’s fine dining establishments. By shifting their focus to maximise ingredients that come into their own in winter and creating unctuous comfort dishes with them, these five restaurants should be the very reason to head beyond your front door this season. That all of them offer a crackling fire to accompany your meal is yet another reason to put them on the shortlist.
beyond, Buitenverwachting Wine Farm, Cape Town
Simplicity and sophistication in equal measure
Beyond the bustle of city life, Buitenverwachting wine farm is host to award-winning chef Peter Tempelhoff’s creation: beyond. With views across the Constantia valley, the restaurant encapsulates the traditions of the farm through pared-back architecture and honest food. With a particular focus on supporting local and buying seasonal, all ingredients are sourced from the best community producers and surrounding farms, many from Buitenverwachting farm itself. Served fireside, this year’s Winter Menu is defined by both comfort and elegance and heroes ingredients like chestnuts, artichokes and mushrooms – all at the very peak of their growth. Expect honest, feel-good dishes elevated to fine dining standards like the Springbok with estate raisins, cocoa, and celeriac pap as well as Iberico pork with a Malay spiced crayfish bisque, heirloom carrots, and lentil bhaji. beyond is open for lunch on Thursday to Sunday from 12 pm – 2:30 pm ( until Oct 1st 2022) and dinner Wednesday to Saturday from 6 pm to 8:30 pm.
Book via email at info@beyondrestaurant.co.za or call at 021 794 0306
Visit their website here: www.beyondrestaurant.co.za
Deux Lions, La Bourgogne Farm, Franschhoek
Barefoot luxury under the oak or beside the fire
Tucked away off one of the Franschhoek Valley’s most seductively picturesque roads, Deux Lions at La Bourgogne Farm encapsulates the best of what the region has to offer: jaw-dropping natural beauty and sought-after cuisine. Opened in April 2022, this newcomer channels barefoot luxury through its menu, marrying comfort and honesty. Head Chef, Nanda Cardosa is passionate about locally sourced ingredients and seasonality, allowing each ingredient to speak for itself. Tuck into their lamb rump with caper and sultana crumb or their pea risotto at a table under the old oak trees in a patch of winter sun or beside their fireplace. The farm is open from Tuesday – Sunday from 11 am – 5 pm.
Walk-in guests are welcome and for bookings, email reservations@deuxlions.za.com or call at 021 876 3245
Visit their website here: https://deuxlions.za.com/
Clara’s Barn, Vergenoegd Löw The Wine Estate, Stellenbosch
Ancestral food made modern in the Cape’s oldest barn
A modern farm kitchen rooted in South African heritage food – that’s what awaits at Clara’s Barn. Number 7 in renowned restauranteur, Bertus Basson’s stable of establishments, Clara’s Barn brings staggering history (it’s the oldest barn in the Western Cape), character and soul to Basson’s famously local focus. Picture a refined, fine-dining venue with two roaring fireplaces, farm-style recipes featuring the likes of Chalmar sirloin, braised hoekkraaltjie goat shoulder or yellowfin tuna, all expressed in Chef Drikus Brink’s contemporary way. The restaurant is open for lunch on Wednesday – Sunday from 12 pm – 4 pm and dinner Friday and Saturday from 6 pm to 10 pm.
For bookings, email claras@vergenoegd.co.za or call at 021 202 4373
Visit their website here: https://bertusbasson.com/
Faber, Avondale Wine, Paarl
Nature’s goodness against the backdrop of the majestic Klein Drakenstein Mountains
Faber is a farm-to-fork establishment that reveres mother nature’s bounty. True to Avondale wine’s philosophy of sustainable, biodynamic farming, Faber follows suit, creating wholesome, nourishing fare that’s as good for you as it is for the earth. With Avondale’s proprietor Johnathan Grieve and chef Dale Stevens aligning their belief systems, the farm produces its own organic produce and sources extras from a strict set of sustainability principles. Here, fresher-than-fresh organic ingredients and creative flare pair with an outstanding location fronted by views across the vineyards toward Table Mountain and the Simonsberg Range. The farm is open for Lunch on Wednesday to Sunday from 12 pm and dinner on Thursday to Saturday from 6pm.
Walk-in guests are welcome and for bookings, email faber@avondalewine.co.za or call at 021 202 1219
Visit their website here: https://avondalewine.co.za/faber/
Farro, Gabriëlskloof, Bot Rivier
Butter. Bread. Wine and Meat – full throttle wintery indulgence
Fans who have followed this long-time pop-up restaurant around the country are licking their lips at the return of Farro – this time for good. Husband and wife duo Alex and Eloise Windebank bring their mix of comfort classics to the Overberg, now calling wine farm Gabriëlskloof home. The pair are renowned for their seasonally inspired menu of small plates cued by big global flavours and their love for indulgent ingredients. With dishes like the crispy lamb shoulder scrumpet and the truffled cappelletti, pumpkin and parmesan, their current offering is all about wintery goodness. That they’ve settled on one of the Cape’s best-loved wine farms makes the full package pretty spectacular. The restaurant is open for lunch on Monday – Sunday from 9 am – 5 pm
For larger bookings or on-the-day reservations, email hello@farrofoodandwine.com or call 028 0085 017
Visit their website here: https://www.farrofoodandwine.com/
The Gourmet Winter Destination That Is Beyond
Pared-back comfort classics, contemporary elegance and the heat of a crackling fire await at beyond at the close of winter. Founded by award-winning chef Peter Tempelhoff of FYN (and Greenhouse) fame, beyond pays homage to provenance and tradition while reducing food to its purest, simplest form. Together, Tempelhoff and head chef Julia du Toit’s team allow unadulterated flavours to speak for themselves and create their dishes with a sense of innovation and curiosity. Boldly advancing the culinary scene is a talent that Tempelhoff and his team have mastered, from their base on one of the oldest wine estates in the Cape.
Buitenverwachting, on the east-facing slopes of the Constantiaberg, is a breathtaking setting for a memorable meal. Tempelhoff is joined in this endeavour by core members of his stellar team of longstanding partners – Jennifer Hugé and Ashley Moss. A table at beyond at the close of winter means enjoying the best of Buitenverwachting’s quiet period, when the trees are laid bare, the farm’s lawns are closed to foot traffic and its wildlife emerges. This is a time of year when the tempo slows and unctuous meals await. It’s the season in which beyond’s spectacular natural context comes into sharp focus. As the days grow shorter and colder, the fireplace roars day-long indoors. Expect seasonally inspired dishes with ingredients sourced from on and around the farm, served with a view over the vineyards, now sculptural in their dormancy and often seen cloaked in a veil of fine mist.
Elevated Comfort Food Cued By Mother Nature.
Simple and seasonal has always been beyond’s ethos and their Winter Menu follows suit with a focus on celebrating the freshest local and sustainable ingredients available at this time of year. Some of those include chestnuts, pumpkin, parsnips, citrus, papaya, guava and wild mushrooms – the latter foraged from the restaurant’s own backyard. You’re also likely to see uniquely South African ingredients being honoured and elevated, expressed as Madumbe Crisps and Sorghum Popcorn.
The Winter Menu aims to comfort with hearty home-cooked meals that are big on flavour but also dazzle thanks to their elegance and lightness of touch. Dishes like the 24-hour Braised Wagyu Brisket with Ricotta Gnudi part with tradition, where the deeply marbled wagyu is slow-cooked, smoked and then glazed, elevating this favourite to fine dining standards. Likewise, with their Stilton Cremeux and White Chocolate Bavarois Filled Choux Bun, which brings a moussey-lightness and bold flavour profile to the much-loved pastry.
Innovating The Unsung Heroes Of The Food World
Offered as a four-course lunch or dinner culinary experience, beyond’s Winter Special Menu is where Tempelhoff and Head Chef Julia du Toit flex their conceptual muscles in the kitchen. Taking conventional winter menu favourites like lamb shank, risotto, battered hake and onion tarte-tatin, the kitchen has boldly reinvented them. If you thought you knew lamb shank, the Outeniqua Springbok Shank is sure to delight with a butternut fondant and seasonal wild mushroom ragu, deglazed in Buitenverwachting red wine. Similarly, the humble apple crumble has been given seasonal relevance, manifesting as a Roasted Guava Crumble with Hot Oat Milk Anglaise, Hibiscus Sponge and Toasted Oat Ice Cream. These dishes serve to bring seasonal relevance and a 21st century twist to the unsung heroes of the food world. Bringing new expression to farm fresh, sustainable produce, beyond puts forth an unforgettable culinary experience with food that comforts and excites. Sample these and more of their elevated winter dishes fireside, coupled with a glass of Buitenverwachting’s best this season.
** Article and pics provided by Avenue Cape Town.
