THE RESTAURANT AT WATERKLOOF
Andrew Unsworth found more style than substance at a winelands eatery
You would be forgiven for thinking there was no space left for another wine estate in the Cape, certainly not just around the hill from the famous Vergelegen. But English wine importer Paul Boutinot thought there was, and in 2004 he took over the Waterkloof farm which only started growing wine grapes in the 1990s. It is tucked away on the Schapenberg between the Hottentots-Holland and Helderberg.
The very modern cellar, tasting room and restaurant were added in 2009. The building is stark but stylish with a minimum of decoration, just concrete, steel, glass, and warm wooden floors. From the restaurant, which is a long, glassed balcony on the side of the cellar, you have a majestic view over the vineyards to the mountains and Somerset West and Gordon’s Bay below.
Its all very stylish, restrained and tasteful, and, as my guest observed, the personification of the new wealth in the wine industry. Complete with a 2km tarred road up the mountain from Sir Lowry’s Pass village, it must have cost a pretty packet. Perhaps unkindly, I wondered if this hinted at what might come from the menu: food that is stylish, restrained, and costs a pretty packet.
French chef Gregory Czarnecki creates what is called “classical cuisine with a modern French twist”. The menu offers two courses for R230 or three for R300, chosen from five starters, six mains and six desserts. There are Waterkloof wine recommendations with each dish, ranging from R34 to R40 per glass for the whites we drank, and R49 for the reds.
My friend who had suggested we go because he had heard rave reviews, started with a buffalo yoghurt mousse served with roast beetroot and coriander. There were two spoonfuls of the mousse, the beetroot was sliced yellow beetroot and whole baby purple ones. I had a “Smiling Valley Marron” with a Waldorf salad, partly because I had to ask what a marron was — it’s a freshwater crayfish, farmed locally. My tail was about 7cm long, plus a single claw. The salad was artfully deconstructed: the apple in a long paper-thin strip to form a ring around the baby cos lettuce leaves, which was fun; the celery cut in the same way was less fun, because its fibres run lengthways and are best crosscut. Both dishes were interesting but no taste sensation.
For mains my guest had Magaliesberg duck breast, with “Cape Malay flavours, buffalo labneh”; I had a Variation of Pork with brussels sprouts and quince. Portion sizes were looking up: the duck was four perfectly cut thick slices of pink breast. The skin, although not crispy, was soft and nicely marinated. The Cape Malay flavours were hard to pin down; a carrot sponge was the most intriguing bit on the plate, along with a pea and coriander purée, some tiny baby carrots and Cape Malay duck confit.
My pork had three variations: a neat cushion or pastille of shredded meat with great flavour, a single cube of roasted pork belly, and two medallions of pork loin. The sprouts and quince were puréed to a cream and smeared on the plate: a disappointing treatment for the sprouts, which I always enjoy whole. There were a few deep-fried crispy sprout leaves as garnish. Again all was beyond reproach but with an uncomfortable focus on style over content. I needed a side dish of vegetables, but it was not even an extra on offer on the menu. I left content but hardly swept away.
Sometimes, a meal is so good that by the end of it you feel sorry that you ate the bread when you started. In this case I was grateful it had been there, or I would have left hungry. To be fair, my friend said that at his age, it was quite enough. The lunch, with four glasses of good wines and two espressos, cost R705. Worth it, but only just. Sir Lowry’s Pass Road, Somerset West 021 858 1491 www.waterkloofwines.co.za Lunch and dinner Tuesdays to Saturdays and lunch only on Sundays