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South Africa, Restaurants on the Garden Route |
Four locations on the Garden Route here. People can always have a bad day, but one of these place made sure that we had one too the following day!
CECILIA'S
Short and sweet here: The restaurant we had booked had kindly given away our 'non-smoking' table. Okay we were 4 minutes late, but this isn't Switzerland! So on principle we chose not to accept the 'smoking' version, not the principle on smoking, the principle that it wasn't what we'd booked.
So, we walked up the road, and there was Cecilia's. Looking a bit like a hotel, I think it was still only a restaurant. So, starters, two steaks, one desert, one beer, one bottle of wine, two coffees and €25 later we left satisfied after a nice unpretentious meal.
CECILIA'S
Wilderness Centre
Wilderness
tel. +27 44 877 0731
email Cecilia's
SERENDIPITY
Serendipity was a real find and is certainly worth making a detour for. Literally 4-5 minutes walk down the road from our super Guest House (Wilderness Manor) this was our most impressive combination of lodgings and food.
When you arrive it looks like a private residence; though a big one, and basically it is - you have to book or will likely be disappointed. Up to 12 diners can be accommodated for a menu that changes pretty much daily depending on season etc. This was our choice for R159.00 each:
Saldanha Bay Mussels in Vinaigrette
served with lentil & fennel salad
or
Terrine of Ostrich Liver Pate
accompanied by apple, port and raisin chutney
* * * * *
Creamy Spinach & Cumin Soup
* * * * *
Grilled Kabeljou Fillet
on shrimp & pea risotto, broccoli and caper butter sauce
or
Rolled Loin of Kudu
with braised cabbage, potato & wild mushroom puree
or
Cape Malay Vegetable Curry
served with steamed Basmati rice & poppadoms
* * * * *
Cape Date & Brandy Pudding
served with spicy crème anglaise and fig spirals
or
Trio of Fruit Sorbets
on a pool of fruit coulis
* * * * *
I could only criticise one thing, my Kudu was just a little dry. The rest was excellent. The wine choice was not the most extensive list, but still a varied selection. For the not inconsiderable sum of R178.00, we took (with a little help choosing) a 1998 Zandvliet, Kalkveld Syrah. Despite a little schizophrenia - the bottle label couldn't decide whether the contents were shiraz or syrah (it could be important to some people!), it was a very good bottle. Well balanced, with high toned fruit, excellent concentration - more blackberry than plum and good length. You can really taste the chalk ground coming through in the wine. First Class.
SERENDIPITY RESTAURANT
Waterside Road
Wilderness
tel. +27 44 877 0433
email Serendipity
THE DRYDOCK FOOD Co.
Another short and sweet note: The Drydock is set in Knysna Quays where you can watch the boats come and go. Despite a large indoor restaurant (upstairs & downstairs) we chose a table outside on the deck area as it was lunchtime and the sun was warm.
Nicely prepared food and big portions too, some gorgeous looking fish dishes passed by our table. The wine-list is of the extensive variety. So ostrich carpaccio, prawn chang mai, spinach & feta pastry roll, and a salmon bagel later - we were stuffed - but happy! A good choice for lunch.
Drydock Food Co
Knysna Quays
Knysna
tel. +27 44 382 7310
PAQUITA'S
On a good note, Knysna Heads is a great place to visit. A natural harbour entrance to Knysna with cliffs rising on either side approximately 75 metres apart. One can only imagine the trepidation and excitement of the first Europeans to sail between the cliffs.
Paquita's (afterwards nicknamed 'Pukitas') had been recommended to us as a great source of seafood - particularly the prawns. I have to say I was a bit disappointed on arrival. I'd assumed we were going to a restaurant and whilst, of course, it was a restaurant, the ambience was more that of a bar that served food. Anyway, I decided to choose something interesting and white from the wine-list. When it arrived, it wasn't chilled, so I ordered some house wine instead. Also my first choice fish for the main course was also not available. My natural empathy with the place was waning, as you can probably guess - much to the mirth of my wife. Still, my Greek salad was excellent and I was really looking forward to my second choice main course of 'Angel Fish' - my wife was taking the prawns.
When my fish arrived it looked excellent, a giant steak of a fish. The first mouthfull was wonderfull. The second cut was a bit rubbery - so I tried the other end and that was the same - completely raw more than 1cm from the edges. I called over the manager, pointing out that whilst I'd never had Angel fish before, I didn't think it should look like this(!) He took it away to the kitchen. On return he said; sorry, I'd been given the wrong one and another would be here in 5 minutes! My wife with a big smile on her face, kept offering me a prawn - I declined !!
When the replacement arrived, it was properly cooked and tasted pretty good. My mood improved despite the manager not bothering to come back and ask if the replacement was okay, so I was still glad to leave. It seems that my 'sulk' was well timed, as refusing the prawns obviously saved me. My wife next day felt unwell and as you can see from the review of Polfyntjies Restaurant - gastro enteritis had set in.
The cost of warm wine, no first choice dish, not brilliant service (by South African standards - which are better than most other places) and raw fish was R320.00 This ignores the extra cost of an injection, tablets and a doctors consultation the next evening - I can balance this extra cost though, with my wife not eating much at Polfyntjies . . . . . .
Paquita's
Knysna Heads
Knysna
tel. +27 44 384 0408
email Paquita's
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