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Decided that all of April’s hard work deserved some reward, so took the missus out to the acclaimed Jardine Restaurant the other night. A recent review - particularly the mention of the West Coast Rock Pool starter - prompted me to shell out an alarmingly large chunk of cash… which was worth (almost) every cent.
The food was outstanding. I've been lucky enough to eat at a fair number of top restaurants and it is certainly some of the most exciting, creative (and also deliciously edible, which is, after all, the point) and artfully presented food I've yet seen. My vegetarian wife was also blown away by what was easily the most incredible vegetarian dish she has ever come across.
Happily, and unusually, the main courses kept pace with the starters: an impressive main of duck breast had an excellent blend of flavours and, interestingly, textures (succulent duck, crunchy walnuts, smooth celeriac puree).
The low point, however, was the service. Not bad, but nowhere near what i expect for those prices. Three people offer drinks in the first 30 seconds, then nobody for another 5 minutes. Waitress appeared to have inability to read the customers - lingering looks and chinking glasses is NOT the time to cheerfully take the orders. Stretching across diner and table to retrieve glasses not the done thing, capiche? Mains arrived with no explanation of the dish (and at Jardine’s an explanation is much appreciated).
Happily, tap water was offered with no snooty looks and refilled regularly.
Overall, the food was outstanding, but personally the decor (or lack thereof) detracted from the meal as an 'event' (and at those prices it should be an occasion, not just refueling). Which, coupled with less than stellar service, made the restaurant as a whole fall short of the impressive kitchen.
Damage: R650 for two starters, two mains, three glasses of wine. They also have a great winter special on offer fo R150 for 3 courses. But honestly, the special menu doesn’t come close to the main menu (R260/3 courses). Visit http://www.jardineonbree.co.za.
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Great competition running on http://travel.iafrica.com at the moment - we're giving away two tickets (including those pesky taxes) to any of Swiss International Air Lines' destinations in Europe! Click through to http://iafrica.com/travel/competitions/2300700.htm to stand a chance of winning... |
I paid a visit to the fascinating !Khwa ttu San cultural and education centre on the west coast recently.You can read the full story on iafrica.com at http://travel.iafrica.com/searchsa/westerncape/2295940.htm, but it was great to see that it also made its way onto a cool new iPhone application that's been built for CNN and South African Tourism. If you're lucky enough to be iPhone-enabled, wander over to the SA Tourism site to download.
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Thu 25 Feb 2010 |
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Review: Kyoto Garden Sushi |
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Stopped in at Kyoto Garden Sushi on Tuesday night for a long overdue catch-up with a friend… I'd heard lots about this sleek sushi spot off Kloof Street for some time, so was keen to check it out.
From the outside, the evening was looking up: light wooden (almost Nordic) tables, modern chairs, chic sushi bar, a happy buzz of diners. All good.
 So a pity my entrance wasn’t so grand. I had a reservation for two, so they shouldn’t have been all that surprised that patrons might decide to walk through the door.
No maitre’d to be seen, no waitress to greet me. So I stood there. And stood there some more. 30 seconds or so later I happened to catch the barman’s eye. He finished off his cocktail before asking if he could help. Um, no, I’m just wandering into random restaurants for entertainment?
Well, that’s what I thought. Instead I said “Yes, I have a reservation”.
He finally rustled up a waitress who showed me to the table. If I leaned back in my chair I could have knocked on the door to the ladies loo – it’s a small restaurant, so ask for a banquette near the window. There’s a private room for groups of 8 or so, which could be fun.
Wine lists appeared and waitresses disappeared. A good rage of wines, with a nice selection by the glass. Except…
When we eventually placed our wine order we were told that they didn’t have our first choice of Semillon. Oh yes and they were out of the second choice Uitsig Chardonnay. And the third choice too. Hmmm.
The offer of a R300 Muldersbosch got a polite refusal, but to their credit they provided an excellent Glen Carlou at the price of the out of stock Constantia Uitsig. I’ve heard a few comments that their wines are frequently out of stock, so it’s obviously an area for improvement.
Tempted by the Dirty Ninja Saketini, but decided to play it safe. Where’s that designated driver?
The Chef’s platters didn’t seem to offer great value, so we went for a range of California rolls. At R46-R48 for 8 pieces it’s at the upper end of Cape Town sushi prices, but the cuts of fish were generous, the rice was perfect and a bowl of real wasabi root was offered… so all in all fairly good value. When you compare quality and price together I’m not sure it beats the sushi of 1890 in Observatory though.
They lose serious points for having Blue fin Tuna on the menu though. Perhaps some Snow Leopard kebabs are coming soon?
In addition to sushi they also do a range of main dishes, some of which looked fairly interesting. Might be worth a visit to sample those…hopefully they’ve been to the bottle store by then.
Kyoto Garden Sushi. 11 Kloof Nek Road, Gardens.
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Gourmet Burger in Cavendish turned into a contradiction in terms on Tuesday night... 'Pedestrian Burger' would have been more appropriate. Patty fell apart, was undercooked and really nothing to write home about. Far too much stilton on the bun, and the whole affair served lukewarm... no doubt thanks to the cold relish that was plonked on top. Skinny fries pretty good though, and does well to make you feel like you're not in a mall. Window seats overlooking the Square are your best bet.
The burger wasn't problematic enough to send back, but for a restaurant that only does one main menu item, you'd think they'd be rather good at it by now. Unfortunately not the case for me this time... |
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Or just a sign of commercialism heading south? Refuse to shop at Melissa's nowadays: overpriced and average
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