View
Four Seasons Johannesburg
Westcliff
011 481 6180
Ratings:
Food:* * * *
Service:* * * *
Drinks:* * * * *
When did fine dining become so expensive? When you’re paying an obscene sum for your meal, which is essentially down to the operational costs, you have to wonder if it’s worth it. And justifiable.
But I’ll admit: I love the special treatment of fine dining – knowing an accomplished chef is preparing dinner, that staff even shape butter, the breads, use artful presentation and pay attention to each element, the gentle “ping” of the glasses.
I want waiters to look and be smart, the napery to be crisp, and my wine to be served at the perfect temperature.
These cost. Which is why fine dining will always be the preserve of the wealthy.
Perched above Saxonwold on Westcliff Hill, the old “Pink Palace” exuded charm and elegance. While exclusive, its restaurants weren’t always worth the money. You paid for the name – and view.
With the Four Seasons hotel group’s purchase of the property and the huge refurbishment, the rebranded Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff, Johannesburg (imagine being the poor switchboard operator) reopened last year. With five restaurants – Flames (the outdoor grill), View (no reach there, for it does boast the best in the city), the Cellar Door private dining area, the Westcliff Deli, and the Après-Spa, the Four Seasons maximises its positioning.
The Four Seasons group was founded in 1960 and is now owned by Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and his business partner Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal al Saud.
Our only other Four Seasons hotel experience was at the Four Seasons in Alexandria, Egypt, on our honeymoon.
We were spoilt, swam in the warm waters of the Mediterranean, dined on the beach with our feet tucked into the sand and sucked on hookahs while listening to Egyptian pop.
The Four Seasons hotels have that in common – prime location. The group pick incredible spots for their properties, offer world-class service, spare no expense, and notice the smallest things. They invest in their staff, bringing on board top managers and chefs with international experience.
Executive chef Dirk Gieselmann joined The Westcliff a year ago.
He served his apprenticeship at 24 at the Michelin one-star Restaurant Gala in Aachen, Germany, and has worked in kitchens across the world, from Nice to Tahiti and New York, and before coming to Joburg at the Michelin three-star Auberge de l’Ill restaurant in Illhauesern, in France’s Alsace region.
Gieselmann oversees all five restaurants. View, his signature restaurant, was the site of our recent visit during a Dom Pérignon Champagne-paired event.
We started with a crab and oyster jelly with ginger-perfumed tomato and papaya chutney, white tomato mousse and Ossetra caviar (almost as prized as Beluga), followed by a choice between lemon-crusted halibut with curry mayonnaise, roasted king oyster mushrooms, and carrots in different textures (everyone seems to be doing textures these days), and a fynbos honey and kalamansi reduction (a cross between a tangerine and kumquat); or guinea fowl tournedos in puff pastry with tonka bean-flavoured cauliflower mousseline, roasted artichokes, and caper berries with a wild mushroom reduction. I chose the former – halibut, a flatfish caught in the cold waters of the northern hemisphere, isn’t readily available here.
The flesh was stunningly tender, the curry mayonnaise restrained and the kalamansi reduction provided a fresh citrusy contrast to the carrot textures.
Our dessert, a red fruit gratin with Champagne sabayon, hazelnut sponge and Tahitian vanilla ice cream, provided a generous, sweet and fruity ending.
The Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff has been chosen by Moët Hennessy as the first “dépositaire” of Dom Pérignon Champagne in southern Africa, which means it is part of an exclusive group of properties that may sell its rare vintages.
The dinner, I later discovered, was frightfully expensive, but a portion of the proceeds was given to the Princess Alice Adoption Home. Ordinarily, three courses (starter, main, cheese or dessert) cost R690, or R1 050 with a wine pairing, or R950/R1 450 for a four-course menu.
Either way, it’s a chunk of change, and targets the international, dollar-based market.