Roots
Forum Homini, Letamo game estate, Bartlet Road, Kromdraai, Mogale City. Tel: 011 668 7000
Philippe Wagenfuhrer has a reputation for venturing on to unexplored turf, using indigenous plants and sometimes insects in his dishes.
I spent a night at the five-star Forum Homini in the Cradle of Humankind and experienced the renowned French chef-patron's cuisine. Wagenfuhrer wasn't in, but his deputy, Allistaire Lawrence, held fort.
Style: roots's waterside location on a Highveld game reserve may be idyllic, but guests are warned to ask for a chaperone after dark as there are free-roaming hippos on the property. The restaurant fits comfortably beside the hotel, which features African art and symbolism, enhanced with contemporary touches like photographs, sculptures and woven works. Tables are spacious, seats are cosy and wall-to-floor windows open on to the sunny wooden deck.
Food: Wagenfuhrer prides himself on his wine pairings and monthly wine evenings are held inside the restaurant.
The dinner menu comprises six courses, which started with a corn and vanilla soup (a subtle, yet satisfying pairing); followed by salmon trout, with fennel and truffle hollandaise sauce; pan-fried line fish, with butternut soup and pumpkin seed salad; then a study of pork, done three ways - the third, curried tripe, being very tough and dinner's low-point; and a rich oxtail roulade with parsnip purée and black-eyed beans.
Dessert, a chocolate cheese cake, with red-wine poached- pear and pistachio ice cream, was good, but not memorable. Portions are substantial. Saturday brunches and Sunday lunches are very popular.
Cost: R245 a person; R75 for the wine TEASER option (which they distastefully emphasise). Enquire with hotel for rates.
X-Factor: It's waterside location in summer is the ideal setting for a romantic dinner paired with wines from the cellar.
And: Service varied from incompetent to dazed and disinterested.
DW11-13
Dunkeld West shopping centre, cnr Jan Smuts Ave and Bompass St, Dunkeld, 011 341 0663
Compared with its gaudy predecessor, Cité, DW11-13 has undergone a white-wash, although the name's a bit pretentious. Chef-proprietor Marthinus Ferreira has worked with British celebs like Heston Blumenthal and Gordon Ramsay and brings renewed passion to the area.
Style: The bright-orange colour scheme has been replaced with avocados, browns, white and wood - but it's still as intimate as dining in a fishbowl. The main dining area features dandelion motifs on glass partitions, clean lines, and plenty of light. The bar area is much cosier.
Food: With a choice of six starters, mains and dessert, I'd have liked more variety on the menu. Yet, most offerings impressed. I found the tomato bisque a little insipid, but it was followed with a lovely fresh-flavoured prawn ragh.
The risotto, with raw and cooked mushrooms, topped with bacon foam, had me wishing more chefs loved their ingredients like this.
The rib-eyed steak, with marrow bone sauce and triple-cooked chips, was tough but very tasty, while the kingklip with pork reduction vinaigrette and dried Parma ham was an experiment that didn't work and should never be repeated. Likewise, the heavily textured coconut and white rum panna cotta, with a pineapple and chilli glaze, was not the kitchen's strength.
Cost: Starters: R40 to R80; R110 to R120; sides R15 to 25; dessert: R35 to R60.
X-Factor: Ferreira's unafraid to experiment.
And: Less posturing would be nice. Glasses and cutlery don't polish themselves.
Popular Melville haunt loses battle for its name
Proving that the law can sometimes be an ass, Melville's Soulsa has lost the rights to its name. The court battle has dragged on for four years. The restaurant won the right to appeal, but they've decided on a fresh start.
The proprietors have decided to change the name anyway and are throwing a bash at Soulsa next weekend. September is also Soulsa 's fifth anniversary. Starting on Friday, a festive atmosphere will prevail, with DJs, new menu items, new cocktails, a sabrage presentation and a wine tasting on Sunday.
Win win win
Soulsa's keeping their name under wraps. The first reader to correctly guess their new name, wins dinner for six and a case of Haute Cabriere wine.
A clue: the key is drawn from the tree light or mural on the wall in the restaurant. The tree is called the Erythryna lysistemom, the Lucky Bean tree or the Kanniedood. It was planted on the graves of chiefs, is used in muti, and the beans are lucky charms.
Answers to georgina.haupt @inl.co.za by noon tomorrow.