The Conservatory

15 June 2019

THE CONSERVATORY

The Cellars Hohenort, Constantia

The hotel has the most marvellous, picturesque setting against the gentle slopes of the Constantia Valley amidst the splendid gardens and beautiful buildings of an old Cape Dutch farmstead, much improved and expanded over the years, and the ambience is of luxurious countryside leisure, not so far from the heart of metropolitan Cape Town.

The wife and I were here to celebrate our 11^th wedding anniversary. Last year we were in Dubrovnik and ate at Restaurant 360, perched on the ancient wall overlooking the old harbour, which is an unsurpassed setting.  This year we are slightly more budget conscious. Another option could have been The Greenhouse (where I celebrated a birthday in 2016) though at R1500 a head before drinks, it seemed a tad extravagant. So, no ancient city walls this time, just the old world ambience of historical Cape Town.

This was only our second dinner at The Conservatory. Many, many years ago, we met two friends here for my birthday dinner and were suitably impressed. This time around the reason for eating here had more to do with us staying at the hotel, and not being keen to splash the cash at the Greenhouse, but the food memories were fondly persuasive anyway.

The restaurant is quietly luxurious, with linen tablecloths and bright, shiny glassware, comfortable chairs and banquettes and understated, elegant décor. Huge windows afford splendid views of the gardens.

The budget conscious diner could opt for the winter special set menu for R295 a head, which is true value for money considering the prices on the a la carte menu.  For us, the downside of the set menu was the usual one where you like some of the options (2 for each of three courses) but not all and would have to compromise on something you weren’t wildly keen on, where the larger, more expensive menu eliminated the dread of compromise because of the wider choice.

We didn’t drink much, even though we only had to walk back to our room, with a glass of Villieria bubbly each to start, a glass of red for the wife and a tot of scotch for me. The days when celebration meant inebriation are long gone, eh?

The marked difference between fine dining and standard upmarket dining seems to be that in the latter instance there’s no amuse bouche; the chef doesn’t feel the need to titillate the palate and believes that the bread course should suffice.

We had a couple of slices of delicious sourdough ciabatta style bread, a couple of wafer thin, brittle cheesy tuille / melba toasty things and two long, thin bread, um, needles, accompanied by lovely home-made butter and hummus.

The wife chose the aged Boland cheese souffle, with shaved Parmesan and cheese gin sauce (R95) as starter and I had the Malay inspired crisp calamari, with cucumber, red onion, masala velouté and sambal salad (R125.)  The souffle was lighter than helium, fluffy, cheesy with a cheeky nip of gin aroma, and utterly delicious. My calamari was delicately crisp and flavourful and the unctuous, smooth velouté was a perfect complement. The tiny, crunchy cucumber pearls masqueraded as edamame beans, and not only tricked the mind but added another texture and a zesty fresh element. The Malay influenced curry was so subtle it only really kicked in as a slow burn on the back of the palate towards the end of the dish.

My main course was the rare grilled Indian Ocean tuna with back choy, mange tout, sticky ginger rice and Asian emulsion (R245), while the wife, who loves a bit of lamb, went for the slow-cooked lamb shoulder with crisp pine nut polenta, zucchini, dehydrated tomato and black garlic jus (255.) Our sides were respectively the braised leeks with thyme and roasted hazel nut butter (R55) and hand cut fries with umami salt (R45.)

The tuna was cooked perfectly rare (I do presume that’s what the “rare” is all about and not that the fish can hardly be found anymore), the emulsion was brilliant and deeply rich. The rice wasn’t very sticky and slightly al dente; the emulsion softened the starch and added the depth of flavour that gave the combination a hint of sushi.

The lamb was as soft, tender and juicy as you like, and all the elements together elevated the dish into the realm of delirious foodie joy.

The sides were a different story. I should have gone for my first choice, the broccoli, but I do love a braised leek. What I got was the thick, white part and the leafy end bits. The thicker part was still a tad fibrous but was tasty where the leaves were just fibrous and unpleasant to eat. perhaps I‘m getting this wrong, but I’ve had better leeks elsewhere. The issue with the fries was not the cooking (they might have been triple fried) or taste (they were super yummy); the challenge was that there far too many of them. I ate half, mostly because I had so little of my own side.

Ever the iconoclast, the wife ordered the chocolate croissant bread pudding from the set menu (R50) while I had the star anise poached pear, port wine sabayon, cinnamon granola crunch and candied ginger ice cream (R80.) In the ordinary course I love a bread pudding, but the chocolate part of the description put me off, as it doesn’t seem very traditional. By all accounts I dodged a bullet there.

Although the bread pudding was okay, the wife wasn’t exactly ecstatic.  It wasn’t lush or slightly sticky and there was too little custard; it seemed deconstructed and, as is mostly the case with deconstructing classics, it didn’t satisfy.

My poached pear, well, about three quarters of one, was soft yet firm, and the flavour contrasts between crumb, sabayon, ice cream and pear were spot on, and utterly delicious. Very accomplished and the most visually appealing dish of the night.

The bill, with tip, came to R1417,00 which puts The Greenhouse’s pricing in perspective. We ate well and the service was excellent. Perhaps the theatrics of the more expensive eatery add to making an evening more special, but sometimes one simply wants a decent plate of food and not multiple small courses, however mind boggling they’re plated.

The Conservatory is well worthwhile visiting if one wants to dine in Constantia, likes some quantity on the plate and doesn’t mind paying for quality without feeling slightly ripped off, and the current winter special is especially good value.