SALT at Paul Cluver Wines

16 February 2020

SALT at Paul Cluver Wines

Grabouw area, off the N2

“Hidden gem” is a cliché and, if SALT shouldn’t be dismissed as a cliché, it’s certainly kind of hidden.

Once you pass through the concrete yard of the Kromco Warehouse and through a security gate, you enter a long, winding driveway bordered by trees, fruit orchards, shrubs and lawns before turning into the parking area  in front of the complex of buildings housing the restaurant and wine tasting venue. One approaches the restaurant along a paved walk on the side of the huge lawn with more shady blue gum trees and a pond, and ascend some low steps to the broad, covered stoep where the tables for the lunch were set up.

There are tables inside, in front of the lower level open kitchen, but on a hot day like today it was too warm and stuffy to sit inside. The chefs toiled in isolation.

The wife and I had invited the younger goddaughter and her significant other to join us for Sunday lunch on our Valentine’s Day weekend getaway  and during the early morning feared that we’d have to cancel. The entire Helderberg area was without power since about 04h00; firstly because of load shedding but then the outage was extended due to cable theft. Fortunately, the  winery has a generator and if we were subjected to the low-level background drone of the generator for a couple of hours, at least the restaurant could function.

Our table was at the end of the stoep, at the approach, and initially we thought it was a bit in the way, because of other diners having to traipse past us, but in the end, it was a good spot, with  a great view of the lawn, trees and pond, and preferable to the indoor seating.

The wife and I were very early and ordered cappuccinos, as we hadn’t eaten breakfast at our hostelry and were in dire need of caffeine. The cappuccinos were good but a bit too cold and this issue remained, with   food that cooled down too quickly out there on the stoep. The coffee was served in generous quantity and was very excellent, though.

The wife and I started with the twice baked Forest Hill Brie cheese soufflé (R90), with onion, paprika, Parma ham, fresh figs, fig leaf emulsion and fig purée. It was perfectly cooked, light, fluffy and cheesy with fresh fig sweetness to balance the savoury elements.     

The goddaughter chose the pea and homemade mozzarella (R95), with a pea ragout, split peas, edamame, shelled peas and brined olives, and with a honey and mustard dressing. Her take on it was “a caprese salad without  tomato.”  And with an abundance of peas.

Her significant’s choice was the salt and pepper squid (R130), dusted in “ancient relish” (discovered at the back of the fridge), and with yellowtail ceviche, truffle aioli, lacto-fermented gherkins, carrot puree, citrus jelly,  salmon roe and fennel. It’s the kind of dish that had me salivating simply from reading  the description. He was very satisfied with it.

The wife and the significant opted for the “soutribbetjie” (R185) as main course. It’s salted, dried, smoked and deboned lamb rib, served with salsa verde, pickled butternut, deep fried sweet breads, lamb rillette and sage cream. Apparently, it was quite satisfactory

The goddaughter ordered the beetroot risotto (R140), with baby beetroot, beetroot puree, black lava salt, goat’s cheese, pine salt, fresh beetroot and charred onion petals. She’s extra-ordinarily fond of a risotto and was slightly disappointed by this version due to a lack of seasoning in her otherwise well-cooked dish.

Despite the presence of a delicious sounding pork neck dish; I chose the three flavoured fish (hake today) (R175), with fish that’s soy cured and deep fried (thankfully, not with batter), with tamarind, palm sugar and chilli sauce, pak choi, red pepper salsa, rice noodles, bacalao fritter and sesame seeds.

Hake seems to be making a comeback in upmarket kitchens and I suppose, if done well, it’s a refreshing alternative to the ubiquitous Kingklip, and in this instance the delicately crisp hake was very tasty. I don’t care for bacalao but this fritter (or spring roll) was quite light too and the shredded fish filling wasn’t as salty as the term salted cod would suggest. The combination of flavours worked well and lingered pleasantly on the palate.

The wife and I both ordered the poached pear and Chardonnay dessert (R90) and were not completely satisfied with a dessert that suffered from pear poverty, with the emphasis seemingly on the beautiful almond ice cream and other bits and bobs that made for a delightful sweet treat (the sublime  salt and pepper tuille is an inspired textural contrast), but we would’ve preferred more pear, perhaps half a pear, and fewer accompaniments.

The younger two made similar comments about their dessert, the peanut butter and oat bar (R90), that seemed to lack focus on the main elements that were lost in the crowd. 

The desserts won the Plating of the Day award, though. Very eye catching and signifies that half (if not more) of the pastry course at chef school must be dedicated to design.

The wife and the significant other, coincidentally the two drivers among us, shared a bottle of wine, the goddaughter drank the superb homemade lemonade and I stuck to water.

I finished with another excellent cappuccino.

The bill came to R2040 with tip.

Apart from the food cooling down too quickly, the only other niggle was that the younger two found at least three long hairs in their food.

SALT had been on the bucket list for a while and now that we’ve been there, we can say we dined well in a most lovely bucolic setting, but it’s a hell of a drive just for lunch. I can’t say, all things considered, that I believe it’s truly worth it unless you live in the Helderberg area.