Pork belly reigns supreme at Reuben's, Franschhoek

 9 September 2023

 

REUBEN’S RESTAURANT AND BAR

2 Daniel Hugo Street, Franschhoek

 

Over many years the wife and I have eaten at the Reuben’s outlets in Franschhoek (on the main street), the One & Only Hotel and the Robertson Small Hotel but before tonight we’d never been to the current site, despite regular visits to Franschhoek.  There are too many other enticing options in and around the town.

 

This omission was rectified in spades tonight.

 

Instead of a funky old house on Huguenot Street, Reuben’s now occupies a face brick building with an industrial vibe on a  side street. The main space is a long room, with a small L-shaped annex that could be salon privée though the tables make it seem more of an afterthought. There is a small nook with cookware and suchlike at the entrance but I wonder why I’d want to buy an expensive KitchenAid kettle, for example, from Reuben’s. The apron with the Reuben’s logo is more my speed. 

 

In another nook on the other side of the entrance a quite impressive wine collection is displayed behind glass.  I don’t know where the equally impressive whiskey and gin collections are displayed.

 

In the long space, the windows are all on the one side in a bare brik wall, with a service counter and the entrance to the kitchen in the middle of the room on the inward side. It’s interesting that diners aren’t treated to the sight of a busy brigade beavering away in efficient silence.

 

The décor style is elegant minimalism, with a polished cement floor and simple wooden topped tables with simple chairs. A nice touch is that there are single person banquettes, each with a small table and facing chair, along the windows for cosy privacy when you’re on a hot date.  The pop of colour in the space is provided by a smattering of fascinating art works.

 

Our table was at the rear wall close to the entrance, with the room in front of us, which made for a nicely intimate, private setting that enhanced the experience tenfold.

 

Our dining strategy was to order dishes that we could share, to do the most possible justice to the menu. 

 

The bread course consisted of two slices each of ciabatta and seed loaf, accompanied by hummus and an olive oil and balsamic vinegar premix. A good start.

 

My starter was the chili salt squid (on the menu forever) and the wife chose the lamb ravioli.

 

The lightly crumbed squid tubes were tender as you please  and the chili-lime rock sugar dressing was superbly zesty and with just enough chilli heat to create a lovely little  buzz. 

 

This dish started a chilli journey that ran through every dish I ate tonight. It hadn’t been my intention to curate the meal but, hey, serendipity is real.

 

The ravioli was a bravura dish with perfect pasta pockets holding the succulent braised and pulled lamb shoulder and floating in a red pepper and tomato puree. The flavours of this dish had so much depth you wouldn’t hear even the echo of a penny dropped into it.

Whereas the squid was a good-sized starter portion (and easy to share), serving only two, not particularly substantial, ravioli seemed like the chef taking the piss. Two bites and you’re done with your starter?  The wife lamented to the waiter that she needed at least 4 more ravioli to sate her lamb craving. He laughed nervously.

 

The kitchen failed to send out more ravioli.

 

My main course was the pork belly (R246) and the wife chose the line fish, which was monkfish (R315) and a spring leaf salad (R55).  She’s not a fish person and this was quite a brave statement move on her part on her quest for healthy alternatives.

 

I’m going to be very honest here, as I’m sure you’d like me to be, and state without hyperbole that this dish was one of the three best pork belly dishes I’ve had in this country.  Another pork belly in the top three was at our first visit to Reuben’s at the Robertson Small Hotel many moons ago and, ironically, that same Reuben’s served me a soul crushingly unappetising pork belly at our second visit. Lately, I don’t order pork belly much, as I’ve just had disappointment after disappointment, except for the belly at Saigon, which has always been exceptional.

 

Tonight, whoever cooked the belly repaid my trust with interest and then some. For a start, the deeply rich cider jus was so mind-blowingly awesome I wanted to take it home and be its love slave. The pork was so succulent and tender it could make candyfloss seem like old boots and the extremely generous quantity of jus elevated each mouthful to the realm of the effervescent sublime. There was a generous amount of silky smooth pomme puree and a couple of small carrots and tender broccoli stems, cooked perfectly al dente.

 

The crisp, light and salty crackling was perfection too and the micro-thin, crisp pancetta was  a marvel.

 

This pork belly dish was so exceptionally excellent I fear I can never order it again, should I happen to return to Reuben’s, because lighting won’t strike twice. 

 

The wife thought that her monkfish combined well with the  salad and she enjoyed her meal. I had one of the two hefty fillets on her plate and loved the firm, ever so slightly chewy, texture of the perfectly cooked  and flavourful fish. I’m not well acquainted with monkfish but if this is how good it can be, it would definitely be a choice I’d make in future.

 

The wife, a chocolate person, chose the dark chocolate pave dessert (R105), with salted caramel ganache, coffee sorbet, strawberry crème and hazelnut praline. I wanted something lighter and opted for the grilled pineapple (R95), with grilled pineapple macerated in chilli syrup, pina colada sorbet and a white chocolate biscuit.

 

Unfortunately, this was not the kind of meal where the dessert was a highpoint. 

 

The pave was too much like a dense mousse and somewhat overwhelming in its uber rich chocolateness and the wife could manage only half of it, which is a real indictment of the superfluous extremeness of it.  The coffee sorbet was brilliant and the best thing about the dessert. The crème was pleasant and inoffensive.

 

I ate the hazelnut praline and thought it was delightful.

 

The pineapple wasn’t grilled enough for my taste and the overall impression of the dessert was sweet on sweet, despite the chilli heat, and a slightly acidic pineapple would’ve been the ideal companion to the sorbet. The biscuit had a good crunch and added much needed textural contrast.

 

Both of us felt we should’ve perhaps ordered either the panna cotta or crème brûlée desserts instead.

 

The bill (including a bottle of sparkling water, two glasses of sparkling wine, a glass of red wine and a scotch) came to R1400,00 before tip. We’d already made a deposit of R200,00 to secure the booking. 

 

We had a lovely time, the vittles were top notch and the service was excellent. At either of the two sites, Reuben’s in Franschhoek has never disappointed us.