La Colombe

June 15, 2010

On Saturday myself and Lovely Lis went to La Colombe for the first (and certainly not the last) time.

I was really excited about eating at La Colombe - I love food and I’ve heard so much about the place - it is the 12th best restaurant in the world after all.

One can’t help feel a little intimidated when you arrive and sit down at an establishment that is revered by so many. After nervously fumbling and stumbling around a bit we eventually settled and started sniffing our food like cheese addicted mice.

There are three things I would like to say about La Colombe from the outset:

1. I have never experienced such effortless and professional service at a restaurant ever (from booking to leaving the parking lot)  - special mention must be made of our waitor Basil who was really fantastic. He also happened to be an exact clone of Orlando Bloom from Pirates of the Caribbean which obviously made Lovely Lis’ dinner that much more enjoyable!
2. The presentaion of the food alone is almost worth the trip - it’s art on a plate.
3. Not once, throughout the entire 7 or so courses, did we reach for the salt, pepper, olive oil or balsamic vinegar on the table.

We opted for the 5-course  winter special food and wine pairing menu - which was R380 a person.

Well it turned out to be more like 7 courses.

Before we had even consulted the menu we were served home made bread which was simply superb - the focaccia in particular.

We were also served pork crackling with a honey based sauce, foi gras with crispy parmesan dust, springbok carpaccio and a tile of sauces meant to liven up/cleanse the palate (was a bit arb I thought).

We then began our journey through the menu:

Starters

Rabbit, chorizo, lardo and date ballotine, rabbit liver Royale, cep dust, fig puree, cep and sage brioche - served with Cederberg Bukettraube 2009

The food and wine pairing was pitch perfect - the ballotine was a little disappointing and crumbled too much (also not sure what the pistachio’s were doing in there) . The rabbit liver Royale was incredible - I couldn’t get enough of its deep, rich and creamy flavour.

La Colombe’s Beetroot tart, with apple and beet relish, goat cheese fondant, olive and palm sugar tapenade = served with Anura Chardonnay 2009

One of my favourite dishes of the evening - the food and wine paired nicely but I don’t think the wine lived up to the dish. Quite how they got the goats cheese to look like and melt like a blob of of ice cream I don’t know  - excellent. The puff pastry was light and golden and the beetroot cooked to perfection.

Tataki of Tuna, goats cheese and courgette cannelloni, black pickled celeriac, pine nut gremolata and basil cream - served with Quando Chenin blanc/Viogner 2009

Another exceptional food and wine pairing but again the food came out tops. When you find yourself ooohing and aaahing about a 1mm by 1mm block of black stuff on your plate that provides an explosion of flavour one can only guess that you’re in the presence of a chef with great talent. The tuna was perfect and don’t even get me started on the effort required to produce the small little goats cheese and courgette ‘cannelloni” - a light dish with a lot of flavour.

Mains

Pan fried Kingklip, light curry veloute, Thai style quinoa salad, apple and cucumber salsa - served with Signal Hill Grenache Blanc 2007

I must say I was a little disappointed in the mains - in addition the wine was oxidised (but swiftly replaced I must add). It wasn’t the best piece of kingklip I have tasted and the curry veloute in my opinion lacked a bit of punch.

Sous vide beef ribeye, fondant potato and a black pepper bordelaise sauce - served with Klein Constantia Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot 2007

The wine went well with the dish but again I was left a little disappointed in the dish. Perhaps my expectations had been raised too high from previous courses - but again I found the dish lacked something - although the ‘cooksistered’ onion ring was delicious (at least that’s what I think it was!), so perhaps I’m being harsh.

Dessert

We both agreed that we would go back to La Colombe just for the dessert..

Cashew nut parfait with dark chocolate and orange mousse - served with Joostenberg Noble Late Harvest 2009

Well I dare you to try this dish and attempt to hide the joy on your face. The cashew nut parfait was rich and creamy beyond belief and the dark chocolate wafer was the ‘cherry on top’. Amazing stuff.

Frozen beetroot parfait, beetroot and apple Napoleon, liquorice foam, beetroot and apple sorbet - served with Joostenberg Noble Late Harvest 2009

The food and wine pairing of the evening and a revelation. Anyone who can turn beetroot into a delectable dessert deserves a pat on the back. The dish combined so well with the wine I was astounded and urge u to try it out. The whole dish boggled my mind a bit.

I have been thinking about this meal since I went there on Saturday - going through the dishes and reliving them in my memory. I had high expectations and they were met and exceeded. Great meals live in your memory forever and this was one of them.

Worth every penny.

Posted in Restaurants