Cavalli Estate

One of my favourite places I have dined at this year is hosting a fabulous event filled with fashion, food and wine. For R380 you will receive a 3 course lunch with wine pairing and live music. Cavalli estate is beautiful and they produce quality wine and delicious food. Read all about the last time I visited here. This event is the perfect introduction to this establishment.


Enjoy!

Contact details

• 021 855 3218 or restauarant@cavalliestate.com
• Website
• Facebook

All copyrights reserved to Cavalli Estate

How pretty is this advertisement! If this is anything to go by the event will be flamboyant and stylish!

Equus at Cavalli Estate

Equus at Cavalli estate

The Cavalli Estate is an extremely pleasant environment. When you leave this establishment you will feel refreshed. They have exceptional service from the wine tatsing area through to the restaurant. Cavalli translate from Italian to English as "The horses". As you drive down the road that leads  to the restaurant you will observe on your left the beautifull horses and top of the range stables.


The Cavalli estate will not only entertain you with delicious food and wine but also an art gallery, memorabilia room and fashion boutique to browse at.


Wine tatsing takes place at the bottom floor of the restaurant. It's a very modern space with massive fridges where the wines are stored. For R30 you taste six wines. If you spend more than a R100 the fee is wavered. Wines start from R45. We loved the Black Beauty shiraz. I usually prefer a merlot to a shiraz as it's a less intense wine to drink, but Cavalli's Shiraz was a winner. I also loved the labels they use on their wine, simple but striking.

Love the wine labels. 

Wine tasting area

Next head to the memorabilia rooms that  host items such as a 1906 Springbok rugby jacket, an Arsenal signed football, guitars signed by U2 and The Rolling Stones and much more. Sports and music enthusiast will at least need a hour to appreciate this impressive collection.

A jacket that dates back to 1906. The year the Springboks were established. I am feeling very chuffed with all my new rugby knowledge :)

Kid in a candy store!

There is something for the music lovers too!

The Art gallery next door will also be appreciate by all art lovers. The pieces range from well known Pierneef paintings to modern day sculptures. This is a great spot to come and walk around after a very delicious lunch upstairs.

What lies beneath is the current exhibition.

My favourite piece!

Something for everyone

A range of classic and modern art pieces

Now to get to the beautifull space upstairs. The Equus restaurant is established as an eco-friendly restaurant that serves classics in a contemporary way. During the week they serve bistro lunches and at night they host fine dining evenings.

Surrounded by beautiful mother nature

A spot on the patio is a must. You can't book for the patio so arrive early!

Feeling spoiled!

Inside

If you want to enjoy the fine dining option then starters will be between R85-R130, mains R150-R160 and dessert R60-R80.


We went for the more relaxed bistro lunch as we wanted to enjoy the beautiful surroundings and utilise their incredible patio overlooking the eco-system friendly dam that warms and cools the stunning space.


Our dining experience was started with complimentary sundried tomato and walnut bread served with a red wine infused butter.

Great start to the meal

We then ordered some cocktails. As we already did the wine tasting earlier we wanted to experience something different. I had the most refreshing cocktail made with vodka, fresh watermelon ,passionfruit, fructose and lime served over ice. It's called "The Pincushion"(R60) and I could have indulged in ten of them. The boyfriend was recommended a more manly cocktail named "Jackal Buzzurd Julep"(R70). This is made with fresh Rooibos ice tea, cognac, Rooibos sugar syrup, Peychards bitters and mint. If you are not interested in dining here I would still come for  a delicious cocktail, sit in their fire pit and enjoy the majestic surroundings.

The pincushion

The Jackal

For mains we enjoyed the succulent porkbelly(R95) and rib-eye steak(R110). Miso-glazed aubergine(R85),  sous-vide chicken breast(R90) and grilled fish of the day(R95) were the others to choose from. The porkbelly was cook to perfection and melted in my mouth. I also loved the rib-eye steak. The boyfriend said that it was a bit tough for him but I disagreed. You could easily cut it with a normal knife.


All mains are served with the same side-dishes of beetroot, button mushroom, onion cup, oat crumble and potatoes du jour. This is still something I can't warp my head around as all the components were delicious but some I would not have paired with the main dish. The mushroom puree did not go with my porkbelly but it complimented the rib-eye steak. I expected that each dish will have different components that compliment them but I assume this is the norm with the bistro lunches. The food however was still delicious and this is one of the places that I would love to return to as soon as possible.

Rib-eye

Porkbelly

For dessert we shared malva pudding served with ice-cream, custard and topped with crumbled
rocky road chunks. This was a dessert right up my alley, chocolaty and very sweet.

Sweet ending...

Great news is that they are currently running a winter special...

• Two course R200
• Three course R280

... so utilities this great dining opportunity or go for an excellent wine tasting experience. Cavalli is one of my favourites so far this year!

When to visit:

• Wednesday-Saturday afternoon: Bistro lunches
• Wednesday-Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon: Fine dining

For more information visit their website
Visit them at Strand road(R44). Situated on the road between Stellenbosch and Somerset-West across from Eikendal
Contact them at 021 855 3218 or restaurant@cavalliestate.com
Like them on  Facebook

Waterkloof

My activities partner pulled out all the stops this Valentines day by taking me to Waterkloof for a great evening of fine dining and a mind blowing view. Waterkloof has been on our bucket list for ages now but we rarely venture out to the Somerset-West area. 

Situated high up in the mountains of the Sir Lowry's pass Village road the beautiful glass face restaurant gives you great view over the Gordon's bay/Strand area. 

 

In the open plan kitchen you can see chef Gregory Czarnecki and his team systematically at work on all the great dishes.

As it was Valentines day we were treated to a set menu. The prices for other times are R260 for a two course or R340 for a three course.

 The whole evening started off with a glass of champagne on the terrace to enjoy the great view. This is also a great spot to come and enjoy some wine-tasting .
 

The feasting started with a complimentary starter of a watermelon gepascho served with cream cheese balls and a Parmesan tweal. This was a delicious fresh start to the evening and the boyfriend raved about this first course.

Next was Congolio rabbit rillettes served with rhubarb relish and pickled vegetables. I have never tried rabbit before but I actually really enjoyed it. It tastes like chicken but only sweeter. The sweetness of the dish was balanced with the sourness that accompanied the pickled vegetables.  
 

Cured Fizantakraal trout served with root vegetables and horseradish was our next course. This was another fresh dish perfect for a summer's evening.
 

The one dish we were not fond of was the porcini custard served with rocket pesto and a crispy quail egg. The balance was off between the amount of custard and the crispy quail egg. The dish needed another crispy element to complement the porcini custard.

Luckily the team redeemed themselves again with delicious monkfish served with a crisp zucchini flower, samp and a lobster bisque. The lobster bisque was out of this world. It was a very rich element that suited the fresh monkish perfectly. I had to prevent myself from licking the plate :)
 

The winner of the evening however was the Magalisberg duck breast served with a mango cream, burned leeks, red pepper dust and a soya reduction. This is the dish that will guarantee my return to Waterkloof. The duck breast was so succulent and that soya reduction was out of this world.

To end off the evening we enjoyed a white chocolate cheesecake parfait served with kir royal pear and raspberries.We paired our food with a bottle of Cicumstance Viognier. It was a very aromatic wine yet very refreshing for a summer's evening.

Special touches to the evening was a photographer who took some picture and printed them out for us to take home as well as a box of macaroons. A violinist also ensured a great ambiance throughout the evening.

The hostess and waiters were very friendly but I do think that some logistics were not 100% during the evening. The waiting time in between courses were not constant as some dishes came very quickly and others took too long to arrive. It was also inconsistent between the different tables.

If you want to give the gourmet food a skip be sure to put Waterkloof on you wine-tasting bucket list. You can taste 6 wine for R30/R40 depending on what range you want to enjoy. Pair this with a delicious cheese or ploughman platter and come and enjoy the majestic view!

Visit their website for more information

Open Monday-Sunday for lunch(Kitchen closes at 14:00) and Monday-Saturday for dinner(Kitchen closes at 21:00)

Contact them at 021 858 1491

Located at Sir Lowry's Pass Road, Somerset West

Take note that the  restaurant will be closed from the 16th June-16th July for their annual winter break.