. At eight we have dinner at Rust en Vrede. The vineyards and the restaurant are at the end of the road towards the mountains at Annandale road, Stellenbosch. A long long road covered with trees brings us up to the restaurant. A friendly and well dressed lady welcomes us already at the parking and brings to our table. The table is the closest one to the big open kitchen where five man and one woman are working in a calm and easy way. Also the Chef is there. It says in the menu that the masterchef always does the final check arrangement at every dish that comes out of the kitchen. It seems to be true. And when we are there never any shouting of the chef , like you see on television, happened . No the Chef always creates in a steady and playful way the plates. We choose the six course tasting menu , me with wine pairing , My partner with just two glasses of wine as she has to drive home. Immediately when we are seated a man comes to pour water in a glass and asks how many fresh cut slices of lemon we want into it. Excellent. The water will be refilled very carefully during the whole dinner.Than the sommelier comes and asks us what to have for aperitif. He proposes champagne, French of course, but we tell him that we live in France and are more interested in South African wines. We start with a Sauvignon Blanc for me and a Chenin Blanc from Donkeyskloof for my partner, a more fruity wine. Very tasty. Than we get a small amuse, tasty but not special special and we fear that the food will perhaps not be at three star or two star (Michelin) level. But what a mistake!! We get different kinds of bread to choose from, home made, and two kinds of butter one from cow milk unsalted and one from goat milk, salted and very creamy. Than the courses come. But first another fantastic amuse, we lost each two fingers eating it. The official menu starts with cured sea bass with all kinds of beautiful arranged mousses and very thin sliced vegetables: avocado, seaweed, kohlrabi and miso and a very special greenish foam. Really more than excellent. And my wine pairing, a German Riesling, was good. Than we got tortellini with porcini. Easy said but what we got was incredible delicious and well made. Three small open tortellini with porcini, pancetta, pickled morel and crumbled parmesan and in the pasta cup was a fluid that tasted very delicate and good, a kind of thick porcini soup. You got the advice to eat each tortellini as a whole so not to miss the tantalizing experience of the mixture of tastes and textures. My wine pairing was perfect: a wine which had the taste of soil and mushrooms and created a wholeness between food and wine. A Keermont white wine made from several different grapes.
After this wonderful creation we had baby chicken, sounds not too special. But what we got was astonishing beautiful presented and with a taste so delicate that it absolutely has been the best chicken I ever have had. How the Chef created such a tenderness of the chicken breast and leg ( without bone) and still such a bite and such a taste I cannot imagine. With it a truffle port and foie gras sauce. Mostly, when eating in a good restaurant, I can have the idea that I can make each course when I take enough time and have the recipe. But here I have to admit that the artistic quality and the craftsmanship was much too special to even try to copy it. As wine I had a 2009 Ashbourne, with a special clear and some acid taste, tasted a bit like a Ugni blanc wine from the cognac, but more fullness, from Elgin.
The next course was Karoo Lamb. An easy choice as the karoo lamb is always very delicious! But the combination of tastes and the presentation and the refined choice to give a piece of meat form the neck, slowly cooked to perfection, and a piece of meat from the fillet nicely rare, made it a miracle. The sauce and further presented tastes where sublime. The wine was a Cabernet Sauvignon from Rust en Vrede, 2007. Excellent too. And every time the sommelier explains perfectly the reason of the choice of wine and what to expect. He really knows what he is speaking about.
And we had two more courses to go! Next was a combi of goat cheese cake, olive “tuile”, a kind of cookie, vegetables (beetroot), a delicate sorbet from beetroot and elderflower jelly. Very good and as a wine a pinot noir from Donkeysbaai. Excellent.
Last but not least a desert with strawberries, clotted cream, thyme meringue , strawberry jelly and sorbet. The wine was very special a 2012 Shannon Macushla. Never I had tasted a wine like this. Perfect with the strawberries.
And during the whole dinner, nearly four hours of excellence, the service was absolutely excellent, friendly and pleasant. Before going home we got another surprise, we could make a choice from about eight different gorgeous candies. Each of them perfectly made.
We have had many fantastic dinners at places all over the world, but this evening belongs to one of our top ten best eating experiences. Absolutely Three Michelin Star quality of the food and service! The price for a tasting menu including wine pairing was 1150 Rand pp. Without wine pairing 750 Rand.
It is also possible to choose a four course dinner for 620 Rand pp. No à la carte choices. I read that you also can make a reservation for a special tasting menu of 2000 Rand but you have to make this reservation several days before so the Chef can plan this. Seems very good for special occasions!
When you really love excellent food combined with excellent and pleasant service, you have to eat at Rust en Vrede when you ever have the opportunity.