Fast Facts

Restaurant Name: Tebaldi’s

Address: Voortrekker Street, McGregor, Western Cape, 6708

Phone number: 023 625 1115

Opening times: Wednesday to Saturday 6 to 8pm; Saturday and Sunday 12 noon to 2pm

Average main meal price: 2 courses – R295 per person; 3 courses – R380 per person; 4 courses – R465 per person

Corkage: R100 (R10 donated to Friends of Care, a local animal welfare organisation)

Parking:  Easy, street parking right outside the restaurant

Food Type: Contemporary fine dining with an emphasis on fresh seasonal ingredients, locally and ethically sourced.

Best for: Long lunches with friends or a special anniversary dinner or birthday celebrations.

Food

Chef Christiaan Campbell of Delaire Graff and Boschendal fame has reinvigorated the old Tebaldi’s restaurant and the separate café. Chef Christiaan sources fresh, local produce, supporting local suppliers of ethical meat, as well as wine estates from the area. This means the menu is compact but always changing, offering contemporary takes on new dishes with some old favourites.

 

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The dishes are small but wholesome. You’re advised to have at least three items from the list, but the one-savoury-one-sweet offering would satisfy the average lunchtime guest. As they are smaller dishes (but NOT tapas sized), you can order a dish as main or starter without confusion.

 

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For such a small menu (and small village), the variety is impressive, for example smoked salmon trout, salted hake and mussels, mead-glazed chicken breast, lamb neck cannelloni, beef shin on polenta cake. The vegetarian option was seitan dumpling with mushroom ragout and fresh salad when we visited. The generous side orders of village salad leaves and grilled vegetables filled the vegetarian gaps nicely. The presentation is excellent, you feel like each dish has been crafted for the diner.

The stand-out dish was the mead-glazed chicken breast, confit chicken and roasted artichoke. The plate was passed around the table to great acclaim (which goes to show the portion is not too small). However, the firm favourites, and reason to return again, were the desserts. The dessert portions are generous and again the presentation simple but special. It was a toss-up between the oozing hot chocolate pudding under its cloud of foamed home-made dulce de leche, and the curious deliciousness of the brown bread-and-butter ice cream served with the perfect classic creme brulée (the ice cream had a rough texture, tip-of-the-tongue familiarity that will be calling for a repeat visit).

For the portion sizes, variety, freshness and the attention to detail, a meal at Tebaldi’s is value for money, which makes it a destination restaurant. You get the sense that there is thought behind the menu choices and the wine list. The staff are friendly, you can see they not only enjoy working at Tebaldi’s but have a level of pride about working there, too.

 

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Drinks

They mostly offer wines from the Breede River Valley and have a fairly small list with a good mix of smaller wine estates and varietals.

 

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Service

The server was Joy (who introduced Nita, her trainee for the day). Both were quietly diligent and efficient. Shannon took our drinks order and topped us up, without a drop being spilt. The three work as a close team and the service was attentive.

However, while wine glasses were refilled, water glasses were not, and another bottle of sparkling water would have been welcome. Graham is the restaurant manager and was friendly without being familiar and answered all our questions with knowledge and a fair amount of pride in chef Christiaan, the restaurant, and the village of McGregor.

Ambience

The venue is situated in an old building in McGregor. The flagstone floors and exposed beams give it an authentic, rustic country feeling. The decor is smart, but not overly fussy. You can sit outside under the poplar trees in the small street-front garden, or at the back of the restaurant, which opens out onto the Temenos Retreat gardens. With its warm cottage interior, and open garden access, the building is suitable as a winter and summer venue.

 

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Eat Out critics dine unannounced and pay for their meals in full. Read our full editorial policy here.