We dined at this restaurant as we were staying at the Franschhoek Country House & Villas and it was a couple of meters from our room. The staff at reception highly recommended it as well as internet reviews.
Well, what a massive dissappointment!
Even though the waiting staff was very attentive, the food and wine was a dissaster.
We decided on the tasting menu with wine, as this normally reflects the quality of food. I also ordered a bottle of red to drink throughout the meal.
When the red arrived it was warm. I had to put it on ice so as to top up our glasses with colder wine. The waitress insisted that the reds were stored in a wine cooler at 18 degrees, but after I assured her it was not, the truth came out. The cooler was faulty and the red was off the shelf.
Bread with 2 "dips" and butter arrived. The "dips" were pureed avo (what? and why?) and olive oil and balsamic mix. The balsamic was either off or of very inferiour quality.
Further on we were served Mussels in Hotpot. Four battered mussels, not tempura but soft and soggy batter, placed back in the shell, surrounding a pile of pomme fritte. On top of the "chips" was a pile of freezing cold watercress that destroyed the whole dish even further. Does the shef know what a hot-pot is?
My wife had the braised pork belly that arrived with a long strip of "crackling". My wife took a bite of the crackling, grimaced and passed it to me. As I took a bite she described the texture and flavour as that of a toe-nail. We did laugh, but it was the worst "crackling" I had ever had. Unchewable and inedible. How can a shef allow that to be served?
I had the "rack" of lamb, which was technically a french trimmed double chop, as you would do with veal. It had a fierry harrissa crust/spread on it. How can this be paired with a red wine?
Deserts included a ball of butter rolled in some cocoa powder.
We also noticed and commented on other diners returning plates that are nearly full of food.
We have eaten in some of the best restaurants in Cape Town, Franshoek included, and this is not one of them.