Taking an impressive 12th rank on well acclaimed S.Pellegrino’s list of the world’s top restaurants, La Colombe is said to be one of the “do not miss” experience for foodies travelling to the Western Cape Region.
I can bet my left leg than among the top 15 restaurants in the list, La Colombe will be at the 1st place in terms of value.
Since our visit to South Africa coincided with the World Cup and its surge of attendance, we booked a table a few weeks in advance when they announced their winter promo menu.
When we arrived, our table was ready and we were served some very good bread with olive oil. The menu on a chalk board was brought and explained to us with a very high level of details. Impressive.
Then the sommelier showed up with a huge book which was the wine list. I guess nobody ever went through that list from A to Z. The selection was very nice and the very good Constantia wines were well placed. We just quickly checked it since we knew we were going with the wine pairing menu. A 5 course with wine for ZAR 380 ( that’s about $50 ) is not bad for a restaurant of that level and class.
With each dish, the corresponding wine was presented and explained before the waiter poured a generous dose in our glasses.
The dishes produced by the french cuisine were excellent and we felt the many ingredients providing the asian influence were of excellent quality. Sometimes, I have the bad habit of eating different parts of my plate sequentially but at La Colombe, it proved me that each dish was to be approched “as a whole” to find the right balance of taste.
I would only criticize the fact that many ingredients were used several times in several dishes during the same 5 course-meal.
To date, that was the best wine pairing meal I ever had in my life. One thing for sure, the 7 courses menu would be too much food. And for twice the money (R750) , I am not sure if it’s still a good value.
Do we come back?
Absolutely, without any hesitation. Make this a mandatory stop during your next visit to Cape Town.
LA COLOMBE
Constantia Uitsig, Spaanschemat River Road, Constantia, Cape Town
www.constantia-uitsig.com
TEL: + 27 (0) 21 794 2390
FAX: + 27 (0) 21 794 7914
E-MAIL: lacolombe@uitsig.co.za
