Cafe Del Sol Classico

My first experience of Cafe Del Sol in celebration of my friend Jadene's 30th. The party was held at the Landmark Bar which forms part of Cafe Del Sol Botanico in Bryanston. The cocktails menu was as long as it was delicious and the bruschetta, truffle popcorn and other snacks were a tantalising hint at the potential delights of the main menu. I will admit to taking out a beautiful Le Cruset pot plant with my ever expanding rear after maybe a touch too much festive cheer but then I probably would have done the same without any festive cheer knowing my clumsy ways. 

 Kyle and I have been keen to go back to where it all started at the Olivedale Branch or Cafe Del Sol Classico as it is now known. Getting a booking, however ,is no easy task; especially, if like us, you tend to follow your cravings rather than plan eating out well in advance. In a stroke of luck, on Friday, Jadene (who incidentally is friends with the owners and an ardent fan) managed to secure a last minute booking for four of us at Classico. 

Right off the bat we were impressed with the comprehensive wine list which is a nice mix of local and imported wines and includes both value for money and small batch boutique wines. As it was an unusually wet winter evening, we opted for dark and fruity Paul Wallace 'Black Dog Malbec' out of Elgin and a Beyerskloof Reserve Pinotage, both of which we really enjoyed. 

Dinner Delights - Pictures by Jadene Tager

My favourite dish of the evening was the Porchini Risotto which was deep and earthy; laced with the decadent flavour of truffle oil. We also enjoyed the Ameretto Semifrodo and the Chocolate Tart (both pictured above). Kyle and I shared a starter of ravioli filled with butternut and amaretti biscuit in a creamy walnut sauce. We felt this dish lacked balance but this was remedied with a sprinkling of salt. I must note that the manager, Jaques, did advise that he preferred the ravioli with a burnt butter sage sauce (not the standard sauce but available on request) which probably would have given the dish the balance we missed. 

Speaking of Jaques, we were very impressed by his attentiveness and passion. At one point he invited me over to the kitchen, where I was taken through a tasting of some of the sauces which was a lovely personal experience and a great chance to experience more of the menu. In fact all of the staff,  and the service in general, were outstanding. 

Overall we had a great evening with lovely company and a great start to our newly formed (after the second glass of wine) supper club.

Uber Delicious

We love Uber. Especially when we have have been wine 'tasting' a bit enthusiastically... We also love ice-cream. Even more so when it is as good as Pauls Home Made Ice Cream. So when it was announced that Uber would be delivering tubs of Paul's homemade around Jozi, in their international #UberIceCream promotion, we were excited. 

Not that I needed an excuse, but since it was one of the girls birthdays, an ice-cream delivery seemed like the best way to celebrate. Joburg may have been cold and grey but the demand was high! At 11am when the promo started it seemed like everyone in SA was trying to secure a delivery .After some frantic refreshing of my Uber app and a dose of mild panic, I manged to secure ours. Before long the little blue ice-cream icon could be seen as making its way across my screen towards our location. 

The Uber Ice Cream "truck"

Delicious Delivery

Ice Cream Excitement

For our R80 we received 4 tubs: Dulce De Leche, Roasted Banana, Milk Chocolate and Cookies and Cream. The roasted banana, which literally tastes like fried banana, was my stand-out favourite! 

What an Uber delicious idea...

Ice Cream Wisdom

The Birthday Girl 

Two Peas in Heaven - DW11-13 Review

I like to think only the best people are born on July 18 (Mandela being the prime example). Since I too am born on this day, this weekend was all about birthday celebrations in the Two Peas household. 

On Friday Kyle booked us a table at the fabulous DW 11-13 by Marthinus Ferriera. This restaurant, which has been on top of our dining out wish list for some time, describes itself  as offering a  "unique experience through experimental cuisine"and is regularly cited as one of the top restaurants in South Africa. DW 11-13 is located in the Dunkled West shopping Centre in  shops 11-13, which goes some way to explain the name, but apparently it is also a play on South West London postcode and Gordon Ramsay’s Boxwood Cafe where Ferriera once worked. 

Arriving at the restaurant we were greeted and showed to our seats by the hostess, a friendly and impassioned lady named Robin. Having agonised for days about whether we wanted to order a wide section off the A La Carte Menu and share everything or try the tasting menu, we arrived still unsure of which one we wanted to do. The tasting menu with wine pairing comes in at a sizeable R950 per person, while we estimated a starter, main and dessert with a bottle of wine to share would cost us in the region of R650 per person. In the end following the ardent urging of the hostess, and on the basis that we had wanted to really experience the restaurant, we opted for the tasting menu. 

We where not disappointed. The 6 course tasting menu (really 7.5 if you include the sorbet, amuse bouche and pre-desserts served between courses) was not only outstanding but also generous. Both the DW 11-13 food portions and wine pairings were perfectly sized to enabled us to taste a variety of bites and flavours without being left feeling like we needed to look for the nearest drive through on the way home. 

The stand out savoury dish for us was undoubtedly, and much to our surprise, the vegetarian,  'Polenta, cauliflower espuma, sultanas, pine nuts, kale and brown butter'. This dish was delishiously balanced by the contrast of the creamy texture of the cauliflower with crispy kale and the saltiness of the brown butter with the sweetness of the sultanas. I wish I could say we got a picture before we tucked in but unfortunately I only remembered halfway through. This course was paired with what was also our favourite wine of the evening an Oak Valley  Mountain Reserve White Blend. 

What remained of my 'Polenta, cauliflower espuma,
sultanas, pine nuts, kale and brown butter' when I
remembered to photograph it.

Kyle absolutely loved the 'Springbok, dauphinoise, beetroot, blackcurrant ketchup and parsnip purée, spiced jus' but I, being rather sensitive to pepper, found the spicing of the on the springbok a bit overpowering and was unable to really enjoy any of the other flavours on the dish which was a pity. 

For me the 'Karoo stilton ice cream, walnuts, port gel, melon compote, puff disc and celery' was the most exciting dish of the day due to the creamy sharpness of the Karoo stilton ice-cream. Kyle thought the ice-cream didn't have enough stilton flavour when eaten alone but worked with the dish as a whole. 

Overall it was the details that made the DW11-13 experience exceptional. We loved the subtle South African theme to the décor and the way this linked to both the food and the plating. We also loved how knowledgeable and attentive all the waiting and hosting staff were and that they made us feel right at home.

DW 11-13's subtle South African themed décor