Jordan Restaurant, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Jordan Restaurant

Next time we are looking to celebrate something special I will suggest Jordan Restaurant. Situated at the top of Stellenbosch Kloof Road, Jordan Wines is host to the George Jardine restaurant. George and Louise make use of locally sourced, seasonal ingredients and the menu changes every Tuesday. The restaurant boasts a terrace overlooking the vineyards and lake but as it was a rainy evening we could not take advantage of either the outdoors or the view. The dining area was warm and comfortable and overall, the experience was excellent.

Breaking bread

Known for their on-site bakery, the bread brought to the table serves as the amuse bouche. I usually skip the bread at dinner but I could not resist sampling what we were served. Each person had a slice of Cape seed loaf, a cheese sablé and cracker as well as a soft pretzel. These were served with a parsnip puree, garlic aïoli and farm butter. I thought the farm butter was the best of the three.

To start

We were evenly split between the lightly grilled yellowtail and the confit Joostenburg Vlakte duck and potato terrine. The terrine was garnished with Parma ham and a prune and walnut dressing. It tasted good, but did not meet the expectations of some guests. I had the yellowtail which was served with harissa calamari, sauce antiboise and buffalo milk labneh. It was really delicious and we all cleared our plates.

For mains

As a group of 6 we chose 3 different main courses. One of the choices was the herbed aged fillet with mushroom duxelles, confit potato, young spinach and peppered jus. I went for the lightly pressed Oak Valley pork belly accompanied by pork rib kromeski, young squash puree, potato and parsley gnocchi. Bev and Gill had the pan roasted kingklip “grenobloise” which came with a pea puree, baby leek, pancetta and parmesan risotto. We ordered crispy hand cut chips (R35) as a side dish. Every bite of all three dishes was excellent.

To end the meal

Dave and Mike took a trip to the walk-in cheese room to select their own board of artisanal Cape farm cheeses. They could choose 5 from the 16 on offer and the cheese was served with preserves and bread. Sadly, the timing from the kitchen was not good and they were still making their selection when our soufflés arrived. Bev and I chose the passion fruit soufflé and vanilla ice cream which the menu clearly states takes 20 minutes to prepare. I would have thought that the chef would get the waiter to take Mike and Dave to the cheese room before he had the soufflés in the oven. Mine collapsed completely before Dave got back to the table, which frustrated both me and the waiter. Gill had the Valrhona chocolate cremeux, peanut butter anglaise, almond crumble and white chocolate ice cream. The dessert was not overly dominant in chocolate flavour.

Our experience at Jordan Restaurant

We enjoyed 2 bottles of the Thelema Merlot which was the perfect choice for our meal. Our waiter, Hope, managed extremely well dealing with 6 people. He made a note that Bev was allergic to shellfish which I had conveyed when I made our booking. The menu is quite clear in saying that they will do their best to accommodate food allergies but as their menu is small, seasonal and fresh I would suggest you let them know at the time of booking if you are allergic to anything. If you are allergic to onion or garlic then this is not the place for you as these ingredients, together with salt form the base of their food preparations. I do not think that my disappointment regarding the dessert was conveyed to the management as she did not come to our table at all during our meal.

Price and booking:

The cost for 3 courses is R425 (add R220 for wine pairing) and R625 for 5 courses (add R350 for wine pairing). The 5 course meal is the Chef’s choice and must be ordered by the entire table. Our meal included complimentary bottled water. 

Contact them on +27 21 881 3612. Bookings are essential.

Inspiration published on Lavender and Lime October 25

• • 2015 – The Summer Of Secrets
  • 2012 – Turkish Delight
  • 2011 – Broccoli Farfalline
  • 2010 – Chocolate Sauce / Ingredient Challenge: Onions, Leeks, Carrots And Celery

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