I have an innate rubber arm, it’s not difficult to get me to go anywhere. An invite to The Roundhouse Restaurant‘s new six-course brandy pairing required no twisting at all. I like food and I’m not afraid of brandy. Hardly a case for persuasion.
The Roundhouse is a restaurant like no other. Steeped in history, it first served as a coastal guardhouse. Perched at the foot of Lion’s Head on Kloof Nek Road, overlooking Camps Bay, one can see why it served as the perfect vantage point. I imagine it was used to forestall scurvy-ridden sailors from invading the mainland. Cannon gunnels still punctuate the circular structure, and I was told that the cannons that used to sit there could propel a cannonball all the way to the other side of the bay. Obviously scurvy was taken quite seriously in the late 1800s.
A quick history: Subsequent to being a guardhouse it became Lord Charles Somerset’s own hunting lodge, then a tea-room, a boutique hotel and even the preferred haunting domicile for a ghost. After a period of quiet dereliction, in which I can only imagine the ghost must have grown lonesome, The Roundhouse re-opened its doors in 2008 as a world-class dining experience. It was also to be the venue of my ‘brandy education’ – a phrase that I had, up until that evening, considered ironic.
I arrived straight from work and as I walked onto the terrace, or Rumbullion, I felt immediately under dressed. This happens to me a lot. I have developed an incredible sense of charm as a contingency plan. Despite this, I was welcomed enthusiastically and put immediately at ease with a Horse’s Neck (a cocktail made with brandy and ginger ale, and an elongated slice of lemon peel that curves over the edge of the high top), handed to me by one of the impeccably dressed waiters. Side note: wear a dinner jacket.
Horse’s Neck in hand, I wandered the various, stylishly decorated, rooms of The Roundhouse before finding my seat. The waiters were always on hand. I won’t inundate with you every small detail of service, but small details there were, each and every one met by a swift and coordinated waiter. It was like watching synchronised swimming, with food. Which brings me to the menu.
Created in collaboration with Fine Brandy. By Design™, Roundhouse chefs PJ and Eric and sommelier Joakim have created a menu paired with a collection of South Africa’s finest brandies. My double Klippies and Coke notions were immediately quashed and replaced with an array of tastes that were finer and deeper, some of them steeped in as much history as the Roundhouse itself.
Each course was preceded by a tasting of the appropriately paired brandy, and then a cocktail made with that brandy. Even to my rogue palette, the pairings were subliminal. Each dish appeared meticulously constructed, mindfully crafted and entirely unique. Here is what was on the menu (including the brandy with which it was paired):
The Roundhouse Brandy Menu
Water Buffalo and Pork Belly “Saucisson” with Pistachio, Peach Chutney and Mustard
Flight of the Fish Eagle
The combination is very smooth and refreshing, the secondary aroma of caramel and the touch of sweetness goes very well with the peach chutney.
White Bean Velouté with Sour Dough, Chicken Liver Parfait and Caramelized Pear
Oude Meester Demant
In this combination the need for a certain primary fruit was there, not too much intensity but with weight and oxidative aromas to go with the sweetness of the caramelised pear.
Cob with Charred Aubergine, Squid, Salmon Trout Roe and Sea Lettuce
Collison’s White Gold + Water
A different but evolving combination, the sea flavors gets cleaner and intensified as it goes. The aubergine puree is key to soften the sharpness in the young brandy
Organic Celeriac Roasted in Goats Butter, Onion and Juniper Purée,
Cider Fermented Apple, Hazelnut Milk and Wild Herbs
Van Ryn’s 10 YO + Tonic Water, Short Drink
A light and refreshing combination. The idea was to work with the tonic as the juniper is a strong flavour in the dish. We also needed a sweeter element to balance the onion purée.
Chalmar Rib Eye with Roasted and Crudités of Beets and A Beer Purée
Klipdrift Gold + Magic Man’s Pomegranate Soup + Dry Ice
The dish has a binding effect, together with the sweetness and gamy/earthy flavors of the dish, we have created a pomegranate soup to go with the sweetness of the klipdrift gold
Six Textures of Felchlin Chocolate with Caramalised Bananas, Coco Nibs,
Treacle and Hazelnut Oil
Van Ryn’s 20 YO
The prime of pairings, it actually doesn’t feel like it is alcohol you are drinking. The creamy textures completely cloaks it and the chocolate aromas in the brandy and dessert marries beautifully for pure pleasure.
My favourite was definitely the Klipdrift Gold, on its own and paired with the Magic Man’s Pomegranate Soup. It tastes amazing and the bubbling cauldron-like pot looks awesome. Creativity pass.
The rest of the evening was spent chatting about all things food and brandy and I was lucky enough to be sitting at a table with great company, most of whom had a passion for fine spirits and a penchant for imparting its characteristics. I left full of fine food and sufficiently schooled in the art of drinking brandy.
Contact
The Roundhouse & Rumbullion Restaurant
Kloof Road, The Glen, Camps Bay
Tel +27-21-438-4347
Email [email protected]
www.theroundhouserestaurant.com
Find The Roundhouse on Facebook and Twitter
Images courtesy of The Roundhouse and Fine Brandy. By Design™
