Established restaurants such as Le Quartier Français, Boschendal and La Petite Ferme have been joined by some new additions. At Reuben’s, the atmosphere is cool and contemporary. Buddha Bar CDs play on the sound system. Local chef Reuben Riffel has returned to his home town after working in some of the world’s most cutting-edge restaurants. My personal highlights from his “contemporary” menu were chilli salt squid with aioli, mint and coriander, followed by grape and mascarpone- stuffed grilled quail with beetroot couscous and barbecued red peppers. From the “classic” list, both the tandoori-style black tiger prawns with saffron rice pilaf and kachumber (tangy tomatoes and onion) salad and the oyster fritters were superb. Prices are generous: with wine starting at less than £2 a glass for a drinkable sauvignon blanc, and even the most expensive, an Allée Bleue pinotage at only £3.50, I ate at Reuben’s several times, and never spent more than £20 for a three-course meal with wine.
It costs about the same at The Grande Provence, which is not so much new as reborn after extensive refurbishment and the arrival of Vanie Padayachee, formerly of Le Quartier Français, as executive chef. Padayachee grew up in Durban, where she learnt how to blend spices creatively.
I started with a roti-wrapped seafood curry and passionfruit dressing. The sweet, subtle taste of the seafood was not at all compromised by the complex flavours of the spices. It was enhanced by the tartness of the dressing, and the roti was so fresh and light that I hardly noticed it. After a glass of the Grande Provence estate’s Angels Tears white, a blend of muscat and chenin blanc, I moved on to the main course: fillets of line-caught kabeljou (cod) — the best I have ever tasted. They came with a peppery masala mash and a zingy cucumber and mango relish. There was still another treat to come: brie samosa with quince jelly.
Petite Ferme is an institution in Franschhoek, open only for lunch and full every day. Customers come for the view as much as the consistently good food and wine. It is set on a ridge above the valley, and I was there on a gorgeous day of bright sunshine and happily got myself into the mood for lunch by studying the menu on a shaded bench in the garden, a glass of the house semillon to hand.
I could have chosen African and Malay dishes, Karoo lamb, ostrich medallions, warthog bresaola or home-smoked trout. I opted for a traditional dish of kalunji vertoek, an onion-seed doughnut filled with curried pulses. Despite its stellar reputation, my dinner there cost even less than my other Franschhoek feasts.
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On my way to Cape Town I stopped at Constantia Uitsig wine estate. The menu at its La Colombe restaurant is an imaginative mix of Provençal and local dishes. It is close to Cape Town so prices are higher — prices here had crept up to £25 a head.
But both food and wine certainly lived up to expectations. I started with a tian of aubergine and avocado topped with tempura prawn tails with curried calamari, sweet chilli salsa and creamy basil dressing, followed by a loin of springbok with wild mushrooms baked in filo pastry and served on foie gras with truffle and venison jus. After a crêpe of caramelised apples I was tempted to stay the night, but I already had a room booked in town.
In Cape Town, I headed for the relaxed establishments that specialise in traditional African and Cape cuisine, asampling a bredie (spicy stew) at Biesmiellah and a 16-dish feast for less than £10 at the Africa Café. Another essential Cape Town experience is afternoon tea at the Mount Nelson hotel which costs £11. This ritual of pleasure involves a table groaning under the weight of cucumber and smoked-salmon sandwiches, bowls of summer berries, plates of cream-topped scones and dozens of decadent cakes. I took my selection on to the terrace and reclined under a parasol with copious cups of Earl Grey.
On my last night, I spoilt myself by booking a table at the Atlantic restaurant in the Table Bay hotel on the waterfront. With a vista of Table Mountain and a string of awards, the Atlantic promised to be the most expensive restaurant of my trip. It was. Yet at £33 for three courses and a bottle of wine, it was about half the price of an equivalent feast in London — and the starter of swordfish carpaccio and my bottle of Vergelegen Reserve sauvignon blanc were worth every rand.
The culinary high point of the entire trip, though, simply has to be my first night in Reuben’s.
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Chris Caldicott travelled with Africa Travel Centre, (0845 450 5705 www.africatravel.co.uk).
A nine-night trip, including three nights with breakfast at Constantia Uitsig, Colona Castle and Klein Genot, return flights with British Airways and rental car, costs from £1,450 per person