With a major focus on locally sourced ingredients and attention to detail, the Bistro and Tasting Room at the Brookdale Estate offers an opulent and mouth-watering experience that won’t soon be forgotten.
Also read: Brookdale Estate, Paarl: An elegant country retreat awaits
Less than an hour from Cape Town, this elegant bistro promises a relaxed, contemporary Paarl Winelands dining experience with seasoned Executive Chef Gary Coetzee at the helm, assisted by Restaurant and Tasting Room Manager Michelle Michaels.
Diners can look forward to soulful dishes, brought together with wines grown on the surrounding vines and vinified by winemaker, Kiara Scott.
The Bistro and Tasting Room is built and decorated in a contemporary style, and includes both indoor, as well as outside dining spaces on the wide terrace overlooking the vineyards. The menu features fresh and wholesome dishes, with flavours that honour international cuisine with a South African style, including some of the signature dishes, sampled and favoured by guests who have stayed at the Brookdale Manor House since its opening in 2021.
Coetzee’s experience includes nearly ten years overseeing the kitchens at Singita in the Sabi Sand and a decade as the private chef for the Kerzner family at Leeukoppie Estate in Hout Bay.
His seasonal menu was created to offer something for every palate and he describes the style of the food as ‘chic bistro’, with produce sourced locally to provide a conscious balance of choice for meat lovers and vegetarians alike.
‘I search for produce and ingredients that are wholesome, nurtured, and bursting with flavour,’ he says. ‘This means sourcing the best seasonal, local produce in the Paarl Valley for The Bistro and Manor House.’
‘From there, it’s simply a case of marrying flavours, exploring textures, and discovering new combinations. Each plate is being designed to spark the palate, ignite the mind and awaken joy.’
Everything on the menu looks delicious, making the Springbok tartare served with mieliepap crisp, Dijon milk emulsion and salsa verde a difficult but divine choice.
While the duck leg confit with sweet potato, pak choi, fine beans and ginger gastrique was difficult to pass up, the poached yellowtail Veronique served with beluga lentils, confit leeks & coral tuile did not disappoint.
This was followed by a coffee hazelnut tart with Stroh rum gelato, grapefruit compote & aniseed meringue, thoughtfully plated, and the perfect end to a wonderful meal.
The Brookdale Bistro experience is complemented by an exciting wine list that showcases the Brookdale and Mason Road ranges, in addition to other interesting wines from the Paarl region and beyond.
The award-winning flagship wine, Brookdale Chenin Blanc Old Vine, leads the pack. The tasting notes reveal more: ‘unmasked, crushed stones ride a wave of white citrus. On the palate, the sensational white fruit continues. The mineral structure presents vertical and endless, enlivened by soft buoyant acids and a mouth-coating citrus purity. The finish is luminous, with a real granitic freshness.’ The wine is also available at the Bistro in Magnum and Double Magnum (Jeroboam) size.
Location: Brookdale Estate, Hawequa Bos Pad, Klein Drakenstein, Paarl
Times: Tuesday to Thursday, 12pm to 5pm | Friday and Saturday, 12pm to 10pm | Sunday, 12pm to 5pm
Contact 087 183 3919, [email protected]
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Pictures: Supplied
