Harvest Table Bistro: A roaring fire, Cesária Évora, a glass of red wine and a wonderful lunch
With Sandra’s mother visiting, and it being the winter school holidays, we had the opportunity to take a drive out to the countryside of the beautiful Western Cape. I have been to Wolseley with a number of residents from a retirement centre in February and we had a very enjoyable lunch at the Harvest Table Bistro. I then decided to return to this delightful restaurant with Sandra. Who need more reasons to drive through the beautiful green winter scenery to Wolseley?
On this cold, rainy day, we were welcomed by a warm fire in the fireplace and an equally warm smile from the waiter. The Harvest Table Bistro is in an original mill room where a wooden cog-wheel gives a nod to the past. We loved the minimalistic country décor with a French feel. Sandra ordered Balti Butter Chicken, her mother Moroccan Lamb on Italian Flat-bread and again, I could not resist the Indian Lamb Curry. We ordered a bottle of the 2010 Mountain Ridge Shiraz Reserve. In the background a song by Cesária Évora contributes to the pleasant feeling of a warm, beautiful interior, good wine and the anticipation of a tasteful meal. Cesária is a firm favourite of ours. She was a Cape Verdean singer that passed away in 2011, nicknamed the “Barefoot Diva” for she used to perform without shoes. She was known for singing blues in her rich contralto voice. Finding a restaurant that plays her music impressed us immensely.
Harvest Table Bistro says they combine fresh local produce and hearty peasant-style local dishes with influences from further afield, from Cameroon and Zimbabwe to France, Italy or Argentina, giving them a contemporary, modern twist. Karien, the owner, joined us in conversation. They stayed in Port Elizabeth before relocating to the Western Cape and we shared a couple of memories and thoughts about P. E. She manages the front of house and marketing while her husband Reint heads up the kitchen team. When our orders arrived, we were not disappointed. The presentation was imaginative. The curry came with a poppadum, the Moroccan Lamb came as a colourful stack and Sandra’s butter chicken was served on rice with a poppadum as garnish. My mother-in-law said her lamb was delicious; Sandra’s butter chicken had a touch of chilly fire. My lamb curry was not of the fire in the mouth kind, but had a very aromatic taste – very good!
Acclaimed artist and illustrator Piet Grobler (I befriended Piet while serving in the SADF many years ago) was commissioned to create the goddess-like harvest nymph, Sophia, for the bistro. She is supposed to symbolise the wholesomeness of this harvest table. And we agree with her. We will be back!
After our fine lunch we went to the Mountain Ridge Winery, situated on the R43 between Worcester and Wolseley. In summer their Sauvignon Blanc is a firm favourite of ours. When I were there the previous time, I bought some of their wine with the witty labels, The Long and Wine’ing Road, Aanstap Rooies and Pars Getroud. Aanstap Rooies is named after an old Afrikaans song about the oxen that were used to pull the wagons, and Pars Getroud is a play on Just Married. This time we again bought wines with witty labels to hand out as gifts, as well as a couple of bottles of the Shiraz Reserve. We still have the coldest part of winter ahead!
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Harvest Table Bistro: A roaring fire, Cesária Évora, a glass of red wine and a wonderful lunch — 142 Comments
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