As I write that title I think about the dilemma I often have, who is going to ‘get me’. Did the whole world know about Mr Rogers or was he an American only concept? In today’s fast paced world Mr Rogers would never succeed. He spoke too slowly, his concept was too simple and would never hold the attention of the overstimulated ADHD kids of today.

Last night we went to Quentin’s with our friends Retha and Pierre

We have been wanting to go for dinner there since they opened, but we never seem to get ourselves sorted. In fact I have booked and canceled 3 times there due to a variety of reasons with a variety of companions. We have been for the lunch carvery recently but I’m not a fan of carverys or buffets in general and I wanted to try it on an evening with proper service.

What service! Subtle, unobtrusive and attentive. Really brilliant.

The venue is just stunning, the pseudo rough image of a renovated barn, but with such gorgeous decor. Linen napkins, and lovely tableware. I adore the chandeliers. The lighting is strong enough to see what you are eating but still gentle and flattering.

There is a standard menu.

and a blackboard with specials of local available fresh items.
Norm and Retha had the fritters.

And Pierre had the marrow.

I had one of the specials from the blackboard which was the scallops in a burnt whiskey sauce. I adore scallops and these were fresh and tasting slightly of sea which is as they should. The whiskey was a subtle accent not overwhelming at all.

I would have this again. I think they were about R100.

For mains Retha had the kingklip, it was served on a bed of spinach. She said it was lovely and it looked moist, it was a lovely thick fat loin of kingklip.

Norm had the slow cooked lamb neck and said it was tasty.

It looked very tender and seemed to flake off the bone.

Pierre had the lentil bobotie. I didn’t fancy that, it looked too fiddly, loads of wee dishes of things.but Pierre seemed to enjoy it.

I had the fillet. It was a huge portion at 280 grams. I have enough left for a nice steak baguette today. It came with perfectly crispy and fluffy chips and al dente baby broccoli and green beans. The steak was incredibly tender, perfectly cooked and beautifully seasoned. It was exceptional. There was a wee bowl of spicy green peppercorn sauce. It was hot and full of flavour and not at all gloopy so I know it was made fresh for me, not a premade pot on the boil like a lazy chef might do. It was creamy like silk. It had a sharp bite of the peppercorns. Really a gorgeous plate of food.

We washed it down with our usual Sauvingnon Blanc, this time a Tokara. It was a gorgeous one, crisp and sharp. We are so blessed with so many vineyards on our doorsteps in the Cape.

For dessert I was stuffed but we still wanted to try the chocolate mousse ganache. It would be rude not to really. 🙂

It was so rich and creamy, so divine and a perfect end to our meal. I loved the toasted hazelnut sauce with the walnuts in. I adore walnuts, a underutilized nut in my view. Walnut whips? Mmmm. Yeah baby.

Retha had the malva pudding with custard. It looked delicious as well.

I fully enjoyed our meal. The service, the food, the fact it is 2 minutes from my house? All of it. A fabulous experience, definitely to be recommended. It is not cheap by any means, but it is excellent quality and I feel it is worth every penny. Our meal was about R400 per head. Three of us had wine, 1 had a few mixed drinks, we all had starters, mains, 3 had desserts and 2 of us had a coffee with 2 bottles of water for the table.

Quentin does seem to genuinely want to please his customers and for people to enjoy his food. He seemed to get a bit nervous when I mentioned I have a food blog, until I assured him I am no one of any importance 🙂