EXPECT robust cuisine. After stints in world-wide kitchens, including the Royal Astoria in St Petersburg, where he met his wife Lana, Ryan Smith is now conjuring-up his flavour-packed fare in cool new premises.
Four years after opening their first restaurant in Franschhoek, the hands-on couple has relocated to a heritage building as you enter the village, in a small square with the pretentious name of Place Vendôme. (Don’t expect similarity to the gracious Paris original).
The building has been renovated and transformed with clever use of colour into a cool oasis, where seating is planned to allow tables an unobstructed view of the open-plan kitchen, creating a “chef’s table” effect. This is aimed at encouraging diners to feel part of the creation process, from preparation to final product.
Ryan admits that being under scrutiny was difficult at first “especially as we were one of the first to try it”, but says that now, when he’s busy, he doesn’t even notice people. And he’s not shy of tasting.
The menu showcases the new trend to small plates, allowing you to track and compare Ryan’s creative skills. “I try to approach things from a historical and cultural perspective,” he says. And his texture-rich food embodies the quote on the menu from celebrity chef Roopa Gulati: “From hearty African staples to Cape Malay curries, fiery Indian masalas and European mainstays, modern South African kitchens are a melting pot of world cuisines”.
Small plates allow patrons to enjoy more variety. “What we did before was more traditional, and it worked well,” explains Ryan, “but being able to serve smaller versions of what we did for dinner is a lot more approachable and sociable.”
The menu, changing bi-weekly, is divided into four sections: salads and vegetables; meat and poultry; fish and shellfish, and dessert. Diners can pick and choose or go for the five-course chef’s choice (for the whole table) which can be enjoyed with or without wine pairings.
Exuberantly spiced food, appetisingly presented on plates commissioned from local ceramicists, flows to the table in waves. Tandoori cured Cape salmon takes tomato and chilli “snow-eggs”; duck parfait peri-peri, comes with lemon jelly and green bean chutney; traditional pickled fish takes on a fun element as seafood in a flavourful broth of Cape Malay spices, served in a plated paper bag.
Happily, Ryan does delicate too. Grilled goats cheese, granite, apple and fennel salad, is delightfully refreshing. But despite the sautéed exotic mushrooms, I found the mushroom tapioca “pudding” too reminiscent of boarding school fare – though apparently this is the nostalgic basis of its appeal.Watch for unexpected combos like liquorice as a purée with springbok loin, beetroot espuma and orange glaze. Chocolate and tarragon is a favourite flavour marriage, this time offered in a mousse, with caramel crunch and milk ice cream.
The winelist, featuring predominantly Franschhoek labels, with some Swartland, Stellenbosch and Wellington options and a few foreign wines, is in wine-enthusiast Lana’s hands. Should you need advice on lesser-known labels, she promises that her list “has something for everyone”.
l Salads and vegetables from R40; fish and shellfish from R57; meat and poultry from R85; desserts from R75. Five-course Taste of Africa menu R670 with wine-pairing, R470 without.