Bosman’s Winelist tops in Top 100 Restaurant Guide

Wednesday, 7 March, 2001
Jenny McQueen
Bosmans Restaurant at the Grand Roche Hotel is still the place to go for fine wining and dining
The only restaurant to attain five stars for its food and winelist in the latest edition of Wine magazines Top 100 Restaurants in South Africa was Bosmans Restaurant at the Grande Roche Hotel in Paarl. Winner of a 2000 Diners Club diamond award, and for two years in succession winner of the Diners Club Winelist of the Year Award, it is the first and only hotel restaurant in Africa to achieve Relais Gourmand status. In the Wine Top 100 Restaurant Guide for 2001 Bosmans also attained four stars for overall value and service - ‘not forgetting gracious ambience too’ - in the fine dining category. This is the third time that Bosmans received a five star rating for its winelist in Wine magazines Top 100 Restaurants in South Africa. The restaurant was described as ‘a beacon of culinary consistency’ by editor and chief critic Jos Baker, who personally double-checks 200 restaurants in her countrywide quest after dining excellence. Criteria for selection to the Top 100 are menus that tempt the tastebuds, food with the ability to surprise - whether through an innovative combination of ingredients, flavour or texture - freshness, quality ingredients and consistency. Service criteria are professional service - from a front-of-house welcome to the performance of waiters, who have to balance the demands of customers against the abilities of the kitchen - and an ambience that increases the pleasure of the dining experience. In general Baker felt that those restaurants that had invested in their winelists - despite the uncertainties of supply and the capital involved in cellaring - were the ones meeting the expectations of customers. She found the Grande Roche sommeliers to be thoroughly conversant with the carte and aware of the effect of sauces and spices on the wine. Grande Roche had a wine maturation cellar built on the farm last year in June 2000, for the collection of over 10 000 bottles that is taken care of by the head sommelier who also conducts private tastings. The Grande Roche winelist features more than 300 wines - concentrating on a broad spectrum of excellent Cape wines, some very mature and unusual wines, as well as a selection of imported wines. Baker singled out highlights of the menu - ingredients like truffle jus, saffron and foie gras, speciality fish imaginatively partnered such as Cape salmon on a squid salad with olive-tomato confit and marlin poached in olive oil, with aubergine confit and olive sauce, Springbok loin with a walnut crepe and Pinotage beurre rouge and loin of veal complemented with asparagus ragout and balsamico jus. Rounding off the epicurean dining adventure were irresistible desserts - gooseberry-filled chocolate ravioli lapped with liberally laced Van der Hum sauce - and a groaning cheese trolley. Besides fine dining, other categories in the Top 100 restaurants are cosmopolitan, traditional and country fare. Supplied by Jenny McQueen, e-mail jenny@mcqueen.co.za