Pretoria - If the stresses of the New Year are already threatening to overwhelm you, why not try this country escape for some time out. Even if it just for a meal, it will offer salivatingly-worthy relief.
Kievits Kroon
Granita, Kievits Kroon, Country Estate, Plot 41, Reier Rd, Kameeldrift East
Phone: 086 0543 848
If you’re looking for a quick escape, this is it. It is only 30 minutes from the city but it feels further, as if one has escaped to the countryside.
The front stoep is fabulous for a pre-dinner drink and a coffee at the conclusion. While this is a popular conference centre, not too many have discovered the smart dining room which now boasts yet another rising star. The only problem is that as soon as they start shining too brightly, they’re poached.
Hopefully this one will stick around for a while, mindful of the amazing opportunity handed to him - his own kitchen to play in.
This is a smart yet not stiff dining room because of a relaxed approach by the staff.
The tables are smartly dressed in white linen with stylish dinnerware and as a focal point, local artists like Heidi Fourie and Ronel Kellerman are celebrated and displayed to colourful impact.
It’s still rare today - even in 2016 - to have a black chef heading a team in one of our fine dining restaurants. But that’s starting to change - slowly - with Kievits Kroon leading the way.
Because they’re thin on the ground (or so it seems), the talented ones are quickly spotted and lured to greener pastures.
In 2014, Shimmy Sello was the chef running this kitchen brilliantly but he has been replaced by young sous chef Thabo Letsholo who has been tasked with the Granita fine dining menus.
Enthusiasm is there in abundance and so is the skill. It will be exciting to watch this young chef develop and grow. Hopefully he will hang on for a while and give himself the time to blossom and bloom, also to develop a cuisine signature which is already emerging.
Letsholo hasn’t been in charge all that long but already his summer menus are dashing. It’s important to step into the game smartly because those first impressions count.
But Granita need not worry. Letsholo has been clever with his choices, keeping it light to suit our high temperatures but also interesting and complex with some depth of flavour which seems to be the fine dining barometer at the moment.
A bite size caprese salad as an amuse bouche sets the tone, followed by delicious goat’s cheese custard with tiny dollops of roasted beetroot and red wine reduction to start, or a richly flavoured tomato soup with a cooked egg yolk, or seared tuna with turnip puree, pickles and wasabi foam, all exquisitely executed and served, pretty as paintings and equal to the test in taste. Your choice could be any of these depending on your preference.
The mains stuck to a more traditional formula with the options of grilled beef fillet or confit duck leg, a smear of butternut puree, bok choy and pomme puree with port jus. It proved that the chef has what it takes to deliver the goods.
Dessert is always a conclusive flourish or failure depending on the play of the night. It is the thought that leaves with diners and Letsholo made sure he got it right with a mix of vanilla rum mousse, coconut sand and quinoa wafers. It wasn’t too complicated yet it has a nostalgic, sweet note that promises to linger.
The chef’s youthfulness is a bonus and with confidence growing as the months march on, his depth of flavour will develop even further which will add to his initial promise which is already enough to execute a fine meal.
This is a restaurant that through the years keeps moving in the right direction. It’s off the beaten track, but easy to access and worth exploring with many different types of meals or celebrations.
On the night, the pairings of Haute Cabriere Unwooded Pinot Noir (2013), Darling Cellars Bush Vine Sauvignon Blanc, Diemersfontein Pinotage 2013 and Thelema Muscat de Frontignan (2014) reflected the wine list, balancing the modern with the classic as does the food. The list also stocks bin ends and older vintages - quite a rarity these days.
They have for years built a reputation on charming service and that has not been neglected. They have perfected a fine balance with the staff focused on both the cuisine and customer in equal measure. It was a night to remember.
Times: Lunch and dinner, Monday to Sunday at R455 with wine pairing, R305 without.
The Sunday lunch menu is R310 per person with options of wine per glass.
Diane de Beer, Pretoria News