Chris

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

Reviewed by Chris von Ulmenstein

After a three year absence, an unbooked dinner at Bosman’s at Grande Roche in Paarl earlier this week was an impromptu decision and a disappointing experience.Bosman’s has everything going for it - it is housed in a beautiful manor house, has a captive audience with the Grande Roche hotel guests dining there, it is a 5-star hotel, and it is a member of Relais & Chateaux, an international quality accommodation association. For years the restaurant competed with Le Quartier Francais for first and second place in the gourmet stakes and both were Top 10 restaurants for many years. What is it that has made Bosman’s fall off the Eat Out Top 10 restaurant list completely over the past 3 years or so, and not even make the top 20 shortlist in the past two years, I asked myself. As a local one is surprised when an establishment that sets itself up as the extreme epitome of dining, can treat locals so shabbily. When I walked in, I stood for a while in the entrance foyer, waiting for attention, and finally Edwina van der Westhuizen, the head waiter (no gender specification in her title) arrived. She showed me to a table and immediately asked if I did not want a Bistro menu instead. Was this because I am a local, or because I came on my own? It turned out that Edwina was the most senior person on duty, with all waiters and sommeliers reporting to her. No restaurant management was on duty, despite the restaurant being fully booked, mainly with hotel guests.Bosman’s is unashamedly expensive, more so than maze at the One&Only in Cape Town. It offers a “Harmony of South” menu choice, with mainly seafoods, at R 525 for 4 courses and R 580 for 5 courses. The tasting menu costs R 620 for 6 courses, without wines (Le Quartier Francais’ Tasting Room charges R 550 for 5 courses and R 700 for 8 courses). A vegetarian menu option costs R 320 for 3 courses and R480 for 4. The most glaring deficiency of the evening was that no one came to the table to check on one’s satisfaction with each course, and this is where Bosman’s falls short. The staff seemed static and mechanical, lacking spontaneity, only Tom the German waiter responding to questions put to him. Not one staff member was interested in one’s reason for coming to the restaurant, one’s past history with it, or the motivation for coming to eat there - in fact it seemed that the restaurant staff are totally disinterested in their clients! What was impressive was the spontaneity and service interest shown by the German-speaking hotel receptionist, the only staff member seemingly enjoying her job. The staff’s arrogance at Bosmans, bar an exception or two, is the downfall of this once highlight of gourmet grandeur!