The Cellar Boutique Restaurant (Port Shepstone)

Wednesday, July 2nd, 2014

Reviewed by The Fay Way

Gourmet fine dining at this boutique restaurant situated in Sea Park, 5km north of Port Shepstone, The Cellar Boutique restaurant is often called the South coast’s best kept secret! Well not for long!

Owner and Chef, Dylan Smith, studied at The Royal Hotel in Durban and at The Christina Martin School of Food and Wine and after working under Chef Andrew Draper at Harvey’s Durban KZN, South Africa) (link www.harveysrestaurant https://twitter.com/andrew_draper ) and Naked on 9th (Durban KZN, South Africa) he moved on to Head Chef at Society on Florida road in Durban which was ranked with the top 100 restaurants in South Africa on South African TV magazine show “Top Billing”.

Chef Dylan also worked as a private chef in the south of France before returning to South Africa and with his wife Kate, decided to open the Cellar Restaurant.

The regularly changing menu of contemporary fusion style cooking at the Cellar is always awaited with anticipation as are their monthly “Supper club” evenings. Kate is a most gracious hostess always ensuring that patrons are comfortable and welcome.

Although we have been to the Cellar a number of times in the past, we had never been during the day. Their newly launched lunch time service was a totally tempting chance to sit on the patio near the pool, enjoy the natural beauty of the Honeywood (link http://www.honeywoodsa.co.za ) property while sampling the most eloquent dishes on the Kwazulu Natal South Coast.

Asian Style Chicken livers: liver fondant crumbed with sesame seeds and served with crisp pastry sheets. Barbecued chicken livers with a coconut and lime dressing finished with papaya and pineapple.

The liver fondant crumbed with sesame seeds was lovely. Unfortunately the KZN South coast heat beat me and my pate down on this day; the fondant did exactly what its namesake states, it melted. All I wanted to do was to savor it for a few hours, and there it went with the hot Margate Summer heat. Not all lost though; I did manage to have a little commitment ceremony for it and a piece of papaya, pineapple, coriander and a swirl of dressing. The grilled chicken livers were a lovely variation on the same plate. Absolutely stunning to look at, mild yet fresh flavours, I’d definitely have this one again, however will perhaps eat it faster next time.

Sticky duck salad: slow cooked and crisped, tossed with sticky soy served with a fresh vegetable salad, coriander, pesto and cashews.
No issues on portion size here. The sticky duck salad of slow cooked and extra crispy duck was delicious on the bed of fresh veg. We loved the use of fried noodles on top which enhanced the texture adventure.

Ravioli di coniglio: pasta parcels of rabbit served with marinated mushrooms, toasted almond flakes and fresh herbs, napped with roast tomato and olive puree and finished with finely grated parmesan cheese and a rich port reduction.

Rabbit is not everyone’s taste, but in this little ravioli starter, a great option for bunny first timers! The flavor syntheses of pasta parcels with the toasted almond flakes in the port reduction worked very well. Good textures and brilliant colour, this starter had us “eating with the eye” before the plate hit the table.

Mussels and calamari: Poached mussels and a salad of crisp calamari served on a rustic white wine and tomato sauce, finished with fresh herbs and parsley aioli.

A refreshing combination of poached mussels with the fresh herb and parsley aioli. Crisp calamari and the wine and tomato sauce lent some depth to this seaside summer starter.

The Cellar Duck: grilled breast and confit meat parcel served with candied cherries, red wine reduction, butternut disc, potato croquet, steamed green beans and skordalia.

Love the fact that the duck was served in two different ways on the same plate. The grilled breast was done just the way I like it, very tender, juicy and crisp on the top. The confit meat parcel, a little spring roll surprise boasted the bold duck flavours. The sweet candied cherries, red wine reduction and grilled apricot again matched the succulent duck although I do admit to hoisting a forkful of duck with a dash of the wine reduction, potato croquet and skordalia to my taste buds utter delight! I found the green beans a tad superfluous, but hey mom said to eat my greens, and they were lovely albeit a tad out of place.

Slow roast Pork Neck: rolled and stuffed with savory apples served with roast apple puree, creamy spinach risotto, white wine reduction and spicy Asian chutney.

Fast becoming one of the Cellar’s most popular dishes, the slow roast pork neck stuffed with savory apples was flavorful and beautifully moist. The creamy spinach risotto on a wine reduction and Asian chutney added just the right balance of sweetness and creaminess to the entire dish.

The Cellar Fillet of beef, grilled and served with a roast butternut, crispy potato chips, fresh rocket and chermoula cream.

Well what on earth would you like me to say about this glorious door-stop of beefy deliciousness? The only way to eat this rock-star dish, is to take a piece of fillet, a piece of butternut, some fresh rocket (arugula), balance a chip on the fork and swirl a bit of that chermoula before popping it in your mouth and wait to hear the angels sing! The steak, as always, done to bleu perfection!

Enchanting update on the way the chips are presented, indicating that Chef is on top of his game, always looking to improve even his very best dishes.

Hot chocolate fondant served with berry compote and handmade vanilla ice cream. Possibly the only dish that could have tried harder, the chocolate fondant itself did not have a melted centre and appeared to be more of a chocolate muffin, however tasty it was. The berry compote with some whole fruit with the chocolate was a really nice combination.

Lime jelly with white chocolate panna cotta served with crushed cashew praline, crisp sugar noodles and lemon grass syrup. On such a lovely warm day by the pool, this fresh little dessert just hit the spot. The graceful combination of textures with the crushed cashew praline is a real winner. The lemon grass syrup may be a tad lemony for some, but I’m quite happy with “in your face” contrasts, so I quite enjoyed it.

White chocolate crème Brule served with passion fruit syrup. We were tempted to hold Chef Dylan’s wife Kate, hostage until he gave up the recipe for this one. A simple and elegant dessert. Lovely bold caramel topping a beautifully creamy white chocolate dessert below. Pared expertly with a dash of passion fruit syrup on the side, and that sprig of mint was no afterthought either.

Dessert Special: Homemade chocolate mousse, handmade vanilla ice cream and prickly pear granita with cherry jelly on a bed of meringue and biscuit soil. The prickly pear granite (a semi-frozen dessert made from sugar, water and various flavorings. Originating in Sicily) had a lovely sandy texture, very sweet but delightfully pared with the super chocolaty mousse and creamy vanilla ice cream. The soil bed was irresistible, made from homemade biscuits and meringues.

The Cellar Boutique Restaurant is poised to launch some changes to their menu in the next few weeks, so if you are on the Kwazulu Natal South Coast, look them up and take your taste buds on an adventure!