Seth Shezi

Food
The dining experience at Foxcroft is similar to all the high-end yet laid-back Spanish restaurants nabbing the coveted spots in the global award listings. The set-up is simple: there are smaller first- and second-course starters, followed by mains and desserts. The lunch menu is set up so that a diner enjoys any two small yet flavour-packed courses, then follows it with a more substantial dish and closes it off with a sweet serenade from a delectable dessert. It’s a clever way to sample the restaurant’s offering, to become hooked and return for the longer evening menu.

Chef Glen hits the skillet with no holes barred from the onset. The roasted tandoori cauliflower mousse with lemon pickle, sultanas and naan bread reads like a simple veggie dish, but is anything but. The fragrant poached line fish with charred corn, seaweed and Thai broth is a heady delight that will have you shamelessly tilting your bowl to get to the last drop. A classic meat, loved by many, is rarely given the justice it so deserves besides inside chef Glen Wiliams’s open-pass kitchen. His glazed free-range duck with nectarine, garlic, green olives and mushrooms is beautifully rich, with just the right dose of sweet acidity from the nectarine to balance it perfectly.

Foxcroft desserts are the stuff of shimmy-inducing goodness. Both visual and taste-bud tantalising are the rhubarb financier with Dulcey chocolate, yoghurt, celery leaf and lime; and the buttermilk panna cotta with grapefruit, oats, and Thai basil.

Drinks
This is a wino’s restaurant. From the chef to the GM, these people know wine. Expect a well-considered menu with scope for all pockets. Besides the wine selection, offered by bottle or carafe, there are craft beers as well as cocktails. Few things will liven your palate quite like the Foxcroft signature cocktail – a blend of spiced rum, granadilla and mint.

Service
Incredibly friendly. You won’t need to hail a sommelier, as the wait staff are more than capable of making dish pairing recommendations.

Ambience
Frequented by the well-heeled, Foxcroft is the shiniest jewel of the High Constantia centre. Choosing where to sit is as hard as choosing your order. The outside terrace is lively, offering al fresco dining while drinking up views of the surrounding mountains. The inside lures one with its plush décor. The mid-century details such as studded leather seating and tetris tiling give the moody space a warm and cosy ambience.

Best for…
Gather your troop of foodie friends – one inevitably wounds up wanting to taste more than what is placed before them, so ensure your table orders widely in order to taste as much of the menu as possible.

(August 2018)

Eat Out critics dine unannounced and pay for their meals in full. Read our full editorial policy here.