Food
As part of the La Colombe group, it comes as no surprise that the food at little sister La Petite Colombe is of the same exceptional standard. There’s a choice between a grand chef’s experience menu and a smaller, spring-inspired one. Regardless of which you opt for, you’re bound to be blown away. The experience starts before you’ve even been shown to your table, with a stop at the bar for a sake-based cocktail with a zingy kalamansi foam, developed following head chef John Norris-Rogers’ recent trip to Japan.
Once at the table, the snacks arrive in an elaborate mobile garden and feature a spiced coconut chawanmushi with miso-glazed chicken; smoked snoek pâté served in a crisp wafer with a curried labneh topping; and a porcini parfait with a hazelnut centre, encased in a sherry gel and served lollipop-style. Then on to the bread course – a home-baked oat-and-honey sourdough loaf accompanied with an irresistible miso corn butter, sweetly moulded to resemble a piece of baby corn.
The tuna that arrives next is undoubtedly the dish of the day: seared tuna, crumbed avocado and a punchy apricot chutney all generously drizzled with a herbaceous coriander dressing. The lamb rump main course is introduced by a small Japanese-style grill placed on the table quietly smoking an impossibly sticky lamb rib. The rest of the dish arrives comprising a perfectly pink rump topped with a green crumb, as well as butternut puree, baby veggies, bright salsa verde and olive tapenade, all brought together by a rich, glossy lamb jus.
Dessert is a joyous celebration of tropical fruit, with chocolate and coconut tart, nestled alongside a pineapple parfait; passionfruit ice cream and curd; and shards of lime meringue. Lastly, when you’re nearing capacity, the petit fours are presented and include a tobacco-and-caramel chocolate cigar, whiskey-infused toasted marshmallows and a tiny, perfect
coffee macaron. Though it sounds gargantuan, you end this feast feeling relatively light and fresh – a nod to Norris-Rogers’ clever use of flavours and textures.
Drinks
There’s a lengthy wine list that comprises a mix of local and international names, with a pleasant focus on wines from the surrounding Franschhoek area and beyond. You can opt to have a paired wine tasting with your meal, or choose by the bottle or carafe.
Service
Impeccable, attentive, warm and knowledgeable – the service here is the standard to which all front-of-house teams should aspire.
Ambience
Set in a glass-windowed dining room, you’re surrounded by natural light and peeks of the Franschhoek mountains.
Best for…
A celebratory blowout meal.
(October 2019)
Eat Out critics dine unannounced and pay for their meals in full. Read our full editorial policy here.
User reviews
★★★★★
2 Reviews
Graham Hamilton
★★★★★
La Petite Colombe was a delight for an evening meal on Sunday. We had been last year and noticed quite a lot of changes but the overall ambiance is still very nice.
We started with a Saldanha bay oyster with tomato water and jalepeno which was very nice followed by the signature dish of yellowfin tuna which i must say was better than last time it has been refined a lot and was really delicious with it dots of various flavours incuding kimmchi, avocado and miso. The next dish was absolutely delicious it comprised of pork belly and scallop in wild garlic with a Vietnamese glaze. Raviolli of langoustine followed then a trip to the chefs table where we had the opportunity to speak to one of the sous chefs and have an egg and soldier but not as you would think it the soldier acctually had foie gras in it, yummy. A palate cleanser was followed by Mauritian sea bass with a tempura mussle and squid with a beautiful sauce, then the main course of herb crusted lamb with lamb neck rolled in puffed rice. The cheese course was goats cheese and tamarind gell and finally a nectarine dessert.
Overall this was another exceptional meal and certainly in our top 3 South African experiences of food.
