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The Melting Pot

3 Reviews
Contemporary fare, International, Modern, Tapas
Phone Number 0218594111 Opening Hours Lunch Dinner

Lunch: Wednesday to Sunday 12noon to 3.30pm

Dinner: Every Friday 6pm to 9pm



Menu

Menu - Updated menus available on the website.
PDF - June ’22 Food Menu
PDF - Drinks Menu 30 June ’22

Details

Cost
R230 avg meal
Food
Contemporary fare, International, Modern, Tapas
Corkage
Strictly no BYOB
Cost
R230 avg meal
Ambience
Family friendly, Groups, Quick meals, Special occasions, Views
Payment
Mastercard, Snapscan, Visa
Facilities
Accepts credit cards, Alfresco, Beer served, Cocktails, Dinner, Dog-friendly, Eat Out reviewed, Food, Licensed, Lunch, Parking, Reservations recommended, Serves food, Wheelchair, WiFi

Critic's review

Food
What started as a 12-seater pop-up in the heart of the Mother City is now a laid-back country-dining experience at Oak Valley Estate in Elgin – one that should definitely be on your Overberg itinerary. Expect relaxed global food in an equally relaxed setting, but with such attention paid to each dish and such generosity of flavour that the experience is elevated from casual dining to something altogether more exciting. Inspired by his travels, chef John van Zyl intends to take you on a trip around the world in one sitting. Bring your family, bring your friends, bring everyone, because a meal at The Melting Pot is intended to be shared. The menu is divided into snacks, small plates, big plates and sweets. If you overhear someone at the next table ordering “one of everything”, they’re referring to the small-plates menu, which can be ordered in its entirety to be split between two. It contains delights such as West Coast mussels (with a fresh fennel side salad that really pulls its weight flavour-wise); perfectly silky seared tuna in an excellently nubbly dukkha crust with cashew tahini dressing, cashew relish and pickled cucumber; and a hulking lamb-rib roti that could be a big plate on its own.
Trust us, a “one of everything” is plenty, but it’s difficult to not be tempted into ordering a big plate or two as well. Especially when your eye is caught by the pan-fried gnocchi with exotic mushrooms (perfectly cooked meaty mushrooms and crispy-fried gnocchi with a well-balanced Parmesan cream sauce) or the famous The Melting Pot hot-fried chicken burger (one of the best in the biz: an amasi-marinated chicken leg, fried and drenched in Szechuan chilli chicken fat and served on a house-made milk bun with togarashi slaw and house-made pickles).
Thanks to sensitive sourcing, the fresh ingredients in each dish really pop. There’s a marvellous use of vegetables, and confident flavours and appealing textures in every bite. Given the variety of the offering, and the excellent value, The Melting Pot is a place you’ll want to return to time and again. Hot tip for summer: order a deluxe, standard or vegan private picnic hamper to be enjoyed in the tree-shaded gardens. Picnics are available Friday to Sunday from 11am to 2pm. The set-up includes a picnic blanket, drinks table and glassware – no plastic cups or spilled wine on The Melting Pot’s watch!

Drinks
You’re in cool-climate wine country, and there’s plenty to enjoy. Oak Valley wines feature prominently on the list, of course, alongside a handful of the estate’s neighbours. Try the Oak Valley Estate Wine Discovery flight, which will introduce you to gems like the Beneath the Clouds Chardonnay. Aside from wine, there are classic cocktails (made well), or try an Everson’s cider, produced with the apples and pears for which Elgin was originally famous.

Service
Expect friendly service that is a perfect balance of relaxed and efficient.

Ambience
Overlooking a large turquoise pool, with vineyards in the distance, The Melting Pot’s location encourages you to take a load off, forget the to-do list and focus instead on the culinary journey ahead of you. It’s a pleasant setting for a Sunday lunch in the country, the ambience perfectly matching the food. Indoors, there’s a rustic-chic aesthetic that helps to make the dining room a cosy bolthole on a winter’s evening.

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User reviews

3 Reviews
    Had a fabulous light lunch at The Melting Pot yesterday - what can I say? It was superb food that was unbelievably flavoursome in every way. If you like to try something different on your palate, give this restaurant a try.
    As previous fans of John van Zyl's pop up with the same name, we were delighted to learn that he's found a permanent home for his Asian street food concept in Wale street. They don't take bookings, but are situated above the Gin Bar in Cape Town, so we were quite happy to take a chance on a Friday night at 7pm, thinking we'd go for a drink first if we needed to wait. We got lucky, and the last table for two before the waiting list started, and continued for pretty much the entire time we were there. The space is spacious and casual, with a vibey atmosphere. Sage, John's wife, runs the front of house with one other waitress and both were incredibly welcoming. John operates the pass, with a sous chef and two staff in the kitchen. It's actually quite remarkable that such a small staff contingent can be so effective. You order your food and drinks at the bar, and it gets delivered to your table as it gets prepared. We opted for the "One of Everything" and a bottle of Spider Pig Rose, which was more than enough for two people. The food comes to the table as it's prepared, and came out at a comfortable rate, giving us enough time to savour each dish, and take a break before the next one arrived. My favourite was the tuna tataki, and my partner declared the Brick Lane bagel his favourite. John is a clever chef, who understands Asian flavours incredibly well so each dish delivers on flavour and presentation. I would hope he changes his menu often, to keep regulars excited to try new things. We've been big fans of his from his Thali days, and this new venture does not disappoint.

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