TOKARA, STELLENBOSCH FINE DINING RESTAURANT NEW SUMMER MENU

Somewhat self-consciously, presiding over the top of the first rise proper of Helshoogte mountain pass, perches the slow-grey concrete, glass and tin roof building – the winery and show room which, with immaculate views, gardens, combed vineyards and those who populate them, comprise Tokara.

Restauranteur Wilhelm Kühn, turning his ample attention from the heartless vagaries of law and journalism, zipped up his briefcase headed out to Tokara. This turn is perfectly reflected in the restaurant and its new menu: conspicuously inconspicuous waiters, slim hostesses, stylishly underrated interior, poignantly solitary art, an opened-up focus on the sloped vineyards, glass framed cellar views, an improbably inaudible kitchen, three or four rows of iconic vines: Chardonnay, Merlot, Petit Verdot.. Richard Carstens, award winning chef from high-end food establishments the likes of Reubens, needs no introduction. The new summer menu has just been launched. Says Wilhelm: “The dishes are not what they started out as. Richard went to bed with the menu. What we are having here today is the result of a long process of evolution.”

The menu is impressive, reflecting the current vogue of Japanese-Korean fusion; the focus on freshness, unadulterated ingredients, accentuated natural flavours. Pressed vegetables, cured salmon trout, and lightly fermented pink cabbage mingle effortlessly with mirin, springbok and daikon. Both strangely familiar and comfortably curious, as guests at an international biotechnology symposium might. Bending towards one’s plate, one cannot help but vaguely miss some form of signage, guiding one as to which way to start and what might await; and the reasons therefore.

Starters boast Blanched asparagus with almond gazpacho, goat’s milk cheese, confit mushroom, orange, ginger and roasted seeds, Prawn ravioli with chorizo, crisp linefish and saffron sauce, and Beef tartar and sashimi with katsuoboshi sorbet, daikon and tomato and red pepper sauce. Fresh, modern, with flavours showing up well-timed and distinctly.

Mains include more substantial fare: Red roast free range chicken with udon noodles, spinach and crayfish cream, Korean marinated beef fillet with kimchi, broccoli, pomme anna and tom yum jus, and Springbok with potato croquettes, roasted beetroot, strawberries and pepper jus. Tasty, somewhat adventurous but fun and light enough for a hot Saturday afternoon.

Desserts don’t disappoint. In fact, the Three minute chocolate tart with Grand Marnier Ice cream borders on astonishing. Not to be missed: a Vanilla panna cotta with fruit sorbets, meringue and mint, a Lemon and mascarpone mousse with white chocolate sorbet, a Litchi parfait and granite with coconut sorbet, ginger mousse, fennel ice cream and strawberries, and a surprisingly sophisticated Chocolate ‘éclair’.

On the way out a reminder of how one’s heart is grabbed by the visual drama of this setting – an ever present vista of shimmering green trees and cool, succulent lawns. Views to False Bay. The singular absolution brought by mountain air.

Like the name of the pass the new summer menu toasts not so much hotness as height; not so much place as expletive. But what is to be faulted in this? In the words of Kurt Vonnegut: “Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt.” A good meal needs what opens one’s mind to flavour; to sensation. The flavour itself, if blameless, is frequently and largely relieved of this assignment. This task belongs to ambience, to light, to the small sounds of metal against fired earth, to stiff linen, resonant names and apian service. Here Tokara excels. If money had an alcohol-soluble perfume, this is what would waft around Tokara. No small thing, even if brought to the test.

In all fairness, what does hurt a bit comes as a glyph at the bottom of the menu: No BYO. No loss to those who love Tokara or have a certain penchant for masked balls, less to those who’d rather spend more on the food but won’t. But it does mean that that  bottle of Roederer Cristal will have to go elsewhere. Which is what it did.

a BottlePlatePillow original – Post and photos by guest blogger Jacques van Zyl www.biodynamiclongtable.com

Tokara Restaurant is situated at the top of the Helshoogte Pass, R310, Stellenbosch. For reservations call 021 885 2550; e-mail reservations@tokara.com or visit www.tokararestaurant.co.za.

Tokara restaurant is open for lunch Tuesdays to Sundays and for dinner Tuesdays to Saturdays. The restaurant will also be open for lunch on Mondays from 10 December to the end of March 2013. Kindly note that Tokara restaurant is a non- smoking venue.

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