Delaire Graff, Stellenbosch

Whilst in Stellenbosch we decided to have dinner at the Delaire Graff Estate. The taxi was 400 ZAR return from our hotel WedgeView Country House & Spa and took around twenty minutes in each direction. The estate is absolutely stunning so ensure you arrive an hour or so before dinner to have a wander and admire the view with a pre-dinner drink on the huge and luxurious terrace.

The estate has two restaurants and we chose the Delaire Graff restaurant. They also have lodges and a spa. Make sure you reserve as the dining room was completely full for our visit. The room is cool with incredibly private and large tables. There are huge floor to ceiling windows overlooking the vineyards.

After making our dinner choices we were presented with two different types of butter and a dip for the bread selection. This was followed by a generous portion and delicious amuse bouche.

For starter I chose the shitake consommé, which was beef fillet carpaccio, duxelle dumpling and king oyster mushroom for 125 ZAR. The hubby went for the braised beef cheek with yellow beetroot puree, mango gel, spiced baby carrots and cashews. This was also 125 ZAR. As you can see both dishes were wonderfully presented.

The palette cleanser was a frozen lime concoction with a passion fruit jelly, which did the job perfectly.

For the main course I chose the pan seared line fish, which was Kingklip. This was served with squid with prawn and sweet corn stuffing, fennel, pappardelle pasta, smoked olive and veloute. The dish was priced at 245 ZAR. The hubby chose the Karoo Springbok at 250 ZAR. This was served with roast cauliflower, celeriac puree, hazelnuts, prune and brandy jus. For our side dishes we went for roast sweet potato and chive crème fraiche and the green beans with garlic and chive butter.

After two courses and several glasses of wine each we were too full for a dessert. However, the restaurant presented us with a personally signed card for our first wedding Anniversary and a box of petit fours to take home and eat at our leisure. This was an incredible touch and one I have never experienced anywhere else in the world.

Dining at Delaire Graff is one of the most romantic experiences I have ever had. The estate is simply stunning, the views will blow your mind, the wine is delicious and incredibly reasonable and the food is divine. The staff are friendly, courteous and non intrusive. Enjoying a glass of bubbles on the terrace of Delaire Graff is an experience I will never forget. You cannot put a price on this evening, it was that special to us, however, for £72.02 exactly I think I can safely say it was very reasonable. We had two courses each, an amuse bouche, palate cleanser, petit fours, two large bottles of still water, two glasses of French champagne and four glasses of estate wine plus service charge. Take a loved one to impress them, you cannot go wrong and you will not regret it.