If tucking into gorgeous farm-inspired cuisine, served in one of the lushest surroundings in the Cape sounds like the way you’d like to spend a day, then The Werf Restaurant at Boschendal is where you need to be on a Sunday afternoon. The restaurant has just launched their Long Sunday Lunch series and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more divine experience or better value for money.

Chef Christiaan Campbell leads his seriously organised team in an orchestrated lunch that is so seamless that you really don’t have to do any thinking at all. The menu is set (and will change weekly), so there are no decisions to be made, except for what you will be drinking.

There is a lovely selection of crafted farm infused cocktails that bring in botanicals (a huge trend for 2018) and interesting savoury ingredients to balance flavours. Of course, there is also a great selection of some of Boschendal’s best wines on offer as well.

The idea is that you literally kick back, listen to live music and take your time to relish every delicious bite and sip, in the company of your favourite people.

What’s on the Menu for the Long Sunday Lunch at Boschendal

It just wouldn’t be a visit to Boschendal without kicking off with some ‘plaas brood en botter’ and this is a great way to get started.

Two breads are served, a ‘Skottel Brood’, which is cooked on the wood-fired plancha grill and is simply to-die-for. The grill gives the bottom a crispy crunch and the bread itself is almost cake-like.

Top this with lashings of whipped fynbos and eucalyptus honey butter, with chunks of Maldon salt folded through and you are onto something special. So special in fact, we had to ask for more.

The second bread is a crusty signature Boschendal sourdough, served with a whipped beef tallow.

Starters

The menu comprises two lighter dishes to start off with and, as always, they celebrate produce from Boschendal’s immense Werf Food Garden. First up was a dish called Really Good Summer Tomatoes, which delivers just as it says. Freshly picked, minimally interfered with mixed garden tomatoes, served with flavours of basil in the form of a granita and gel. Literally, summer on a plate.

This is followed by a smoked hake dish. The fish is very lightly smoked and this is matched by the crunch of pickled cabbage, with sour cream and chargrilled lemon. The dish was bright and fresh and had us mopping up every last morsel.

We selected a bottle of De Werf Chardonnay 2015 to enjoy with our meal and the wine was absolutely sublime.

Mains

The crowning glory of any Sunday lunch is most often the protein and the aroma of meat roasting over the open fire greets you the minute you arrive at Boschendal.

The spit roast is strategically placed at the entrance to The Werf Restaurant and you can literally see the scent drawing hungry visitors in from all over the farm.

Really is there anything better than the smell of roasting meat on a sunny Sunday?

A combination of beef short rib and spit-roasted chuck were on the menu and the chuck was lovingly being prepared as we arrived, brushed with rosemary and olive oil and slowly caramelising on the rotisserie.

This is then carved and served with an incredibly crispy plancha potato rosti and a dish of Werf garden carrots. The carrot dish very nearly stole the show – sweet carrots slowly oven roasted and tossed with baby figs, tatsoi greens and with textural crunch from pecan nuts. The combo was absolutely heady.

The dishes are delivered family-style to your table, which gives a sense of generosity and it really does feel like you are sitting in the dining room of friends or family, tucking into a meal prepared together.

Dessert

Because one course of dessert is simply never enough, there are two. But cleverly, one will appeal to those with less of a sweet tooth and the other is for those who need that indulgence.

The first dish was a take on a cheese course. A savoury brûlée of Huguenot cheese is paired with pears from the farm and a pecan nut crumble. The brûlée is light and smooth and surprising. When you think brûlée you naturally think sweet but this is a welcome paradox for the palate.

If you need that sweetness to feel your meal is complete, you will be won over, as we were, by the generous chocolate chiboust (a feather-light crème pâtissière) with almond cake and citrusy compote. The rustic plating allows for the lusciousness of the chocolate chiboust to take shape and it’s so inviting that you want to immediately dive in with your spoon.

Why You Must book your Long Sunday Lunch at Boschendal

You may be after a laid-back afternoon for two, hosting a special family occasion, or have a reason to celebrate and the long Sunday lunch at Boschendal is ideal for any of these.

The beautiful restaurant interior and seamless, accommodating service from all of the Boschendal team make it a real pleasure. Add in incredible wine, genuinely delicious farm-style food served in abundant quantities and panoramic Wineland’s views and you pretty much have it all.

Long Sunday Lunch at Boschendal

Price: R450 per person excluding drinks. Bottomless bubbly available at an additional R250.

To book contact: reservations@boschendal.co.za | 021 870-4274 or werf@boschendal.co.za 021 870 4206.

boschendal.com | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram