MASTER A

Restaurant of the Month

 

Sonia Blech dines in colonial splendour beside the Zambesi river.

 

This November we fulfilled our dream of seeing the Victoria falls from the Zimbabwe side. We had a couple of dinners at the Victoria Falls Hotel, which is the oldest one in the area.

It was originally built of wood and corrugated iron and opened its doors in 1904. It was rebuilt , improved and extended during the course of the 20th. century and has retained that calm colonial air of luxury and comfort.

We had our first meal there on the terrace as the main fine dining room was taken by a private function. We started with a choice of delicious breads served with various home made dips like guacamole and tomato relish, home made and very tasty. and a cold spicy tomato soup which hits you by the freshness of the tomatoes and the distinction of the spices. This was followed by a delicious Thai Ostrich salad, fresh and crispy and the softest beef steak you could hope for, served rare to perfection with wonderful chips. Two glasses of De Toitskloof Shiraz 2010 were a reasonable accompaniment. the service was helpful and discreet. At $US40 for two, the price was helpful and discreet, too.

As we had a lovely dinner experience that evening, we decided to dine in their fine dining room on our last night.

The Livingstone Room (what other name could it have for fine dining?) is sumptuous, full of crystal chandeliers and belle epoque features, without being ostentatious. We decided to indulge in the Six Course Dégustation Menu "to experience a selection of our Chef’s signature dishes" for $40 (yes $40!!!) and also to take advantage of the sommelier's choice of wines for each course, at $26 extra.

We started with an apéritif of Moreson’s Cap Classic Blanc de Blancs, a nice biscuity blend of Chardonnay and Pinots accompanied by a very Japanese sushi with all the trimmings including chopsticks.

This was followed by Hand Dived Loch Fyne king scallops with pea purée, kapenta organic salad and lime dressing., with the scallops cooked to perfection as were the kapenta (local sardine type fish) and a good combination of leaves. This was washed down with a crisp and clean Jordan Unoaked Chardonnay 2010.

Cream of Parsnip and Fennel soup with Basil Cream Cheese was a surprise ingredient to be found in Zimbabwe, we thought - but then - why not? The slight sweetness of the parsnip was matched by a 2008 Rudero Robusto Chenin Blanc from Stellenbosch - a slightly strange wine with certainly some sweetness on the fore palate but then finished somewhat excruciatingly dry, which seemed to send out mixed messages.

Aged Zimbabwean Beef fillet with confit new potatoes, oyster mushrooms, baby spinach horseradish crust and bacon jus came next, beautifully soft and cooked to the exact degree that we requested. This was accompanied with what was probably the best wine of the evening, a 2008 Bellfield Magnifica Cabernet Sauvignon- from Elgin, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and a beautiful balance of fruit and acidity with ripe berry fruits and a long finish. We did manage to persuade the sommelier to let us have another glass since we were so disappointed with the last wine!

The Livingston Room Cheese Trolley consisted mainly of European cheeses including some Stinking Bishop! A glass of 2008 Landskroon Vintage Port came with this but was not the ideal accompaniment.

L'assiette à desserts consisted of ice creams, a dense chocolate muffin with a strawberry coulis. This came with a glass of 2007 Du Toitskloof Noble Late Harvest Riesling - not quite sweet enough to take the chocolate, though.

Coffee and teas with today’s petits fours finished off the meal.

Unlike other restaurants in hotels in that area or elsewhere, the menu has no fancy description, and is exactly what it says, so there was no need to embroider pedantically. It was delicious and beautiful in its form, interpretation, taste and freshness. We just wondered how could the scallops keep so fresh all the way from Scotland, the cheese so deliciously fresh from Europe. the meat although rare, so amazingly tender and kept warm.

We did enquire whether the chef was local or had been imported and we discovered that he was called Richard Ovens, (an appropriate name for a chef - huh?) a young Scottish Chef who was working in Edinburgh, then Mozambique and now was at the Victoria Falls Hotel. He just loves what he does and it shows.

Philimon Msinbo is the very knowledgeable Sommelier who took constructive criticism (like serving Port with cheese?) with great interest.

A lovely experience and certainly "vaut le detour"

Restaurant ratings

Food –                           42

Wine –                         14

Service –                       9

Ambience –                 4

Value for money –   15

Total -                          84

(For an explanation of the ratings click here)