la colombe

i finally got to tick one of the top 10 restaurants in cape town off my list! the food at lacolombewas beautifully presented. so much so, that we frequently commented that we didn't want to eat it! most of it was delicious as well, but i can't give it a 5, simply based on my own opinion. some of the food was just too adventurous and the flavours didn't quite work together for me. on the whole, though, it was a wonderful experience.

the cuisine at lacolombeis to die for. and it better be. our cab hugs perilous curves in the pitch black night with a practiced precision, not that there's another option as the crashing sea beneath leaves no margin for error. . i should also mention that we're traveling through a downpour. visibility is next to none as the rain flies, drenching a city that thirsts.

lacolombe- one of the greatest fine dinning experiences i've had in a while. the setting was beautiful in new-lands forest. the food was a great take on homemade taste, turned fine cuisine. the smoked ox tongue was by far the star of the meal.

lacolombedeserves its reputation as one of the best restaurants. from arrival, the experience was inimitable. every course is excellently thought through, and the presentation thereof is akin to watching a performance of your favourite artist. we did both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage flights, and both were uniquely theirs. it's important to note this is an experience and not just a sit down meal. be eager as some surprises await you!

i was so excited to come to lacolombefor lunch. we brought an overseas friend to lunch and decided lacolombewould be the right choice. upon arrival, we greeted by the hostess and offered something to clear our palates. they had charming white chocolate egg with a citrus fruit juice inside. the chocolate eggs were nestled amongst branches of a beautiful display of foliage. needless to say, if this was the introduction, we were in for a fabulous food journey.
     we were shown our seats, perused the drinking menu and chose groot constantia 2017 pinotage. what a smooth, delightful wine! we then chose which menu we would choose, the spring menu or the chef's menu. i liked both but i felt the chef's menu would be a bit too much to eat for lunch, so spring menu it was. we all chose that menu. 
     our menu began with marlin tataki, burnt lime & lamb roti. 7 courses of delectable delights. i'm in trouble! out came this exquisite forest with the marlin tataki/burnt lime and the lamb roti was petite and presented in a rock carved out. it was delicately displayed and the aromas were tantalizing to the senses. the amazing waiter who served the food and explained the process of how you should eat the food and it was helpful. i wish there was smell-a-vision with pictures. it was mind-blowing.  
     we then followed up with sweet potato bread with waygu drippings/oxtail i had crumbs of the bread all over the table. it was worth it! so good is an understatement. beautiful, art, chefiness at it's finest. oh man. we then had a blind tasting of tuna "la colombe." it is crazy how the chef is able to beautiful balance the freshest ingredients which are artfully paired and arranged, nestled within a can with ingredients listed on one side and the "la colombe" on the front of the label. as you open your can, the smell wafts into the air, causing you to salivate. it was playful, and truly an experience that was interactive. so many highlights and not a single disappointment was to be had!! every single course was an explosion of flavor, mouth-watering aromas to tantalize the taste buds, a true feast of the eyes and senses.

i could go on but rather make a booking. go there. you won't be disappointed. our waitress, marion was a delight! she made our experience sublime! just know that this is on the pricy side but it's worth every single paper money spent! this is eating for the art of food, not just eat and fill your tummy.

wow! wow! wow!

i’m a local capie and this is my 3rd time here. bravo👏👏👏

of course a little pricey for most but you should try visit lacolombeat least once a year.

lacolombewas the highlight of my cape town trip. a lot of fine dining restaurants around the world focus more on gimmicks than flavor and have rude staff. lacolombecouldn’t be more different. kind, accommodating staff and exceptionally flavorful food. they take care of you from the second you step foot into the restaurant and keep feeding you till the last minute. you don’t want to miss this.

one of my biggest bucket list restaurants would have to be la colombe, and their winer lunch special was too good of a deal to miss! upon arrival we were given a small palate cleanser before heading to our table. the restaurant is beautiful and we were seated at a table with a magnificent view of the valley. we enjoyed a glass of bubbly before deciding to do the wine pairing with our meal. we started with delicious sourdough, spiced pork lard and salsa verde followed by cape malay snacks, tuna lacolombeand a delicious seared game fish. the confit duck leg main course was spectacular although it was quite a big portion. the panna cotta dessert was great and we finished off our meal with marshmallow, a macaroon and candy floss. this was a once in a lifetime experience and i’m so glad that i got to finally experience it.

wow wow wow! we went to lacolombefor my birthday recently and what an adventure it was from start to finish.
firstly the drive alone is a journey in itself and we were almost unsure that we were on the right track because it’s such an understated entrance.
we knew we were in for an experience from the get go when we were greeted with a pallet cleanser picked from a small garden as a teaser.
when faced with the choice of full menus vs reduced we almost decided to go all in but i’m glad we stuck to the reduced (we each ordered the opposite so that we didn’t miss out on anything and we were still stuffed!)
i can go on forever about each dish but no words can describe - just treat yourself and go.
service was incredible as well. great wine knowledge & suggestions. professional but super friendly at the same time. marais & i were entranced by how well everyone moved and worked together.
thank you for the memorable birthday!

food in cape town is pretty impressive, but lacolombewas one of the best that we experienced whilst we were here. based in the constantia region, the drive over was scenic and a wonderful introduction to this lovely lunch. again this was another place where once we had let the staff know that i was vegetarian, everything else went swimmingly.

okay okay okay... lean in and let us tell you a secret 👀

welcome to one and only, arguably south africa's best fine dining restaurant (even lacolombeisn't shy to say so on their website). they walk the talk, they can back it up with numerous awards ranging from trip advisor top 10 fine dining restaurants in the world (came in 7th) to 73rd position in the 2017 world's 50 best restaurants awards

okay, now that we've gone through a few formalities... 😁 we have been to both lacolombein constantia's silvermist estate as far back as 2014 and late 2017 la petitecolombein frranschoek's le quatier française

see if they have a spring/summer lunch special; on an expansive set menu of at least 3 options for 3/4 courses will cater for all gastronomic dispensations

otherwise don't be shy to fork out quite a bit on the sample menu, but we promise it'll be worth it! 🤤don't be shy to ask for recommendations; staff are friendly, professional and accommodating with an eye for detail in all things.


*tip: it's easier to get your foot in the door (a la reservations) at la petite colombe, if you don't mind the scenic winelands drive about an hour out of cape town... lacolombein constantia is almost always booked out

you can reserve online within 5 minutes of the click of a touch pad, reserving a slot like you reserve a seat on a long haul flight... otherwise go old school and give them a ring ☎️

the lacolomberestaurant sits towards the back of a lavishly beautiful wine estate with fantastic views of the mountains, and rolling grapevine hills around it. at the time of my visit, they were located on an estate called constantia uitsig, and the wine pairings for the dinner that you will see as part of this review were paired with the lacolombetasting menus. the lacolomberestaurant moved from uitsig to the silvermist mountain lodge and wine estate in 2014, as uitsig estate was sold to a private buyer and is now the open door restaurant. after ordering the tasting menu, these are my thoughts on la colombe

lacolombeas a food destination is all that it is made out to be. the attention to detail in terms of the food is unreal, and the only thing better is possibly the taste. portion sizes are what can be expected of a fine dining restaurant and the r450 spring special is value for money. the staff are impeccably trained and friendly and it's a lovely touch when the chefs come out of the kitchen to explain the dishes to the patrons. the "secret garden" option on the menu is worth the gander. definitely better during the day to take advantage of the wineland views. if you appreciate fine dining, lacolombeis a must as a culinary destination.

a few weeks ago i was in cape town for my graduation ceremony at uct. i’ve been studying part time for a few years through uct so i’ve been very fortunate to be a frequent visitor of one of my very favourite cities. finally all the hard work of my studies paid off and i had made arrangements to fly down for a long weekend of celebrations. one of the very first planned foodie experiences was at la colombe. my benedict had surprised me with a booking (weeks ahead) and treated me to a lunch tasting menu at lacolombeas my graduation gift. lacolombeis situated on the silvermist estate in constantia. it’s listed on the s.pellegrino’s world’s 50 best restaurants as 73rd for 2017 and is the eat out top 10 2016 runner up. suffice to say, i was more than a little excited to visit la colombe.

ooh la la colombe!

i recently had the most incredible mid-week lunch here with a friend and what a treat it was.

with its outstanding reputation, our expectations were high, and it definitely met all of them.

the service is excellent from the moment that you're ushered to your table until you're presented with a scott kirten signed copy of the menu in an envelope along with your bill.

service staff are attentive and friendly and explained the menu items well.

i ordered the vegetarian winter menu which included wild mushrooms, quail egg, pickles, the famous lacolombecanned corn,
butternut risotto, bulgar wheat, coriander and soubise and various palate cleansers (including a gastronomic ice lolly) along with a cleverly themed 'taste test' dessert game. every dish was beautifully and creatively plated.

the mushrooms were mild on the palette and didn't leave me wondering were unusual flavours were coming from, as i was expecting, but every dish to follow did exactly that.

my favourite dish was the taste test, which constituted 5 little dessert items on different colored plates, which you had to match to their corresponding palette taste (sweet, sour, umami etc.) on the game card.

i'm definitely going to come back for their full vegetarian menu at some stage.