la colombe

i finally got to tick one of the top 10 restaurants in cape town off my list! the food atlacolombe was 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 atlacolombe is 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.

food is our theatre. hope you enjoyed the show!! that was the message inside our bill fold when we had lunch atlacolombe. the show began with the drive up to the top of silvermist where we parked our car and walked into the reception area oflacolombe. we were warmly greeted and taken straight down the stairs where there is a podium. on it is a garden arrangement with palate cleansers placed on plates. we were told to carefully lift the white chocolate and cocoa butter orb as it is fragile. we popped it into our mouths and bit into it. i opened mine a little too violently. but the verjuice centre did its trick and i was left with a sense of anticipation of what is to come. while we were waiting for lara and clinton to join us, jean, our waiter, brought us a bottle of sparkling mineral water.

i was so excited to come tolacolombe for lunch. we brought an overseas friend to lunch and decidedlacolombe would 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.

lacolombe restaurant
silvermist (constantia)

so i haven't done one of these in a while because we have been going to the same places that i've already done a review for. however for lunch yesterday we were privileged to go to one of the top restaurants in the country again. we were not disappointed. from the minute we walked in, to the time we walked out. everything was truly amazing.

when you walk intolacolombe, we start off with a chocolate-coated shell holding a citrus flavour palate cleanser that explodes in your mouth. we were then shown to our table, where philip our waiter would look after us for the afternoon. philip was friendly and funny and really made our experience perfect.

picking the winter special menu which was 7 courses and just as well we were hungry because there was more than enough food for lunchtime.

first course: marlin tataki, burnt lime, lamb roti. server in a mini garden on the table it was more like two little bite-sized morsels of flavour and deliciousness. the lamb roti was so tender you could pull the rib bone out of the roti without disturbing it.

second course: sweet potato, wagyu drippings, oxtail. this dish gets mixed at the table and the smells were amazing. the sweet potato bread was fresh and dipping them into the mix was a taste sensation.

third course: tuna ‘la colombe’. this is their signature dish and it has never tasted so dam delicious. perfect tuna with a little kick of spice. my dish of the day so i thought.

fourth course: kerala style quail, prawn, coriander. well, i had to change my mind and say that this was the best dish of the day. perfect little quail drumstick, with a yummy prawn and the perfectly cooked duck breast with the coriander dressing to die for.

fifth course: naartjie. the best sorbet i’ve tasted in years. served on a smoking tree, it looked as good as it tasted.

main meal (sixth course): malay style linefish. yellowtail cooked perfectly with crispy skin and delicious sauces and crispy squid and chargrilled corn.

or petit poussin, sweetbreads, truffle. great looking dish with yummy veggies and great tasting sweetbreads. the poussin was the only slightly disappointing part of the meal, which was a touch dry.

dessert (seventh course): bahibe, blood orange, smoked almond. sweet but not overpowering. just the perfect end to a perfect meal. smoked almond ice cream, chocolate mousse topped with blood orange and dark chocolate.

petit fours: speckled egg, rooibos macaron. served on the mini garden the speckled egg was amazing.

we couldn’t have asked for a better eating experience! for anyone thinking about going, i would highly recommend this as a must-do!!

lacolombe restaurant teeth rating:
food: 10 "teeth" out of 10
service and staff: 10 " teeth" out of 10
ambience: 10 "teeth" out of 10
overall: 30 "teeth" out of 30

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 visitlacolombe at least once a year.

la colombe was 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.lacolombe couldn’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.

we had the most taste bud tingling food. expensive yes but worth it for a celebration. service was very attentive. so everything pretty spot on. but what one expects from a top class restaurant like a top class hotel is a feeling of pampering and no negativity throughout the entire stay. we could only get a booking for 1.30 pm. no problem. lovely waitress explained the choice of 2 tasting menus one short and one the full gourmet menu. when it was time to take the order and after we had all chosen, we were informed that only the short menu could be chosen as the kitchen closes at 2 pm.
so the negativity began. a jarring feeling spoiling the pampered ,nothing is too much trouble feelings. we had not been warned of the kitchen closure and had been offered a choice of menus.
the chef stuck to his guns and the celebratory feeling was starting to wane. no no nolacolombo. this is wrong for such a high end restaurant. why are you allowed to book for 1.30pm if the kitchen closes at 2pm ??? why were not told of these important facts as we walked in
the chef begrudgingly said we could have the longer menu. we didn’t as we felt it was too much trouble and had decided by then what we wanted

i thought i wouldn’t send a review as everyone sees this restaurant as untouchable

thanks to our attitude we had a wonderful time.
please make sure your guests feel pampered from beginning to end as that is what they are paying for and is almost, as important as the wonderful food

one of my biggest bucket list restaurants would have to belacolombe, 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, tunalacolombe and 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 tolacolombe for 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, butlacolombe was 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 (evenlacolombe isn'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 bothlacolombe in constantia's silvermist estate as far back as 2014 and late 2017lapetite colombe in 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 (alareservations) atlapetite colombe, if you don't mind the scenic winelands drive about an hour out of cape town...lacolombe in 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 ☎️

thelacolombe restaurant 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 thelacolombe tasting menus. thelacolombe restaurant 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 onlacolombe

la colombe as 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,lacolombe is 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 atlacolombe. my benedict had surprised me with a booking (weeks ahead) and treated me to a lunch tasting menu atlacolombe as my graduation gift.lacolombe is 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 visitlacolombe.