It is day 2 of our 6 days in Hermanus and the temperature has dropped slightly, it is winter after all in South Africa. Not as cold as London, but fresh – requires a scarf plus or minus a jacket. We have been to the local whale museum which was fun and walked the Hermanus Biodiversity cliff path, a 11km long walk with epic views of the sea, beach and landscape. We walked 8km (don’t judge me)! I particularly liked that there were benches scattered along the path, a subtle reminder to stop, pause and take in the amazing views of the sea, beach and landscape, truly beautiful.
Having had our fill of the sights for the day and worked up an appetite, we headed out to Pear tree which was our initial restaurant choice, but it was closed! Slightly disappointed, we decided to have a wander (as you do) and see what else tickled our fancy. We ended up in La Pentola and what a delight it turned out to be. When we visit restaurants, we try out all the starters or a variety of starters as opposed to having a main meal. Why? because we get a sense of the range of chef and better idea of what the food is about. Plus we get to have our own ‘mini taster menu’ #win! La Pentola offer both light lunches and main dinner menu, however their starters?
We tried ALL the starters and each one was darn good! We started with mushroom bread. Yep, MUSHROOM bread that came out looking like blue berry muffin! Not only was the bread warm, it was fresh as daisy, soft and fluffy on the inside with the taste of mushroom that was not too intense and just right! The Avocado twist was another favourite! This literally was a ginormous stuffed avocado with prawns, cheese, nut flakes set on a bed of beetroot, it was the business!
When it comes to snail aka escargot (for my non-African readers), we Nigerians can be snubs. We are particular – it must be spicy and well, size matters. The spicier the snail, the bigger it has to be, the happier we are! Flashing back to the one time I ordered snail of the menu in Paris, let’s just say it was a shamble! Seeing snail on the menu at La Pentola, you know I had to try it out. Neal was not as enthusiastic, bless him, but he did give it a go. Even though the snails were not Nigerian size (thank heavens, because I don’t think Neal would have managed), the snails were not bad at all. It was served in a kind of sauce (not spicy) and it was flavourful! The game sausage though? It was juicy, tasty and delicious and according to Neal “that is darn good sausage”.
The salmon was another really good dish. It was more a salmon paté served with strawberries, blended oats and nuts. How Chef Shane came about this recipe, the blending of textures and flavours, I don’t know but it worked. We enjoyed these dishes as well as the chicken and lamb cuts with a carafe[1] of Riesling which was just right! Pudding was equally good – ice cream served in a crepe which was crunchy? and strawberries, cream and slice of cake! Yes please!
The sommelier made sure we ended our meal on a high and presented us with a cognac for digestif. My affair with cognac is a long one, going back to when I was little, sipping on my father’s cognac at the dinner table. So, I do have an appreciation for the good stuff. We were served 10-year-old KWV cognac and it was special – aged in oak barrel for 10 years, spicy and nutty with a lingering taste of fruit and port-wine aromas *sigh* it was pièce de résistance!
We followed the yellow brick road to La Pentola and we were blown away; fantastic food, service and people. 2 very thumbs up!
Cheers
Ndidi
[1] Carafe – a glass container without handles used for serving wines and cold drinks
