Since it was my birthday on January 6th, I received a special gift from my friend Robin. We went to the restaurant La Colombe in Constantia, which is ranked in the top 10 of S.Pellegrino's World's 50 Best Restaurants. I would like to share how my experience was.
Location of La Colombe
The location of La Colombe is in Constantia. The restaurant is located near Cape Town. It is a 34-minute drive from the Cape Town city center.
Google maps location: La Colombe in Constantia
About La Colombe restaurant in Constantia
In 2023, the restaurant was declared one of the best restaurants in South Africa. You can dine at the restaurant from 12:00 to 13:30 or book a table from 18:00 to 20:00. There are two options available per day, which you'll need to book online.
What I enjoy is going somewhere and admiring the beautiful surroundings. To reach the restaurant, you'll drive up many winding roads with a stunning view. Once you arrive, the restaurant is located at the top of the mountain where it's completely quiet. You can easily park your car in the designated parking lot next to the restaurant. Since Robin and I enjoy a glass of wine, we decided to take a taxi to the restaurant. A taxi from Blouberg easily drove us to the location. It did take a while for the taxi to pick us up from the restaurant's location. It's not really in a populated area where many taxis operate. Driving by car is probably a better option.
My experience at La Colombe restaurant in Constantia
Robin and I chose to come to the restaurant early in the afternoon. We were dressed very nicely, which is also the dress code there. We sat in the middle of the restaurant near the bar. It's nice to ask when booking to sit by the window with a view, but the view is also great in the middle of the restaurant. You are truly treated like a princess. A friendly man pulled out our chairs, and even our bag got a mini chair. Sometimes my bag gets backaches, so it was nice that she was comfortable too. (;
La Colombe menu
It was summer in South Africa, so the summer menu was available. It's nice that the chef creates a different menu for each season. Coming back is therefore always a completely new experience. We could choose from a 6 or 10-course menu. To enjoy the whole experience, we opted for the 10-course menu. This was really a lot for me in the end, despite the small portions each time. However, I am 1.62 meters tall, so this is perfect for others. For 10 courses, and just the food included, you pay about R1000. This is without drinks. That's about €50 for the food. I see on the website that the winter menu is cheaper.
The food at La Colombe
On the table, there was a bird's nest ready with two eggs that you could drink from. In my opinion, it was a kind of smoothie and fun to start with. Every time you are surprised at a course. Even with this course, I thought it was decoration for the table haha.
We received personal advice on which wines suited us well. After choosing the menu we wanted, a friendly chef came to our table with a plate with all the ingredients. We could see at a glance what we were going to eat that day. We saw all the fresh vegetables, fish, and meat, and got an explanation for each ingredient of what it was and where it came from. I found this incredibly nice because I had never experienced that before, and I liked knowing exactly what I would be eating that day. I'm not a picky eater at all and I am open to all new flavors, and after receiving the first rounds, I was surprised that they could make something so delicious from those ingredients.
They sometimes bring a rolling table. From the table with a platter, you can choose a bite to taste. Robin and I shared the bites so we could try more flavors. We got a lot of courses, but I'd like to talk about the courses that impressed me the most.
The second course was a choice where I chose the fish option, salmon, and Robin chose the meat option. It looked like a glazed apple, and the inside was basically a kind of salmon mousse. I also got smoked salmon with it. The same concept applied to Robin's meat choice. The way they made the glazed apple was really professional craftsmanship; the dish was so beautiful and tasted really amazing. After trying both, I would choose the salmon option. It tasted so fresh and crisp.
Next, we got two courses with tuna. I'm not a big fan of raw fish, but this... Wow. I really like tuna, but with my first bite, I was surprised. I've never tasted so many flavors in one bite; this was an experience I won't forget quickly. If you're not vegetarian, I definitely recommend choosing the menu with meat and fish instead of the vegetarian menu. You really don't want to miss out on this.
Lastly, we got dessert. Of course, we got different desserts. We got several courses with the ingredient cheese. Personally, I would never choose a cheese platter in a restaurant, but if I got the same courses as here, I would do that from now on. We got camembert with honey, cheese-filled chocolates, and homemade crackers. I'm definitely not a cooking expert, so I can't really answer what the ingredients really were. Another dessert was a strawberry dessert. Everything is freshly made, and you can immediately taste it in the homemade strawberry ice cream.
What I found to be the biggest experience is that with every bite I took, I've never tasted these flavors together before. I kind of like cooking, and I think pasta with vegetables is just perfect. That's why I liked experiencing these different flavors together since you can't easily replicate these dishes yourself. They are secret recipes, which I understand, of course. The service was perfect. Everyone really took the time for you and made you feel very special. It's a big amount to pay for dinner, but I would definitely set money aside to try this once. After my experience, I definitely want to do this again and be surprised by what others can make.
If you want to be surprised with every course and wonder if it's decoration for the table or if it's edible, then I would definitely visit this restaurant. Please let me know your experience. I'm curious if you think the same as I do.