Restaurant Review: La Mouette

Hi!

How're you, dears? Sorry I've been so MIA lately - if you could see my house, you'd know that blogging isn't the only thing I haven't had time for lately! I hate to admit this (especially on the interwebs) but we haven't done dishes in so long, I literally have nothing to cook IN. And there's so little time, I haven't had the chance to even worry about it yet!

Between the football racking up the tension on one side, planning a wedding on another, finally moving out of my old flat, and my Dad arriving from England this evening, time has not been on my side. So cooking? Yeah, that hasn't happened much. In fact, we've pretty much been scraping by on sandwiches. Horrific, I know.

But last night was the boy's birthday, I decided that (rather than do dishes and cook him up something special), we'd go out to La Mouette, a new restaurant in Sea Point that's been receiving rave reviews all over the internet.

We had heard rave reviews about the Winter Tasting Menu (6 courses for R150), so we went for that. And, oh my dear! am I glad we did! There were two options for each course, except the palate cleanser before dessert, so we just ordered the whole menu! 

And what a menu! Melty truffle and cheese croquettes, crispy calamari and a garlic aioli, starts off the delights, and they are followed by a slightly spicy coconut broth with veg dim sum and an almost frothy butternut soup, with walnuts and blue cheese. This incredible start was followed up by a crispy, crackly salt and pepper pork belly and tuna tartare (that's raw, like sashimi, but chopped and thrown together with spices and a vinaigrette). Then we moved onto a delicate piece of fragrant kingklip, with a most delicious sauce vierge and a perfectly cooked piece of sirloin, with bordelaise sauce. My dears, I must heartily recommend that you go with a loved one who likes to share, because ordering on of each enabled us to share the whole thing! Then, after a light, foamy green apple sorbet (with real pieces of apple in it), dessert followed. A giant chocolate macaron with honeycomb (I know!!) ice cream, and a cheese plate, with a peppered Kimberly cheddar, quince jelly and lavoche crackers.

What a delight! We washed down the whole thing with a bottle of Zandvliet shiraz, that we've been hoarding. It was actually supposed to be our anniversary wine, but we didn't drink it. A 2005 vintage, it had aged to mellow perfection, and we've decided to buy a new one every year, and save it for 5 years. This gave our tendency to hoard wine a reason to continue - this wine was decadently perfect with everything!

Please, please do yourself a favour and go and eat at La Mouette. In a time where fine dining restaurants are closing, the souls at La Mouette have been very brave to open their doors, and we'd like to see them continue! The food, ambiance, service and overall feel were just wonderful, and we'd like to see them remain in business for a good long time.

To book:
Email: reservations@lamouette.co.za 
Tel :   021 433 0856
Or catch them on Twitter: @teamlamouette