Pure @ Hout Bay Manor - review

DESIGN NEWS

Winnifred Bowman - Mar 15th 2012, 21:47

Our evening at Pure at the Hout Bay Manor Hotel got off to a good start with the warm, welcoming smile of Alexa Huxter, food and beverage manager. We enjoyed cocktails on the terrace, watching the last rays of the summer sun paint the Hout Bay Mountains.

We were invited to our table once the amuse-bouche was served – delicious springbok tartare on melba toast. The menu is varied and the choices exciting, prepared from mostly local produce by ebullient young head chef Odette Olivier. My partner started with the prawns wrapped in home-made kataifi pastry with tomato-sultana chutney, salmon roe and crustacean vinaigrette (R75). He declared the dish a triumph – crisp on the outside and oh so soft and plump on the inside! I opted for the chicken livers with chilli and port, grilled veal sweetbreads, oyster mushrooms and sauce ravigote (R60). This too was delicious, with the seasoning near perfect. Both dishes were very well complemented by the Constantia Glen Sauvignon Blanc. To follow I sampled the melt-in-the-mouth roasted pork belly with vanilla-tonka bean yogurt sauce and crisp crackling (R120), and my partner the duck breast with pan-fried potato gnocchi, sage cream and rocket (R135). Again both dishes were delightful. Sated, but with a yen for dessert, we ordered the lavender-scented litchis topped with orange-blossom brulée (R55), and buffalo yogurt ice-cream with macerated berries (R55). Both desserts were light, not overly sweet, and the perfect ending to a perfect evening. A full vegetarian menu is available as well as a set three-course menu for R220. A lighter menu is available for lunch. Service is slick, friendly and unobtrusive. (WB)

To book, phone 021 790 0116 or visit www.houtbaymanor.co.za.