The Roundhouse, Somerset Room
The Roundhouse started off its life in the early 19th Century as a shooting lodge for Lord Charles Somerset, Governor of The Cape of Good Hope.
It’s been through various incarnations from being a Youth Hostel to a restaurant run by what everyone knew as “that French Lady” [whom I never knew] and an excellent restaurant run in the 1980s by my late friend Nick Boud, former advertising guru, and his wife Peggy. They also ran a restaurant down in the city called Sir John Wilde’s, if memory serves me correctly.
Now the place is swinging again as former hotel School graduate Fasie Malherbe, his partner Dale den Dulk and some other enthusiatic young people have brought the place alive with wine steward training programmes. wine sales facilities and any number of bright and exciting ideas.
The most exciting if which is the restoration of The Roundhouse itself, back to better than its former glory. The views over Camps Bay are fabulous seen through the old window panes which have naes of former resident and guests scratched on them, with diamond rings no doubt.
I think The Roundhouse is serving some of the finest restaurant food in Cape Town at the moment, with fabulously well trained waiters and PJ Vadas, former Gordon Ramsay chef in both London and New York, and Vanessa Quellec a highly talented dessert and pastry chef from New York as partners in the business.
PJ Vadas & Vanessa Quellec
The meals are well planned and come in three four or five course options. And within each option you may take the menu without wine and choose your own, with a Wine Pairing and then a top of the range Reserve Wine Pairing. I would recommend you go with a wine pairing option, normal or reserve depending on your budget. The wines are superb, the waiters know about them, the grapes in the blend etc. Wine servings are 150ml in size. And you have a wonderful variety from which to choose.
The menu changes each day. We got lucky and had
panfried foie gras with a turnip puree, pecan dragée & ham gastrique
duck egg linguini alla carbonara
kabeljou with Roasted new potatoes, bacon, caper & lemon beurre noisette
ox tongue & cheek with roasted shallots, lentils & red wine jus
slow cooked pork belly with apple & rosemary puree & calvados jus
citrus croustillant with caramelised honey ginger ice cream
and layered peanut butter & banana bread cake with chocolate mousse & banana flambé
From the moment you arrive, with two parking attendants to assist with parking, an enchanting waitress greeting you outside the front door and taking you to your table, the serving staff in the restaurant and Fasie himself schmoozing the guests and recommending wines to go with their menu choices, everyone helps make a visit to The Roundhouse an evening of delight.
The Roundhouse, The Glen, Kloof Road, Camps Bay is open for dinner from Tuesday to Saturday and lunch from Wednesday to Sunday. 021 438 4347.