I go out mainly in the City Bowl and Atlantic Seaboard, purely because it’s more convenient as I live in Seapoint. Last night I had an opportunity to try a restaurant in Southern Suburbs and chose Caveau at the Mill. I’d heard that it was really good, and I’ve obviously eaten at the one in Bree Street which is good, so I had high expectations.
When I phoned to book, I was told that only tables of 8 or more can book, otherwise it is on a first come first serve basis. That always makes me nervous, I’m a ‘rather safe than sorry’ kind of guy, so the idea of going to a restaurant not knowing if you will get a table freaks me out. Anyway, I thought I’d be adventurous (they did assure me there would be tables available) and go along sans booking.
The restaurant is right near the SAB brewery (in front of the Sports Science Institute). The area is actually a little oasis of nature in an otherwise overdeveloped area. Once you are downstairs in the restaurant, you are surrounded by trees and can forget that you’re in a city. They have a large deck for al fresco dining, which is covered by a stretch tent to protect you from the elements. At night you can’t really see much outside, but I imagine that during the day it must look really stunning.
Like Caveau in town, there is a lot of stone, dark wood and other natural colours. Creating a cool, clean and natural feel. The toilets were not bad and there is a deli where you can purchase some tasty goodies.
Instead of having one of the 4 mains on offer (seared tuna and pork loin were 2 examples), we opted for a selection of tapas. We tried
the Lamb Samoosas (R27.50) which we absolutely delicious. Not too oily and the filling was very tasty. They are served with tsatsiki but I think they are better without. We also tried the Grilled Mushroom topped with Gorgonzola & Bacon (R30.5) which was awesome, but very rich. We tried the Pork stir fry (R33.50) which was nice but not fantastic. It was definitely the biggest of the four things we ordered. The last thing we tried was the Beef Cubes with Bernaise sauce, which was so tender and tasty we nearly ordered another one. The tapas are served with some bread so that was definitely enough food for the two of us.
The wine list is very extensive, offering a wide range of options by the bottle as well as by the glass. The prices also range dramatically. We enjoyed the Bradgate Syrah, which was very reasonable at R90 for the bottle. Certainly a lot more reasonable than the R55 per glass of Graham Beck Brut Rose to which we treated ourselves.
Without that little treat the meal would have come to R250 (excl tip) for both of us which is very reasonable. I’ll definitely be going back when I have a chance and recommend it without reservation (get it?).
Caveau at the Mill
Boundary Road, Newlands
021 685 5140
www.caveau.co.za
Comments
4 responses to “Caveau at the Mill”
Caveau at Josiphines is a welcome addition to the ‘Burbs. It has become a regular ‘after work’ haunt for a few de-stressing bevvies and some tapas. The upstairs bar area is apparently opening next week. It looks like it can be a really ‘cool’ area. They seem to change their menu weekly and I have yet to have something that wasn’t described as “delicious”! You have to try the prawns some time, yum! The service is always friendly and efficient and they have some real (imported & local) waitering gems. The wine list is extensive but some of my friends balked at paying over R100 for an easy drinking white (esp. seeing as how much we consume!). I think I only found 1 white wine under R100.00. Not an issue for me because I love wine and don’t mind spending for a good one (of which they have plenty). All in all a lovely day time experience.
Caveau at the Mill is now open on Sundays (about time!) serving a brunch in the downstairs restaurant. Menu is a-la-carte with various options from cereals and fruits, to their famous eggs benedict and main courses selections (from R75-R130). My wife had the omelette with salmon, asparagus and pecorino, and I treated myself to the lamb burger! Great spot for a lazy Sunday afternoon.
I’m surprised at how quiet this place is. I popped in for a drink at the bar after work a little while ago and it was empty. I was also there for lunch on Saturday and it was empty again even though it was a lovely day.
We enjoyed our lunch al fresco. I had the beef fillet with bernaise sauce (R130) and it was lovely as always. I would have settled for the tapas version but they don’t offer the tapas menu at lunch time which I find VERY strange and might account for why it’s not as popular as it could be.
My partner had the haloumi salad (R70)and enjoyed it. We washed it all down with a glass of Thelema unwooded Chardonnay (R33) and a glass of Dalla Cia Sauvignon Blanc (R29).
My family and I went for lunch on Saturday — but found it practically empty, terribly understaffed and, er, unprepared. There was no one to greet us on arrival; the deli (ie the cold meat fridge) we walked past looked empty and unappetising (everything still wrapped in clingwrap)… Not even Windhoek lager in stock. The service was soooo scattered and slow, we gave up before ordering any food. What a pity: could be a super spot for long, lazy family lunches. Including some easy-to-eat food would be great too: can’t say my children (who eat most things) found too much appealing on the menu. Chicken Supreme, anyone?