The art of service

Outstanding service consists of an intangible series of events that can turn one’s time at a restaurant into a most memorable experience. A host of gestures, actions, and decisions, big and small, that come together in perfect unison across a dining room, at every table throughout a lunch or dinner, to create something magical.

It’s the welcome upon arrival, the placement of a napkin, the timing of plates arriving at the table and the timing of their removal. It’s the explanation of a dish and the confidence with which this is delivered.

It’s how the team move around the dining room and when they do so, knowing when attention is required and recognising when it is not. It’s an intuitive feel for when something is needed before the guests themselves realise.

If the service is too stiff it is uncomfortable; too casual and it can feel rude or uninviting — it’s all about the balance. I could go on about the small touches and grand gestures that make for great service — some that many restaurants do and some that are unique to only a handful. I guess that’s the thing about service: it’s an intangible, indefinable, all-encompassing, multifaceted approach to a guest’s experience, to hosting, and to hospitality — and it is indeed an art.

This art the young and dynamic team at Mertia have mastered with remarkable aplomb, an impressive feat given that their Stellenbosch eatery has been open for only a few months. On closer inspection, though, it should come as no surprise that this is the case, given the incredible gastronomic pedigree of the team.

Owner and founder Marais Kirsten-Uys returned to Stellenbosch and opened Mertia after a decade spent working at the highest level of the industry — including stints at the critically renowned restaurant at NoMad Hotel in New York and at chef Dominique Crenn’s Michelin three-star Atelier Crenn in San Francisco. He was also on the ground here in South Africa, assembling the team when chef Jan Hendrick van der Westhuizen opened his semi-eponymous Kalahari restaurant, Klein Jan.

Kirsten-Uys has passed on the knowledge garnered from this wealth of experience to his team at Mertia, where he helms the front-of-house brigade alongside assistant general manager Sina Baltutan (the two worked alongside each other at both Klein Jan and Atelier Crenn) and sommelier Kudzai Beka, who pairs and presents a stellar wine service.

The restaurant’s beautiful design breathes new life into an old bank building. The arched windows look out over the town’s famed oak trees, while inside the minimalist aesthetic sees masculine tones and textures artfully tempered. It’s sexy without being suggestive, elegant without being gauche and, most importantly, perfectly set up for the perfect service.

This impeccable service and beautiful design are matched by the expert cooking of chef Matt van den Berg, who cut his teeth at the country’s most acclaimed restaurants, including The Test Kitchen and La Colombe. In his eight-course tasting menu the chef pairs his impressive technical training with influences from Kirsten-Uys’s and his own memories and travels, all brought together with plenty of nostalgia and the comfort of local flavours.

There’s the signature 63 deg C hen’s egg, sous-vided and served with textures of potato, truffle, and Parmesan, which has all the warmth and comfort one could ask for in a winter’s dish. And the ricotta gnudi with Jerusalem artichoke, sweetbreads, and a light and creamy sauce is a standout, the textures working wonderfully together.

The rest of the menu follows suit, with course after course of superb dishes, delivered with stories of both the chef and owners’ childhood and experiences, in many ways making their nostalgia your own as you relish these rich and comforting flavours. At the end of the meal, I pick up the menu. On the inner fold, a note explains that the restaurant is named after Kirsten- Uys’s grandmother, who taught him “that anything worth doing is worth doing well”, while, on the back, the people who bring this incredible experience to life are listed by name.

I, for one, think that Kirsten-Uys, Van den Berg, and the entire Mertia team have proven that what they’re doing is well worth the effort — Kirsten-Uys’s grandmother would no doubt be very proud. A beautiful experience made all the richer by the incredible service.

Mertia Restaurant, 20 Bird St, Central, Stellenbosch

• From the September edition of Wanted, 2024.