La Colombe
La Colombe
Image: Lisa Daubermann Photography

“Every second counts.” It’s the catchphrase of the drama series The Bear, which showcases the stresses of restaurant life. And it’s something you can’t help wonder about — the frenetic behind-the-scenes work — as you soak up the serenity at Constantia’s La Colombe.

La Colombe has long stood out as one of the best restaurants in South Africa and internationally. It’s rated No 49 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list this year, and named best restaurant in Africa. For all the accolades, it’s unobtrusive, sitting quietly on a wine farm in Constantia, unfettered by the busyness of life that swirls around it.

Still, there’s a certain stress that comes with a visit to an international award winner. I take along a friend who loves food but is a self-proclaimed “queen of self-catering”; who has an unflinching eye for value and has not encountered a “fine dining” experience.

There’s no need to worry. “Food is our theatre, we hope you enjoy the show,” says the note on the table, hand-written by executive chef James Gaag. And, oh, we did; it’s a showstopper of an experience.

We can start with the attention to detail. La Colombe means “the dove” in French — a motif that’s woven through the restaurant, from the nest in the middle of the table to walls with white, textured “bark” at the entrance, delicate feather designs on the cutlery and crockery and the feather-shaped cutlery stand. It’s set against muted and elegant décor, a perfect backdrop to offset the drama of the multicoloured courses — each presented with that same impeccable precision.

The experience begins with a trolley display to provide an overview of the menu and a glimpse of the raw products; they’re so perfect you want to touch them to see if they’re real. As for the waiters, they’re well versed in the finer details of the courses and the ingredients (though it’s a lot of information to take in). Yet there’s an air of intrigue; you’re not going to discover the specifics about how the dishes are made.

Executive chef James Gaag
Executive chef James Gaag
Image: Lauren Mulligan

There are several set menus on offer, including vegetarian and vegan options. Our dining experience begins with ceramic eggshells filled with a savoury Japanese-style custard, mushrooms and Jerusalem artichokes, artichoke purée, mushroom dust and brioche on top with spicy salsa verde. So many varying parts to what is a delicious yet subtle dish.

The charcuterie course is delightful and visually playful. You’re presented with a trolley of options, from cured meats and fish to hummus, and different breads with which to taste the spreads. Those are all created in forms other than what they are, so a “mushroom” is a fine pâté of mushroom and smoked onion with a sherry glaze, and the smoked trout pâté, with cream cheese, capers, onions and garlic, looks like a green apple.

It’s like an interstellar meeting of form and substance. But it was not the establishment’s original look and feel. A 2014 move from Uitsig to Silvermist brought with it major shifts in how food is presented. Gone were the white continental plates, and La Colombe started experimenting with different presentations, serving on top of bark or moss, for example, making nests — all sorts of things.

The signature La Colombe tuna
The signature La Colombe tuna
Image: Lisa Daubermann Photography

The ‘special sauce’

There are nine courses on the menu — including the signature tuna tin, a tinned miniature tuna that Gaag brought to the menu more than 10 years ago, and which he says will be on the menu for another 10, given its popularity.

“We took a trip to Spain and ate fantastic anchovies and fantastic sardines, and you can’t get that here,” he says. “But what we found is a can that resembles a tuna can. Then we developed a dish based around that — it was introduced to the menu in 2010 and has been there ever since.”

The course is accompanied by “James’s special sauce”, which has between 20 and 25 ingredients. Quantities vary almost daily, and no-one other than Gaag knows the recipe.

“We have lots of people trying to guess the recipe and sending lists to the kitchen,” he says. “The idea is you open the can, guess where the ingredients come from and what inspires it — [it’s] generally always inspired by our travels.”

Rounding out the course is wine — served in a black glass, so, just as you can’t see the tuna until you open the tin, you can’t see the wine. 

My friend savours the vegetarian experience; she’s not used to having vegetables treated with the same level of respect as meat options. To that, Gaag says: “It’s not about just leaving off the meat, our decisions are a lot more considered than that.”

Image: Lisa Daubermann Photography

One of my favourite dishes is the Namibian crab (the crab was substituted), a delicate and detailed tart with flavours of Madagascan caviar and nahm jim sauce. Then the palate cleanser: sorbet (mandarin on the day) engulfed in white chocolate and cocoa butter. Thereafter it’s the expertly cooked light wagyu beef from the Karoo, with truffles from the Cederberg and celeriac.

As we edge towards the end of the menu, there’s a cheese course served in a multilayered ceramic “hive”, filled with candied walnuts, spiced apple purée and a selection of local cheeses — including a whole baked Camembert, topped with rosemary and royal honey from Citrusdal — along with crackers.

Dessert showcases flavours La Colombe has played with before: rose and rhubarb. In this case there are roses made from rhubarb and meringue, with tiny pieces of Turkish delight, a few drops of rosewater, finished off with a consommé. The ice cream is a crème anglaise that was dropped into liquid nitrogen, freezing it immediately. The result is a dish that plays with various temperatures and textures.

During the course of the afternoon — and yes, you need an entire afternoon — Gaag emerges from the kitchen at various stages to engage with diners. From the stories around the courses we learn that he is a keen fisherman and loves foraging; one plate is even designed to represent the Cape, with spots on the “map” where Gaag catches fish and sources vegetables.

Still, he tries to get inspired by things away from Cape Town. “I think there are so many really good restaurants locally, and when something is really trendy — say nasturtium leaves — then everyone is going to use them,” he says. “It’s easy to get stuck in a bubble in the Cape — I want to find inspiration no-one else has. I like to have things that are only at La Colombe.”

It means the food is globally inspired by travels, childhood and flavours. “We travel a lot for the restaurants now, we have seven restaurants [in the group], so we generally take the key staff members of each and choose somewhere in the world to go to experience their cultures, their ingredients, their presentations.”

Image: Lisa Daubermann Photography

‘Close to perfect’

As for Gaag, he didn’t have a grand plan to go into food — he wanted to do engineering, possibly cabinet making. But his mother was a sugar-craft and icing lecturer at Silwood Kitchen culinary school, and he started a cooking course. “From the first lesson I found that same creativity, that same sort of problem-solving, why things work and at what kind of temperature,” he says. “I suppose I’ve always been in food … I like the pressure in the kitchen; it’s what makes me function.”

His intention is “to take the food and the service as close to perfect as I can get it”.

Gaag has now been at La Colombe for 14 years, starting as a third-year student in 2010 and working his way up to his current role (he left in 2013 for a stint, working for internationally renowned chef Raymond Blanc).

As for the award that catapulted La Colombe from 94th in the world rankings in 2023 to 49th this year, he says it’s something the restaurant has worked on for a long time.

Image: Lisa Daubermann Photography

Do the awards make a difference, though? “They do,” says Gaag. “For me it’s a sense of achievement to win something, but I think it [means something] for diners too, because when they research ahead of a trip or holiday, people want to go to the best restaurant in whichever country they’re travelling to.”

That would certainly seem to be true, judging from the clientele. People come from around the world to visit La Colombe, and if you’re heading there in peak season it’s advisable to book well in advance.

As my friend says at the end of lunch, it seems beyond belief that someone would take the time to curate every aspect of the meal, from where the fork rests to where each leaf is placed on something you can’t even identify. Yet it’s done — and the result is amazing. She leaves somewhat dazed, with plans to return.

* The writer was a guest of La Colombe.

This review originally appeared in Financial Mail. 

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