Jordan Restaurant with George Jardine, Stellenbosch

Jardine in Cape Town is one of the three star restaurants in Rossouw’s 2010, as it was in 2009. Chef George Jardine’s food is of a consistently high standard, his flavours pure and bright and his presentation exciting without being pretentious. Towards the middle of the year, rumours began to circulate that he was moving to the winelands, he squashed those, indicating that Jardine in CT was not going anywhere. Then, in a rather elegant side-step, he opened this new venture at Jordan winery, where he cooks during the day, while Jardine is a dinner-only spot.

So so time will judge the effect of this balancing act, but in the meanwhile I’d suggest you hot-foot it to Jordan to experience the small and ever-changing menu, cooked in an open kitchen where the small team are clearly working hard to make exciting food.

The new always brings a measure of rejuvenation and a chance to play with fresh ideas, and so it is at Jordan for George Jardine. The menu lists four starters and four mains, three desserts (one being the selection of cheeses from the walk-in cheese room). Three courses is R225, which is fantastic value for the calibre, and the wine list is small but well-selected and also well-priced. A stand-out starter was the barrel-smoked yellowtail. This is a fish that’s served on so many menus, over-cooked into a slice of metallic dryness. Here it is cold-smoked and served with a shallot dressing and shoots of crispy garlic plant, along with a few scallops, seared. The textures and flavours are perfectly delicious. Also sampled the 12-hour braised short rib with foie gras, warm cauliflower mousse and truffle jus – another excellently executed dish with rich flavour. Here slow cooked really means it.

Woodfired pork rack with savoy cabbage and a parsnip and honey purée showcases the wood-oven that’s at the back of the kitchen – an ancient form of cooking and still one of the best. Jardine now uses the wood oven more and more as its versatility proves itself, and the olive bread rolls you’re served at Jordan are wonderful: nourishingly crusty with real crumb. The pork was very good, succulent, ideal with the texture of the cabbage. Not a huge fan of the purée, the honey too evident, but this was a minor note. Butter and thyme roasted hake with poached potato and fennel, plus “Joel’s secret” bouillabaisse sauce was another fine dish, incredibly well poised. Low point of the lunch was the rhubarb and honey soufflé (wet) but the vanilla bean ice cream was superb. Coffee ordinary.

And the space? Continuing the “theme” of Cape Town, Jardine is clearly not in pursuit of designer spaces. It’s about the food. Here at Jordan, the view is the thing, and there is plenty of it, while the room itself is rather shell-like, enlivened by some bold and primary art. The Cape winelands are ever-more blessed with superb dining options, most with stellar settings and some with vivid architecture. In the finest tradition of country restaurants, Jordan Restaurant has diverting views, but the excitement is most certainly on the plate.

021 881 3612   restaurant@jordanwines.com   Lunch Tues-Fri; dinner Thurs and Fri

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