Billing itself as a restaurant and “farm grocer”, Bread & Wine on the Môreson winery has a no-nonsense name and there’s a similarly direct attitude to its menu, which is seasonally tweaked but always leads with great breads and daily pizza variations as well as the wines of the estate. To bread and wine should however be added “meats” because owner Neil Jewell is a master of the art of charcuterie and his products are available both in the deli for home consumption and as platters in the restaurant.
The setting for this farm eatery is supremely casual, with bright colours lifting the plain tables and chairs, quirky touches in the art (piggy cartoons on the menu) and a very open welcome to families and children (even more than most, so if you are “allergic” to little people, beware). In summer the tables spill out into a shaded courtyard which makes for a very Mediterranean ambience.
The service is friendly (led by Neil’s wife Tina) and well-versed regarding the wines and the menu. A fine bread basket is easy to sample too much of; while the charcuterie platter is a perfect sampler to share amongst a group, and the ideal wine pairing is their rosé sparkling wine. The menu lists the plates under the title “Neil’s Nosh” and a recent summer lunch featured starters like a warm salad of roasted beets with watercress and whipped chevre; smoked salmon fish cakes with dill pickled tomatoes; three year old prosciutto with pickled figs or – for the hungry – smoked ox tongue with cabbage, mustard and mash.
The pizza options are always innovative, and this time there was a mebos, samp, lamb biltong and sheep’s feta variation, or a “green goddess” with leek, celery, spinach, ricotta and roasted garlic. We tried the pan roasted trout with a crab croquette and sweet and sour cucumber – it was superb – and the pea ravioli with lamb pancetta, globe artichoke and “Daniel’s beans”. This was very flavourful, though the filling was somewhat too thin and ran out of the pasta pockets rather quickly. A chocolate sorbet with espresso and salted cocoa crumb, pecan and pear was very good as a dessert. You can also have “a plate of sweets” or “a box of Tina’s fudge” – again great for group eating. Prices are fair on the whole, though main courses like blesbok topside, date and walnut croquette with a coffee jus go over R150.
“Petit à la carte” for the kids is “created by our kids for yours” – is a very novel idea – and goes way beyond the usual with pizza toasts, fresh noodles and tomato sauce, “pic and mix” board of fruit, cheese and meats and “one scoop ice cream”.
For: Excellent meats and breads in a very casual country setting, great for kids
Against: Can be riotous!
