The secret is out | By Peter | Sunday, 29 January 2012
The secret is out!
What a utterly pleasant surprise to stumble upon La Sosta in neat and tidy Swellendam. It must be one of the best kept secrets in the Southern Cape and it was surprising to see that it has never been reviewed in Rossouw's.
Husband and wife team Giovanni and Cristiana moved to the Cape some five years ago from their native Milan to open La Sosta, their first restaurant venture. The menu describes the restaurant as 'modern Italian' and the dining room sets the scene - clean, contemporary lines create an ambiance that is both stylish and relaxed. Meticulous attention has been paid to the detail in the place settings and quality glassware - much appreciated!
But naturally, all of this would come to naught if the food itself could not command centre stage and happily it does so in heaps.
To do the menu justice my wife and I first shared a starter; a simple but beautifully tender and well-seasoned calamari salad. Moving on to secondi, we similarly shared a wonderfully light ravioli stuffed with a clever combination of white fish and prawns, bathed in a luxurious and intense lobster sauce. For primi we chose two meat dishes - a pork fillet dish and crumbed lamb cutlets. Both were excellent and left, unfortunately, no room for desert.
The wine list is relatively brief but features some lesser-known labels from the region together with more familiar names from slightly further afield and with the emphasis on wines produced from Italian varietals. There are also a fare number of reasonably priced Italian imports on offer.
Booking is essential as La Sosta can accommodate only 16 lucky diners each evening. But, it seems, the word is out - remarkably, on our visit, we appeared to be the only SA 'locals' as the restaurant played host to a milieux of European accents. Hardly surprising, given the quality of the food and the exception value. Sosta, means, I believe, Stop, in Italian - and stop we certainly will, when next in the vicinity!