Flavours to Entice the Wildest of Dreams
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What a Wild adventure! Enter through a grassy portal, waltz up a couple of stairs and emerge into a world filled with natural elements - in the décor, drinks and dining. This world, where earth and man meet, breathes in scents of the sea that permeate through large stacking windows. You'll be greeted and seated by friendly staff in an atmosphere celebrating nature.
Take in champagne air with a glass of Moët, or indulge in a cocktail like no other, from reworked favourites to tasty oddities. Let the mixologist fascinate you with his alchemy of transforming foragings and unusual findings into liquid gold using fine spirits and mixers.
Within these drinks, find savoury ingredients such as mozzarella, basil and tomato; bacon to even crocodile. Ranging to herbal fusions with marshmallow root, cape honeybush, dandelion, buchu, or mint; sweetened with ingredients such as ginger, black fig, hibiscus, naartjie, blackcurrant, red dragon fruit, beetroot, elderberry and so much more - mixed into potions as Bruce Dorfling does when he works his magic.
For simpler pleasures, you can also enjoy a local craft beer from The Brewery's award-winning range or delight in a magnificent and diverse selection of wines from our Hemel-en-Aarde region and a few other must-haves. Can't decide which wine to sip? Let the lovely Shaz Dorfling take you through the winelist and recommend the best pairings. For the spirit connoisseurs, the bar offers guests the pleasure of partaking in customised spirit-tasting flights.
For those who wish to experience liquid infusions without alcohol, how about coffee or tea with a flavour twist? The Tea Bar offers botanical taste excursions from field and forest to cup. This is also a wonderful after-dinner digestif option, to round off the whole dining experience.
On the menu, find Chef Stephan Neethling and Chef Bridget Bartleman's flair for flavour. Delight in starters with ingredients such as wild sage, pickled wild mushroom, pear compote, buchu, roasted pepper, charred corn, charcoal melba toast, lemongrass, ginger, coconut, Szechuan peppers, nettle oil, smoked coconut, lemongrass, and toasted cumin.
For those seeking adventure, there is Crocodile Carpaccio as a starter and Buchu Crusted Warthog & Sweet Potato Gnocci for mains, as well as a Wild Mushroom dessert. Their Crisp Pork Belly is delightful with crispy crackling, coupled with corn and bacon & cranberry jam. The Beef Fillet & Sumac Bone Marrow is decadently rich and delicious.
Desserts include Lavender & Almond Ice cream, Orange Panacotta with Pink Pepper Meringue or Vegan Brownies (they have delectable vegan options for dinner too).
This restaurant makes a statement that is true to our Creative City of Gastronomy status; incorporating the region (indigenous foods and local wines) and traditional elements, respecting the environment and promoting sustainable local products. Wild translates nature, specifically our own, into cuisine, with seasonal flavour profiles.
"You can only make a place as great as the people involved," said Marc de Maudave Bestel, the man behind this new dining experience and co-owner of The Brewery in the Hemel-en-Aarde.
"The prime location at Hermanus Waterfront is just a part of it. Take a young and dynamic culinary team who incorporates local and forgotten ingredients into modern cuisine, add skilled and knowledgeable mixologists who elevate their cocktails to new levels of flavour, together with a passionate and energetic front-of-house crew, and you get an all-encompassing dining experience. A place that celebrates incorporating the earth's delectable treasures into drinks and gourmet dining. The location, renovations and taste explorations culminating into a full sensory experience."
To keep it fresh, the menu will transition with each change of season, translating the shift in climate and energy into the food and preparation, the cocktails, as well as reflecting it in the décor. Expect some surprises for the entertainment side of things - you'll have to pop in and see for yourself.
Author: Ruché Ten Have
