Posted on: August 12th, 2011 RLEight at Spier

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Posted on: August 12th, 2011 THE: Eight: Okay, not great

TH: ***
GS: ***
RL: **½
BH: ***

Average rating: ***

Eight Restaurant lies next to the Eerste River on the beautiful Spier wine farm in Stellenbosch.  The eco-conscious eatery is dedicated to natural, organic, locally sourced produce, and describes itself as “a catalyst for social and environmental change” with “nourishing, healthy and delicious food”.

I’m all for looking after our planet, but when a restaurant uses adjectives like “healthy” and “nourishing” I have to admit to feeling more than a little apprehensive about what’s in store.  Images of lentils and patchouli come to mind.  Thankfully this mental image was dispelled on our arrival by the clean, contemporary decor. The custom lights by Heath Nash, made of milk and Jik bottles, create spectacular ceilings that speak volumes on sustainability and “green” design done right.  Tables and chairs were effortlessly chic, although quite sparse, and left the restaurant feeling a little cold and empty. By contrast, the outside tables set under the trees seemed lively and warm on the sunny winter day, and there were quite a few families with small children taking advantage of the fresh air.

As seen more and more frequently, Eight’s menu is presented on mobile chalk boards, and changes often. Be warned, there are very few options, and absolutely nothing in the way of starters unless you decide to share a main between the table. In true EA style, we wanted to give the restaurant the best opportunity to impress, and so chose to do just this in the effort to taste an extra dish. The vegetable fritters, served on skewers, worked very well in this respect, and were complemented by an exceptionally tasty salsa and guacamole.

For mains I had a Roast Chicken Pie, which had very flavourful chicken, but not much else going on. The side veggies were, however, delicious and very “nourishing” I’m sure.  RL had less luck with her Fish Cakes, which were light and cooked perfectly, but exceptionally bland. Served with a very simple side salad and some apparently unseasoned mayonnaise, the dish was certainly “healthy” but didn’t quite make it to “delicious”.  BH was better pleased by his Sesame Chicken Salad. The initial intense smell of sesame oil was a little off-putting, but the tender, satay-and-sesame-crusted chicken was tasty, well matched with the fresh, light salad, and filling as well. GS tried the Oven Roasted Chicken served on couscous, and described it as very tender and nice in a homemade kind of way, but otherwise bland and unremarkable. We all passed on dessert, as neither of the 2 available options looked terribly enticing.

On the wine side, the list was limited to Spier wines, but appeared to be cellar-door prices, which was a very pleasant surprise.

Service throughout the meal was sketchy, with our waiter arriving and disappearing at odd intervals. Somehow, despite the sparse tables and fairly empty interior, he still found it necessary to lean over the table every time he served the opposite side, and when he did walk past my chair it was bumped every single time, even after I pulled it as close to the table as possible.  This may be just a personal pet peeve, but I really, really hate having to move or interrupt eating/drinking/talking to accommodate a waiter leaning over or walking past our table at numerous points during our meal.

Overall Eight, while far from the den of legume-munching hippies I had feared, still failed to impress on most fronts. The food was limited both in options and flavour, and the chic decor could not make up for the lack of atmosphere indoors or the underwhelming service.

I do have to add that as a family destination I think Eight could be a far more appealing choice. The simple food is unlikely to scare off fussy kids, and parents can relax and let their little ones run around under the trees to their hearts’ content. Perhaps this is Eight’s real target market. If you don’t have kids, and plain and simple isn’t going to cut it, there are plenty of other beautiful lunch-time spots in the area with far more exciting menus.

Ambiance: **½
Service: **
Food: ***
Wine: ***

Eight / Spier R310 Stellenbosh / Tel: 021 809 1188 / Email: eight@spier.co.za