Posted on: August 28th, 2010 BHW: Wild Woods: Worth the Trip
TH: ***½
GS: ***
RL: ***
BH: ***½
Average Rating: ***½
Wild Woods, at the base of Chapman’s Peak in Hout Bay, is the new venture by Peter Geoff Wood of Kitchen Cowboy fame.
Hout Bay is usually a day out for most Cape Tonians but Peter’s reputation tempted us into a mid-week excursion into the Deep South. In all honesty, Hout Bay isn’t that far away, especially if you’re living on the Atlantic Seaboard, and traveling 30min isn’t going to kill you…if you know the trip is worth it.
Naturally, we were expecting great things from a local celebrity chef so we may have gone in with an unfairly critical eye, but other than a few small things, we found our experience to be very enjoyable.
The restaurant interior is a little disappointing, although I guess it is casual and understated, well-suited to its location. The fireplace adds a lot to the space, becoming quite a focal point. There is a slot window into the kitchen but I get the impression it’s more for the chefs to check on the patrons rather than to be on show. A major negative is that the restaurant is very bright. There are 2 very strong ceiling lights that make the space feel a little like a canteen, largely obliterating the intimate feel of the fireplace. The ambiance was a bit lacking, but it was a quiet night. It has the potential to be really nice on a weekend, if busier. The restrooms border on too rustic, even for the casual feel of the restaurant.
The service at Wild Woods is very attentive. Our waiter, although casual, was very efficient and never let us feel abandoned. Although RL felt it was almost too much, our waiter faithfully asked each one of us how our meal was, not just a simple, “everything okay?”, but a “Ma’am, how are your Mussels? Sir, how are your Croquettes?…” I quite liked the personal touch it added but I think it was largely due to his light-hearted nature. By dessert, it was a bit of a running joke.
The wine list has a good selection, although a bit on the pricey side, it did have some cheaper options, including a very reasonable house red available by the glass and by the 500ml carafe. It was also a nice change to see a selection of artisan beers for those looking for a bit of variety. These beers are perfectly suited to the menu, since it was more traditional fare, done extremely well.
Wild Woods offers a daily menu, as proven by the date at the top of the menu, which promotes seasonal favourites and fresh produce. The menu, while small, offers something for everyone and it was pleasant to experience a small menu that wasn’t just the same ingredients added to a different meat choice. Each dish is different, offering their own unique combination of flavours. Another joy of the small menu is that between the 4 of us, we were able to sample almost everything on the menu.
RL grabbed the Steamed Saldanha Mussels before the rest of us had even looked at the menu. Served with a white wine and cream sauce, the dish was full of light, delicate flavours but be warned; the portion was huge. TH had the Tagliatelle to start, with a creamy wild mushroom and truffle oil sauce. The flavours were subtle, combined beautifully and the perfect starter size. Polished off quickly, the only complaint was that it wasn’t presented very well. GS had the Duck Liver and Chorizo; the smell of which made my mouth water. GS said it was really tasty and, again, a very large portion. It was served with a tasty, savoury tomato-y sauce that tied it together nicely and, although it did needed a touch of pepper, the salt was dead on. All in all, a good, hearty dish with lots of meat flavours. In fact, the toast is came with was necessary to soak up every last drop! I had the Veal Croquettes with horseradish sauce. They were crispy on the outside, and not at all oily, with moist, shredded veal inside. Delicious by themselves, dripping them in the sauce just elevated the dish to another level. The sauce was so good, when I finished my croquettes, I resorted to dipping my wild rocket garnish.
Having settled in and being impressed with our Starters, we moved onto Mains. Please note, everything is made from scratch (or so the menu claims) and Mains ordered without Starters can take up to 40min. RL had the Lamb Rogan Josh Pie, wanting something a little spicy. It had a nice home-cooked feel, hearty and warm although not as spicy as a usual Rogan Josh curry. The huge pile of wild rocket it was served with was a little spare; not really a salad, but too big to be garnish. It seemed a little arbitary but did add colour to the plate. It was one of the prettiest presented pies I’ve seen. TH had the Aged Chalmar Rump, with Café du Paris butter, chips and rocket salad. The meat was good quality, cooked to a prefect medium rare. The portion was a good size and the herby butter seasoned to perfection. The steak, although not melt-in-your-mouth, was still good. The chips were more like small wedges; soft and moist inside, lightly crispy outside. The rocket “salad” suffered from the same problem as the pie; basically rocket with some olive oil, needing seasoning or dressing to make it special. The presentation simple, honest and unpretentious. GS had the Veal Brisket Bourguignon, a traditional dish with meat and mash, surrounded with a gravy that had some mushrooms in it for character. The Brisket was drippingly tender and really melted in your mouth. The mash and gravy was nicely creamy but once again, needed some pepper to bring it to life. Being a very traditional meal, it wasn’t amazing or exciting but tasty and well executed. I had the Roast Duck Breast with roast tomatoes, grilled baby marrow, wilted greens and béarnaise sauce. Each ingredient was prepared well, with strong individual flavours, but when combined magic was created. The tartness of the tomato played off the sharp marrow flavour, complemented with the wilted greens and elevated to a new level by the creamy béarnaise… then throw in slices of moist duck breast and you have a dish that you want to keep stuffing into your mouth.
After the good sized Starter and Mains, we had to share desserts but in retrospect that was a good idea. RL and I shared the Soufflé Beignet with vanilla ice cream and hot chocolate sauce. RL found it a little disappointing, but liked the concept, wishing the soufflé itself had a bit more spice or sweetness. Personally, I enjoyed the dish; it was surprising light, the ice cream was creamy and the chocolate sauce was rich but not too much. TH and GS shared the Plate of Cookies. The presentation was a bit boring but was a nice end to the meal. Probably too large for one person, the plate had 3 biscotti, 4 pieces of fudge and 4 pieces of brownie. The brownies were sordidly good, as GS put it, not overly moist or sweet, just full of dark cocoa and nuts with a hint of something like Cointreau. The biscotti would go down well with coffee but still crunchy and good on their own; nice and nutty and again with a nice citrus zing to it. The fudge was very traditional, if a little sugary in texture (almost crunchy), but tasty.
After such a positive experience, and being owned by a celebrity chef, you’d probably assume that you’d need to sell a kidney to afford to eat at Wild Woods but, quite simply, the restaurant is very reasonably priced. The most expensive thing on the menu was the Rump Steak, at R110. In the end, with a 3-course meal, a bottle and a half of wine and including tip, the bill worked out to R262.50 per person. Add in the petrol cost to get there and it’s still cheaper than dining at most high-end Cape Town CBD establishments.
In short, Wild Woods is all it promised to be; casual and unpretentious with a changing menu of well-constructed meals at a reasonable price.
Ambiance: **
Service: ***½
Food: ****
Wine: ****
Bathrooms: **
Wild Woods / Main Road /next to the Chapman’s Peak Hotel / Hout Bay / Cape Town / Tel: 021 791 1166 / Email: info@wildwoods.co.za / www.wildwoods.co.za
