CapeTownMagazine.com

Peter Tempelhoff's new Constantia restaurant beyond is ...

For Moments of Joy. Follow our social channels
for useful news, daily local champions
 
072 350 2062
Ideas Cartel, The Old Foundry, 1 Sand Hill Road, Green Point
www.capetownmagazine.com/subscribe
now@capetownmagazine.com
CapeTownMag
CapeTownMagazine.com
capetownmag

Peter Tempelhoff's new Constantia restaurant beyond is sublime

Menu is fresh, plus you can relax on the lush lawns

With its great wines, beautiful tasting room with scrumptious platters on offer, on-site coffee roastery and massive, lush lawn with plenty of space for young ones to run free while parents laze in the shade of the oak trees, a visit to Buitenverwachting in the Constantia valley has always been an occasion for fun and relaxation. Peter Tempelhoff’s new restaurant, beyond, elevates the experience (Templehoff is famous for two award-winning restaurants, Greenhouse and FYN).
The look and feel is warm, elegant and natural textures.
Credit: Bruce Truck

Between my first and second visits, the menu had been refined and subtly changed, but the welcome glasses of bubbly remained the same. It’s the perfect accompaniment for an order of four oysters, presented simply with shallot vinegar, as a prelude to a sublime meal.
Oysters are always a delicious start to a meal. Here, they’re served simply.
Credit: Bianca Coleman

 

LET THE CHEF DECIDE

Bread is a course in and of itself, or you can splash out on a 30g dollop of caviar. If, however, your credit card is close to breaking point, there is the very reasonable option of three courses for R420 – starter, main and dessert. 

For a bit more of an investment, at R650, the chef (running the kitchen is Julia du Toit) will make all the decisions for a five-course meal (three starters, main and dessert per person, on condition everyone at the table selects this option). It’s well worth the culinary journey your tastebuds will take.

Gamefish tartare with crispy furikake and tomato ponzu
Credit: Bruce Tuck

 

DISCOVER HARMONY AND BALANCE

The menu has been created as an homage to seasonal and sustainable ingredients, with hero dishes that are uncomplicated, utterly delicious and in harmonious balance. The Durban prawn with tandoori cauliflower steak dressed with coconut bisque, for example, is delicately in sync with the hint of sweetness from a sultana purée. The truffle-filled burrata with almost transparent slivers of organic beets, and dressed with charred peach and hazelnut crumble, has had its presentation tweaked and is a winning starter.

Game fish tartare with tomato ponzu, dusted with furikake (Japanese seasoning typically made with toasted sesame seeds, nori, salt and sugar), with ceviche vegetables on the side is a nod to the Asian elements from FYN. There are others too, awaiting discovery, although the geographical influences lean towards the European: Italy, Spain, France…
Durban tandoori cauliflower and prawn, white grape chutney and coconut bisque.
Credit: Bruce Tuck

 

MUST-TRY MEAT DISHES, WITH SOMETHING ON THE SIDE

Meat eaters will take enormous delight in the main courses, which include a “cut of the day” aged Limousin beef, local Ibérico pork (shoulder) and Karoo lamb chops. The pork is served with cinnamon mushrooms, tonkatsu sauce, Spanish onion and crisp dandelion leaves; the lamb is in the form of two chunky chops grilled to pink-in-the-middle perfection, with a nice bit of fat and served with miso roast aubergine perched on fennel and caper sauce.
The lamb chops are beyond delicious.
Credit: Bianca Coleman

If you’re going à la carte, do not, under any circumstance, overlook the side dishes. For a retro touch, the green salad is tossed tableside, and triple cooked chips may sound pedestrian but they are crispy and soft all at the same time, and you will have to request a second bowl of the umami aioli and Meuse – an organic farm in Hout Bay - tomato ketchup. Green beans, charred tenderstem broccoli, coriander romesco and diced pancetta make for a delicious pork on pork action with the Ibérico.

 

LISTEN TO THE STORIES OF THE PEOPLE

By this point you will have been seduced by impeccable service, excellent food and stories from the staff. Sommelier Donovan Ravell will not only guide you through the extensive and superb wine list (which includes some gems under the title “Lost And Forgotten”) that is pages long, but will relate how his grandparents came to Buitenverwachting in 1960, decades before the farm was bought by its current owners. He grew up in the vineyards and the cellar before following his calling to become a sommelier. Ravell worked with Tempelhoff at Greenhouse and FYN, and has now come full circle. It’s like coming home, he says: “My blood is in the soil.”
beyond’s sommelier Donovan Ravell has his roots in this farm
Image: Bianca Coleman

 

INDULGE YOUR NOT-TOO-SWEET TOOTH

And so, on to dessert. It’s not easy. Dark berries and consommé with spiced cherry sorbet and roast white chocolate namelaka, rum-braised pineapple with caramelised puff pastry and coconut blossom ice cream, or roast pear cream choux bun with elderflower honeycomb and walnut ice cream? All excellent, but top of the pops is the not-too-sweet Madagascan chocolate-and-coffee roll with parsnip-crème fraiche ice cream and parsnip crisps. It sounds crazy, but it works – innovative and exciting.
The roast pear cream choux bun with elderflower honeycomb and walnut ice cream.
Credit: Bruce Tuck

 

WHERE TO FIND BEYOND

Address: Buitenverwachting Wine Farm, 37 Klein Constantia Road, Constantia

Contact: 021 794 0306 | info@beyondrestaurant.co.za | www.beyondrestaurant.co.za

Hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 12pm - 3pm + 5:30pm - 8:30pm; Sunday, 12pm-3:30pm (last reservation 2.30pm)

---

Visit Droom at Die Meul, which serves traditional kos in an old wheat mill.

Escape the city for a picnic lunch at Little Stream Farmhouse Deli.

Be the first to know about Cape Town’s best and newest restaurants.

Once you’ve done beyond, here are some more eateries to try in Constantia.

There are also wonderful hikes in the area. Here’s one that’s manageable.

---

ABOUT #CapeTownMagNew:
#CapeTownMagNew discovers exciting new places in and around Cape Town and the Western Cape. We celebrate entrepreneurship and we tell their unique stories.

Follow #CapeTownMagNew on Twitter and Facebook for the latest updates or read more here about new places in Cape Town.

PLUS: NOMINATE A FRIEND'S NEW BUSINESS

You never forget the people who supported you when you first started out. That's why we're giving you the chance to nominate your family member or friend's new business to win R60 000's worth of activations. Just click to fill out a form (less than a minute) to nominate a new business.

 

Cape Town Events Calendar
March 2024
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31

Esther Mahlangu, A Retrospective at Iziko MuseumOnce-in-a-lifetime exhibition of Esther ...

On from February to August 2024; 100+ artworks

Cannibisters 2024Cape Town’s very own cannabis club, ...

Now with over 90 strains of weed and The Serenity Room

Off-road adventure at Scootours BanhoekBest day ever? Monster Mountain ...

Scootours Banhoek has scooters, vine bikes and archery

Escape rooms Cape TownPossibly the best escape room in the ...

HintHunt’s Marble is being called “the king of escape rooms”

Comedy on Kloof comedy shows on TuesdayAffordable, weekly comedy show in Cape ...

Comedy on Kloof brings the city’s funniest

Mardouw Country HouseHow to have an unforgettable 40th, 50th ...

Private chef and 3-course meals at a 5-suite manor

Amina Boutique Hotel You can now book out this entire hotel ...

Infrared sauna, pool, special art, stunning rooms

Cederkloof Botanical outdoor jacuzziWe just found our next place for a ...

Cederkloof: Cottages with jacuzzi + house with pizza oven

Woodstock Brewery burgersA brewery with food specials for every ...

Burgers, schnitzels + curry specials at Woodstock Brewery

GiveawaysTravel Tips