We had a super full coach on Thursday 29th October – 36 people in all, ready to enjoy a day out! After the Constantia pick up we drove along the road from Muizenberg in pumping wind. One can always feel the wind so much more in a large vehicle. Our drive through Gordons Bay to Kleinmond is always a treat and makes you realize how very lucky we are to live in this part of our country. It was interesting to see the devastation on the Gordons Bay beach after the huge Spring tide that hit the area last weekend. As the South Easter was pumping, we were unable to catch sight of any whales. This area, in good weather, usually has many whales in the Bay. A short coffee / come shopping stop in Kleinmond was the order of the day and we were soon back on the coach for our final short “hop” to Rivendell Estate.
Rivendell’s motto is that they “Provide an ambience for high quality, exclusivity and personal attention” and this is certainly true. Chef Thomas Sinn heads up their kitchen. He is originally from Austria and moved to South Africa in 1988. He ran the successful fine dining restaurant, Blue Danube in Kloof Street for 10 years and also served as Executive Chef at Buitenverwachting Wine Farm. This is a superb restaurant and our expectations for an excellent meal were catered for! On arrival at the restaurant there was Robertsons Champagne or orange juice to celebrate Brian’s 70th birthday. A treat before everyone dashed off to secure their table so they could sit with friends!
Delicious hot bread rolls were served to table – not usually automatically provided anymore!
We were offered a choice between a delicious Butter Chicken Curry (fragrant, slightly spicy, creamy breast fillet, served with poppadum and basmati rice) OR Fresh Kingklip on Risotto (served on rocket and parmesan Italian style risotto) as mains and then a decadent German style sponge cheese cake for dessert.
I often consult with Trip Advisor to see what restaurants are like! The comments on Rivendell are overall very pleasing:
Reviewed 31 August 2015 – “Wanting to meet up with friends from Betty’s Bay, they chose Rivendell for a lunchtime rendezvous. The service was excellent and the food prepared to perfection. Definitely worth a return visit”.
We all thoroughly enjoyed our lunch – and many delightful comments were heard from the ladies – always an excellent way to measure a restaurant. If a woman is happy – you know you’ve been somewhere very special!
Rivendell is certainly a place to return to time and again and proof of this was one lady who said “Hey my son is coming out from the UK in January – I’m definitely coming back here with him”
We took the road back over Sir Lowry’s Pass with the customary stop at Peregrine Farm Stall where the ladies just LOVE to stop-and-shop!!
Arriving back in the city with our first stop being Constantia at about 17h15 and Tableview just after 18h00 had the many people on the coach in a happy festive mood
“What a great feeling following a good day out in the country”