A few wees ago I wrote about the The Grazing Room, the restaurant that won, for us, the prize for the most tasty bite sized sample at the Taste of Jo'burg. I was therefore excited when my family, who are my blog's greatest fans, decided to take me to The Grazing Room for my birthday. And oh boy, was it a treat to write home about!
The Grazing room is a tapas restaurant. Tapas, a Spanish tradition, is a series of appetizers one typically has before dinner. Dinner-time in Spain is 9pm or later, and tapas are eaten earlier, while bar hopping to carry you through to dinner.
An interesting legend about the origin of Tapas has it that it started when the eighteenth-century King Alfonso XIII once ordered wine in a tavern in the windy city of Cadiz, and the waiter covered his wine glass with a piece of cured ham to protect it from sand carried by the wind. 'Tapas' refers to this edible lid that covered his glass.
Tapas is about, sharing, tasting, discussing and enjoying food and it was exactly what we did. It was a taste celebration, no bite went unsavoured!
The tapas that came out of Chef de Cuisine Damian Pentelo's kitchen were all artworks - every dish was presented with care. All the plates carrying the tapas looked different, accentuating the different taste experience awaiting you.
The overall number one favourite of the eight dishes we 'grazed' through was the prawn and risotto balls, coloured black with squid ink. It melted my mouth and the accompanying lemon aioli worked well with it. I felt though that they'd forgotten to add something green, perhaps a few micro-herbs would have rounded off the taste and look.
Number two was the the marinated veg tapas - charred brinjal, baby marrow, red pepper, confit cherry tomatoes and artichoke hearts. The taste transported me to the mediterranean and was yummy, with just the right amount of lemon. The artichokes was surprisingly soft but still al dente.
Number three, the paella with the surprise of the small squares of lemon jelly. It tasted fine, but lacked something to make it outstanding.
Number four - Smoked olives. I could smell the smokey olives on their way to the table. It was soft and tasty.
Number five was the duck liver patè, with a green fig jelly and green figs poached in rooibos and vanilla with mini melba toast. The figs and jelly were the highlight of the dish, but it unfortunately overpowered the patè, even though the latter had a lovely smoothness. This plate was visually the most attractive of all the dishes.
The other dishes that we had was bbq pork, fish tacos and mushroom on toast - a truly varied meal!
The ambiance was very relaxing even though the restaurant was full. The service was excellent and I felt spoilt.
The wine list is good but a but pricey, starting at R150 per bottle. We had the Waterford Pecan Stream Chenin Blanc that worked well with the tapas.
The prices for the tapas courses were very reasonable for the quality and serving sizes. Our total bill was R170 per person for the eight tapas plates, a bottle of wine and four soft drinks.
Everyone around the table agreed without hesitation that they will come back again. Our overall score for food and ambiance was 7.5/10.
The Grazing Room is a tapas bar at the award winning DW eleven -13 restaurant in the Dunkeld West Shopping Centre, c/o Jan Smuts & Bompas street, Dunkeld west, Johannesburg.
To 'graze' book at (011) 341 0663 or email: info@dw11-13.co.za.
Website: www.dw11-13.co.za
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