Last Thu eve Clouds, Darryn and I headed out to Somerset West for the opening of new restaurant The MillHouse Kitchen which has found its home on the Lourensford Wine Estate. 

At first I was worried about outgoing traffic, driving back from there at night and all that good stuff, but the invite said the following:

“Please join Chef Bjorn to celebrate the opening of The Millhouse Kitchen.  There will be BUBBLES, WINE & plenty to TASTE from our MENU.”

Now how could one say no to that?

But seriously, I’m so so glad I decided to check it out, because this is going to be a popular hotspot for the summer months to come, I can feel it…  Firstly, the Lourensford Wine Estate is grand, elegant and alluring.  The kind of place you can easily spend a lazy sunny afternoon, sipping away on a beautiful glass of wine while taking in your surroundings.  The Millhouse Kitchen fits snug between the trees, overlooking the lush green Lourensford lawns, with the Helderberg Mountains creating an impressive backdrop.  Its wooden outside deck I can picture totally packed with folks wanting to enjoy a good meal while soaking up some rays…        

You see what I mean?

Now The Millhouse Kitchen is actually part of the Societi Bistro familly in a way – you see Chef Bjorn is the nephew of Peter Weetman, owner of Societi Bistro (and a few other great CT dining spots) - and I have to say the interior does have that same warm, rustic, country kitchen feel to it.  Its comfy & casual but with a touch of luxury.  My kinda place.   

Upon arrival we got to try their “Rhino’s revenge” cocktail made with Jack Daniel’s Honey:

Drinking for a good cause?  Easy peasy!  Jack Daniel’s Honey flavour btw is quite yum and I’ m not normally a whiskey fan…

After that we changed over to some Lourensford Merlot and dug into a seriously awesome spread of charcuterie, cheeses, breads & dips.  My version of heaven!

This is totally random and very much off topic, but how cute is their kitty wallpaper?

Been considering doing a feature wall with wallpaper in my bedroom for a while. Not saying I’ll go for kitties. But I’m definitely in a wallpaper appreciation zone at the moment…

OK – back to the food.  The Millhouse Kitchen menu has some strong French & Italian influences.  Sample portions of some of their signature dishes circulated through the crowd so we could get a little taste.  I don’t have any pictures for you unfortunately because the food just moved way too fast.  But what I can tell you is that the following knocked my socks off (OK – I wasn’t wearing socks, but if I was, boy they’d be hanging off one of the trees outside ):

• Mushroom risotto:  black truffle oil, slow roasted tomatoes & rocket. (R48 for a starter portion and R70 for a main)
• Grilled prawns: pea, lemon & marscapone risotto with pangritata* (R130)
• Pork belly: buttered mash, braised red cabbage, apple & bacon sauce (R90)

Then their pizzas are also good:  thin crust, crispy with tasty fresh & locally sourced toppings which pop with flavour.  I did however spot a wild mushroom and truffle oil pizza (R75) on their menu…. Mmmmmm… truffle oil…  seriously, just give me a bottle of that stuff, I’d be a happy chappy.

So, Millhouse Kitchen is open from Tue to Sun for breakfast, lunch & dinner.  They have some great breakfast options, just so you know.  Think a full house consisting of 2 eggs of your choice, bacon, grilled field mushrooms, roasted tomatoes & toast for only R55.  Or an Eggs Florentine for only R45.  Then of course freshly bakes goodies, omelettes and more.  I also see that they have a special kids menu for those with little ones.

They will definitely be seeing me again.  That mushroom risotto in particular is calling my name…  and how rude of me would it be not to answer, right?

You can contact Millhouse Kitchen on: 021 847 2328 or info@millhousekitchen.co.za

xxx

* Pangritata (according to my Google research) is an Italian invention and a substitute for parmesan cheese, sometimes referred to as “the poor man’s parmesan”.  It’s usually made up of modest ingredients like breadcrumbs toasted in olive oil, garlic, chilli and seasoned with sea salt.