We decided that Paul had mastered driving enough for the day that he warranted a medal and became a fellow; we hired a cab so that Paul could mentor him - I was watching to see how we got downtown so that the next day we would be able to do it ourselves. That was successful, but the way…
Gathemann for Dinner: We end up having a lovely meal at Gathemann Restaurant our first night. Our peaceful beginnings at the Olive had ended with the front desk manager calling this restaurant to see if a table was available. We were lucky to find one. Perhaps the only downer was that the table was inside, and not out, because the deck looked amazing and overlooked Independence Avenue, the main street in town. Gathemann is located on the second floor of a building, in what looks to have been a residence once upon a time.
The restaurant is set up in such a way that it has various rooms to navigate. It keeps the volume down, and the intimacy up. We only had two or three other couples in the room where we were seated, and the tables were far apart enough that it felt like one was really in a private setting. We had carpaccio and a phyllo-wrapped goat cheese to start. Paul had the venison schnitzel and I had a prawn dish of some sort. Gathemann was quaint, quiet, and had great food and service. We plan on it being a staple on our trips to Windhoek.
We were doing our best to just taste desert on full stomachs when I noticed that Peter had come upstairs to the restaurant and was sitting with an off shift waitress just waiting until we were finished. We paid up, our chariot took us home, and we paid a total of $20 including large tip for the ground trip. So great to see that customer service and hospitality still exists.
Peter's actually quite useful. He provided us with taxi services a few times, even coming out to Goche Ganans to pick us up and drop us off after a dinner at Stellenbosch. (reviewed below). I'll see if I can find his card to share on here. We'll be using him again.
Other restaurants that we tried include the following:
The Gourmet for Lunch: Quaint garden setting off a main street downtown. If you'r moseying around the shopping district, then this is a nice find. It's casual, and it's not what I would consider as gourmet, so just don't get your hopes up (I only say this because a couple from Denver had to reinforce it multiple times to the wait staff at the Olive, and I got to hear it, so I'll warn you now, and spare other waiters around the Windhoek area). The patio is full of umbrella covered tables, and protected by large trees that overhang either side. It was strange walking in, as all the tables turned and stared at us. (Mostly German tourists, we think, but it was just sort of odd). I had oysters (surprise) and a prawn salad, which was fine. Paul had a wienerschnitzel that he thought was quite good. Overall, I'd go back here if we were in the area, but I wouldn't make a special trip.
Stellenbosch for Dinner: This place is set up in Klein Windhoek. It's in a new building that has both a delicatessen and a full dining room. There is a small bar that overlooks the kitchen, and the restaurant itself is beautifully designed. The owners are the Stellenbosch Vinters from South Africa. The food was fine. It wasn't out of this world, but it was good. Paul had a filet that was "fine" but not knock your socks off. I had a Prawn salad that was quite good. The best thing that I think we ate was the jalepeno poppers, which is a little bit of a bummer, since it's sort of bar food.
Am Weinberg for Dinner: Don't miss this place. It's delicious. Make reservations, and try to sit on the upstairs patio. This restaurant is nestled into a hillside in a residential neighborhood in Klein Windhoek. It's got a great, and very large set up, as it takes up the top floor of a home, and then two other patios/gardens along the hill. We were the first to arrive at around 5:30 PM and were asked whether we had a reservation (since we had just asked whether they were open, one would think "no"would be a given). Regardless, down we went to the lower patio where a table awaited us. We split the oryx carpaccio and each had one of the cold cucumber yoghurt and dill soups. That was probably the most amazing dish I had on the whole trip. The oryx was awfully tasty too. Paul had a fillet with peppercorn sauce, and it's one of the best that he's ever had. I had a vegetarian pasta and it was the best pasta I think I've ever had. It was made with fresh noodles, and the flavor was amazing. Go here… maybe even twice. That is all.
The Olive for Dinner: When we came back from Goche Ganans, we decided to just have dinner at the Olive. Our friends had been the night before, and they really enjoyed it. I had oysters, because I could, a prawn and avocado salad, and then I enjoyed about 1/3 of my gnocchi. (I'm sure the oyster thing is boring to all of you, but it's hard to find good seafood in Angola at any reasonable price). Paul enjoyed another fillet; Am Weinburg was still a cut above, but this was better than Stellenbosch. The wine was delicious, but I couldn't finish a bottle on my own, so the front desk received a little treat for after hours. The service was great, and the food was very nice as well.
The Olive for Breakfast: We had breakfast included in our stay, and we couldn't get past the yum table display. It had little potato pancakes with smoked salmon and creme fraiche on top, fruit, scones, cheese, proscuitto, fresh turkey breast deli meat, fruit spreads, little yoghurt and muesli cups, biscotti, etc. etc. etc. There were other things to order, but we were full by the time we got past the first part of the meal, so next time we'll have to pace ourselves.
Wecke and Voigt Kaffe Bar for Breakfast: This is a quick sandwich shop in what looks to be the Sur La Table of Windhoek. The food was delicious. I had muesli and yoghurt (by this time, I was through with large meals), and Paul and the French toast with creme fraiche, honey, and bacon. My cappuccino came with a cute little heart on top, and the very germanic woman serving me, who had been severe at the beginning, giggled with delight when I reacted pleasantly surprised by the extra touch. When we walked outside, we noticed these amazing sandwiches that were huge, and looked delicious. They were $3.50. Wow. Negative sticker shock for me.
Stellenbosch for Lunch: We had planned on going to Lunch at Joe's Beerhouse on Monday, but it was closed. NOTE: Joe's Beerhouse is only open for lunch on weekends. Well, that leaves us something for next time. Because it was open for lunch on Monday, and out of the way of traffic, we returned to Stellenbosch for the second meal of the day. I had the chicken sandwich, which had too much cheese, and Paul had the burger, which he said was good. I don't think this is a bad place to eat, it's just that it's more average than great. The other thing about this place was that it was tough to get wine by the glass. It calls itself a wine bar, but it doesn't serve much by single serving. So that's a funny thing to deal with.
Back to the Intro Page
No comments:
Post a Comment