Southern Sun Montecasino has opened its doors to Punchinello's food and dreams, an elegant fine dining restaurant that aims to bring together the "flavours of the Mediterranean".
With diverse cooking styles emanating from that region, it's no easy task to execute with flair. But with both modern and classic dishes on the menu, a stellar wine selection, professional service and a stylish setting, Punchinello's has certainly positioned itself favourably to become a key attraction on the Joburg dining scene.
The restaurant is inspired by the romance of Venice - a melting pot of flavours, which are fortunately not watered down versions from the floating city. I recently sat down to a chef's table put together by executive chef Gerard Vingerling (formerly of the Grace and the Saxon) and his team.
The restaurant concept is unusual, in that diners select cold meze, ante-pasti and flat breads from the Mediterranean table, hot a la carte starters, mains off the menu, followed by a dessert table. The cold starter table boasted crab, carpaccio, cold meats, dips and salads. But we were well advised to pace ourselves for the hot starters that followed: a spicy selection of calamari tubes with a pungent puttanesca sauce and pesto bruschetta; Moroccan mussels with chili, almonds and preserved lemon; and lamb manti (Turkish lamb pastries topped with tomato ragout with a yoghurt and paprika burnt butte). The main course was a selection of chicken tagine with peas and nutty couscous, veal marsala, wild mushroom risotto, and oven baked duck with shallots, mushrooms, green beans and pancetta in red wine. After such a feast, few of us had space for dessert, so we ordered coffee and grappa instead.
Punchinello's will host an Austrian Christmas in Joburg with Chefs of Distinction on July 27. Dinner starts at 7pm. A four-course menu will be accompanied by paired wines, at a cost of R250 per person. Call 011 367 4367 for reservations. The chefs featured on the evening include Martin Kobald, honorary past president of the SA Chefs Association, Walter Ulz, chef-patron of Linger Longer restaurant and Fritz Flatsher, master pastry chef and owner of Cafe Mozart.
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