On Mother’s Day 2015 Little Pook (my Mom) and I were invited to visit Majeka House for their High Tea. We found the location disguised as a home and were surprised when the gates opened to reveal such a pleasant and intimate hotel.
We parked and as we waited to be helped, we examined the well appointed furniture and artwork. The boutique hotel has a good mix of modern and classic style.
It was rather quiet and our arrival seemed a little bit of a surprise (even though we had been invited there!), but the staff were happy to help us. We chose to sit outside as it was a lovely autumn day and their gardens were intriguing.
We found the most beautiful statue that had been dedicated to a friend of the hotel’s. A moulded iron cheetah with a sad, but beautiful face.
While small, the garden at Majeka House is gorgeous. Centered by climbing rose arches and Greek blue furniture, the lush green lawns offer tranquility and a feeling that you are far away from the noise, hustle and bustle of the city.
Since we were seated outside in the sun, we were offered a wonderful glass of sparkling wine from Villiera. If I recall correctly, it was the Villiera Tradition Rose Brut, which had a touch of sweetness. I find most Brut’s too dry, but this was exquisite.
A server then arrived with a rather disorganised tray of various teas. While he neatened everything up he explained what was available to us. I love that they present their teas in a little metal pots with a timer so that you can brew your tea for the perfect amount of time.
Majeka House is well known for its gourmet restaurant, Makaron Restaurant, which has a sterling reputation. I read up on executive chef Tanja Kruger and her accomplishments before accepting the invitation to the hotel. When she came outside to greet us, it was a pleasure to meet her. She then explained that one of her up and coming chefs was facilitating the high tea and would explain the detail of our food to us. For starters, we had a cucumber medallions with perfectly quenelled cream cheese as well as salmon mousse on a slab of salmon on bread. I don’t eat seafood but enjoyed the cucumber.
Next was a baked goods platter. The scones were served with fresh cream, regular butter and a goat’s milk butter, which was unusual and delicious. I felt like I could taste all the herbs those greedy goats had munched away! Unfortunately, the raspberry jam was like a hit of ascorbic acid and really blew our palates away. The presentation was a lovely combination between traditional high tea with an African twist by being plated on a wooden board.
This platter also had two panacottas served in tiny jars with antique spoons. The junior chef had said that they had been sous-vide, which I thought was when meat was vacuum sealed and cooked at an even temperature in a water bath, so that confused me. The panna cotta flavour was less successful (I’m not even sure what flavour it was meant to be, to be honest) as it has a strange aftertaste.
The last plate was a number of baked items. They had created soft marshmallows, which I don’t usually like, but were delicious! They were slightly tart which offset the googey, sweet taste. I really liked them. There were red velvet cheesecake squares that didn’t all contain cheese cake. The little ‘mermaid purse’ plain cakes were enjoyable with the fresh strawberries. While I didn’t mind the powdered green tea sprinkled over the cakes my Mom choked on them a bit and is still not convinced by them to this day, lol! They had some kind of sauce in the middle that ended up running down the plate, resulting in empty pockets.
After tea we stuck our heads into the indoor, heated swimming pool which was gorgeous and perfectly warm. It reminded me of hot summer nights swimming in heated pools in Namibia, under the African sky. You don’t find a lot of heated pools in Cape Town! They also have a bar and reading lounge area for guests looking for a meeting location.
Majeka House had explained that the high teas were a new venture for them and that they were interested in feedback in order to develop the menu. While I wouldn’t recommend the high tea a special occasion (where you want things to absolutely perfect), do stop by and test it out for yourself – I’d love to hear your thoughts and how it has developed. Please tweet me or leave a comment below. It’s been a number of weeks since I visited and I know the chefs will be constantly improving and updating their menu.
I’d love to return to Majeka House to visit the popular Makaron Restaurant, which has nothing but rave reviews online. There’s no sign of the high tea on the website so it may still be under development. Give them a ring and ask. Otherwise, visit just to relax in their beautiful gardens and have some more of their sparkling wine, truly delicious!
Thank you to Majeka House for having my Mom and me on Mother’s Day.
