Majeka House is a 5 star boutique hotel in the wine producing town of Stellenbosch. It’s known for its quirky, yet creative decor, in-door pool and prompt service. While visiting Kunjani Wines, we decided to venture into town and visit Majeka Kitchen, the on site restaurant at Majeka House. Their winter specials included a 2 course meal for R320 or a 3 course meal for R390.
We arrived a touch early to have a drink in their decorative lounge. Filled with pigs, warm lights, a large fireplace and “library” wallpaper, it’s always fun to sit and take in all the details over a glass of bubbly.
Dinner at Majeka House
Shortly there after we moved into the dining room, which has less tables than the usual, pre-COVID setup. We were happy to be sitting further away from other patrons as it gave a more intimate feeling. The long, rectangular fireplace, decorative art pieces and piano added warmth to the room and assisted in filling the empty spaces.
The Majeka Kitchen menu is small but decided. The ingredients are predominantly sourced from within 20kms from the kitchen, ensuring fresh, quality produce are used in all dishes. These days, Vuyo has taken over the reins from previous chef Lucas Carstens and is slowly putting her stamp onto each dish. Having trained under Carstens, the vision is all there and the technique is in practice. Front of house manager and sommelier also falls under the “Girl Power!” category with Brenda Karamba leading the way, with the majority of the wine list decided to the region.
To start we had the mushroom soup and marrow risotto. I made an error in thinking it was BONE marrow, when it in fact said Baby Marrow Risotto (parmesan cheese and truffle oil). You can imagine my surprise when a green dish arrived! Luckily for me, I love ALL risottos and this was cooked to perfection. Just a little bite in the rice, enough delicate Parmesan, delicious. The portion size was also appropriate for a starter and did not fill me up too much.
The Creamy Mushroom Soup was served with “bread sticks”, was full of flavour and incredibly smooth. Definitely one of the best mushroom soups I’ve eaten due to the super silky texture. The “stick”, however, was too hard to snap and when attempting to do so – sent soup flying all over the table! Social distancing was a blessing on this occasion!
For mains we opted in for the Beef Short Rib with white bean puree and grilled shallots. The presentation was pleasant and the texture of the meat tender and succulent.
The white bean puree was an interesting take, which I quite enjoyed, however, I don’t feel the onions stood up enough for the dish as a while. A touch of seasoning elevated it all with the white on white theme looking good, however, the onions didn’t stand up the beef and puree; I missed a veg with a stronger presence to balance the soft on soft.
For desserts we had the Strawberry and Vanilla Anglaise Souffle, which was under cooked. There was a 9pm curfew at the time of our visit, which I believe cut short the cooking time. It had risen beautifully but the strawberry liquid at the bottom of the dish wasn’t enjoyable (reminds you that you’re eating eggs a little TOO much!).
The “chocolate caramel, chocolate powder” mousse was delicious, however, the caramel element seems to have been replaced with a strawberry sorbet which was disappointing. Not because the sorbet didn’t taste good, but simply because it wasn’t what we had expected from the menu.
On our way out of the restaurant we managed to meet Vuyo, who was clearing down for the night. She was incredibly humble and happy to answer any of our questions.
I believe she has a very bright future at Majeka Kitchen and beyond, and we wish her all the best in her new role as head chef at the restaurant.
Thank you for having us Majeka Kitchen!
