Jaunted

For one thing, the chef is female: Margot Janse grew up in the Netherlands and was voted South Africa’s top chef last year by both WINE Magazine and Eat Out. We like to say you can tell the female influence in the dishes: delicate flavours, unpretentious but beautiful arrangements, elegant portions. The last time there was a female chef in Paris, Napoleon was still in nappies.

Second, the waiters are friendly and accommodating. They smile, greet you, call you by your name and indulge in the odd joke. They ask whether you’re vegetarian before bringing amuses-bouches. And they don’t try to throw you out as soon as you’ve taken your last bite of crème brulée. Catch a French waiter with a grin on his face and he’ll be quickly cast down into hell by the maître d’. Catch one acknowledging that vegetarians exist and you’ll know he’s a foreign imposter. Try hanging around in a Paris restaurant to shoot the breeze for an hour after your meal and you’ll be out on your oreille before you know it.

Third, there are wonderfully cheap, good options on the wine list – the R20 ($2)-a-glass options are perfectly fine – and the prices aren’t marked up six times higher than the supermarket. You can choose a ‘flight’ of wines chosen to accompany each course. You can even bring your own wine, if you like, and pay a corkage fee of R60. Perfect if you’ve spent the day visiting the top wine farms in the region.

There’s plenty of space between tables, the lights are turned on (the French tend to rely on candle power, like in the Middle Ages), there are swirly bright pictures on the walls and the food is tasty and special rather than ridiculous.

If you think that “seared scallop, parmesan gnocchi, asparagus and black truffle, oyster foam, olive and vanilla jus” sounds a bit over-the-top, let us tell you, it tastes superb.

And the best bit: the bill – a pleasant surprise rather than a trigger for a heart attack. A four-course meal for two, with water, wine, a pre-dinner drink in the bar and several extra plates compliments of the chef, came to around R1100 ($110).

Enough of that rubbish about travelling on a shoestring. South Africa’s a pretty budget-friendly country for most tourists, and for a super-quality experience like the Tasting Room, you can afford to splash out.

Insider Tip #1: Book weeks in advance if you’re intending to go, as they’re usually fully booked in high season. They’ll ask for your credit card number as security.

Insider Tip #2: If you can’t afford The Tasting Room, Le Quartier Français’ next-door bistro ‘iCi’ is great too, and much more relaxed. Expect a menu of things like “quail & chicken ballottine, asparagus, potato & bacon tart, avocado salad, orange & chilli vinaigrette”, for the very affordable price of around R110 ($11) a main meal.

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