#DoStellies – Dinner at the Makaron Restaurant at Majeka House

The Makaron Restaurant at Majeka House in Stellenbosch had been on my “to do list” since a friend of mine raved about his dinner there.  I can’t give you any direct quotes, mainly because it involved a couple of NSFW words which he used to express his overall excitement & joy, but it basically boiled down to “Just freakin’ go, you won’t freakin’ regret it”. 😉

So of course this was an easy one to add to my #DoStellies itinerary.

The restaurant is beautifully elegant with a small, yet still very tempting à la carte menu.  Chef Lucas Carstens states that his menu is all about fresh ingredients, local produce and comfort food, and then their sommelier, Esme Groenewald, has also carefully selected the perfect wine to go along with each & every dish.

If you’re big on wine pairing you have the option of a 3 course wine pairing at R210 (that’s wine only – as an addition to your food).

The restaurant’s been in existence since November 2008 and has since been nominated as a top 20 restaurant in SA at the Eat Out awards in 2012, 2013 & 2014. #High5ToThat

At first they had booked us their special table within the kitchen, which is cool if you’re big into seeing the behind-the-scenes action, but we definitely preferred to sit out in the dining room to soak up all the atmosphere.

Let me give you a quick tour:

Now let’s talk about the menu.  There are 5 starter options (ranging from R85 – R115), 6 main options – 1 vegetarian, 1 fish, 1 chicken & 3 red meat options (ranging from R155 – R220) and 5 dessert options (ranging from R75 to R90 for a cheese board).

For starters I knew I wanted to try their risotto (as my friend had said it was quite possibly the best risotto he’s ever had) and then Leigh went for their beef tartare (which ended up being the prettiest beef tartare we’ve both ever seen):

For mains we both kept things on the more “exotic” side with the springbok and the veal:

And then we finished things off by sharing this absolutely gorgeous dessert:

As you can see, their presentation can’t be faulted.  I’m also happy to report that each dish’s flavours perfectly matched up to how beautiful it looked.  Leigh and I swapped plates in order to get a good taste of everything.  I thoroughly enjoyed all of the dishes we tried, but standouts for me personally were the beef tartare, the veal & that gorgeous strawberry dessert.

The only thing that actually wasn’t to my taste was the amuse-bouche we were given right at the beginning of the evening, but that really was a minor detail overall.

Makaron gets a sexy score of  on my Miss K Kiss-o-Meter scale.  It’s a beautiful space with excellent service and a top-notch food experience, and I would gladly go back.

For reservations you can contact them on +27 21 880 1549 or  reservations@majekahouse.co.za
And then you’ll find them here:  26-32 Houtkapper Street, Paradyskloof, Stellenbosch.

They’re normally only open for dinner, but I see they also do a Sunday Roast which may tickle your fancy:

Either way, I highly recommend that you book a table, and soon…

PS.  For other posts in my #DoStellies series, hop on over here:

• #DoStellies – Waterford Estate Chocolate & Wine Pairing
• #DoStellies – Cheese & wine at Uva Mira Mountain Vineyards
• #DoStellies – The Duck Parade at Vergenoegd Wine Estate
• #DoStellies – My lovely stay at Bonne Esperance Guest House

xxx