In this week’s Pocket blog top Gauteng fine dining restaurant Mosaic clocks up more international accolades, The Bannister Hotel launches its new Saturday brunch and Satyagraha House teams up with luxury tea brand Yswara to present its own bespoke tea.
More international awards for Restaurant Mosaic
Chef Chantel Dartnall of The Orient hotel’s Mosaic restaurant in Elandsfontein (around a 50 minute drive north of Joburg) is South Africa’s princess of posh nosh. The restaurant has garnered dozens of awards from the South African press over the years and is now clocking up the international accolades too. This month Dartnall was named 2017 Chef of the Year for Africa and the Middle East by the prestigious Luxury Travel Guide Awards. Dartnell’s Mosaic restaurant also scooped up a host of accolades at the 2017 World of Fine Wine World’s Best Wine Lists Awards including Best Wine List Middle East & Africa and the restaurant was also named Luxury Restaurant of the Year at the annual Luxury Travel & Hospitality Awards.
Restaurant Mosaic is closed for its annual winter break until July 27. For reservations call +27 12 371 2902.
Bespoke African tea by Yswara at Satyagraha House
The beautiful Satyagraha House guesthouse in Orchards, once home to Mahatma Gandhi, has launched its own bespoke African tea in partnership with Joburg-based luxury tea brand Yswara. Yswara specialises in producing exclusive, organic and ethically sourced African tea blends and their tea range can be found at the Avoova African Originals store in the Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff and at their showroom in The Cosmopolitan in Maboneng. The bespoke caffeine-free Satyagraha House blend is made with Malawian black tea, with chai spices such as cinnamon, cardamon, cloves and ginger, blended with rooibos, honeybush and calming lemon verbena.
Brunch at The Bannister
The Bannister Hotel in Braamfontein now serves Saturday brunch. Dishes on the brunch menu (which are designed to be mixed and matched) include flapjacks with toasted almonds and strawberries; homemade honey granola with Greek yoghurt, fresh berries, coconut flakes, chia seeds, candied walnuts and edible flowers; and Cajun ‘tater tots’ (a kind of deep fried grated potato ball popular in the American south) served with cheese, chipotle, scrambled eggs and black bean salsa, and shrimp and grits served with corn salsa. In the best (and booziest) brunch tradition The Bannister brunch also includes a choice of bottomless cocktails.
The Bannister brunch costs R295 per person and is served every Saturday at 10:00, 12:00 and 14:00. The Bannister Hotel is located 9 De Beer Street, Braamfontein. Call +27 11 403 6888 for reservations.