Babel Restaurant at Babylonstoren

Wednesday, 10 February, 2016
Babylonstoren
A bigger and better version of Babylonstoren’s signature restaurant Babel reopened this month with the addition of new kitchens and an entire new indoor and outdoor area that can take up to 80 patrons for lunch or dinner .

Under the ongoing and expert guidance of restauranteur and food stylist Maranda Engelbrecht, Babel will continue with its ‘from the garden to the table’ philosophy, that has set it apart since it opened in 2011.

Then as now, Babel ’s menu subscribes to a ‘pick, clean and serve’ approach that is totally seasonal and guided by what is in the garden. ‘Babel’s menu is the most comprehensive representation of what a working farm such as Babylonstoren produces,’ says Maranda. ‘Our early morning harvest is woven throughout our daily menu, thus ensuring that no two days are entirely the same.’ And the farm’s wines and larder products are incorporated into the menu too, all culminating in the tasty and often unconventional combinations that have earned Babel its loyal following.

Housed in an old cow shed, the restaurant is light and airy with a seamless mix of Cape Dutch architecture and contemporary glass walls that make for a simple yet modern environment. The newly refurbished restaurant now comprises the original ‘bull section’ of the restaurant together with a new ‘cow section’, housed in an old milkery. The most tangible evidence of this is the beautiful tile mural of a bull found in the original restaurant, mirrored in the new part now by a tile mural of a girl milking a cow.

Our meals are creative as we don’t like to tamper unduly with our food,’ says Maranda. ‘And we are constantly designing new flavour combinations, it keeps things fresh and inspiring.’ Helpings are generous and meals clear in their structure, so that very often fruit and vegetables gathered daily from the garden are served with their skin on.

Babel’s menu has something for everyone. Start with baked aubergine terrine with ginger and rhubarb or smoked trout with horseradish and nectarine viognier dressing, followed by miso marinated baby chicken with kale and apple kimchi, or fillet of beef with a Japanese mustard dressing. The unusual flavour combinations continue in the dessert options too, in that they all subscribe to four flavours: salty, bitter, sweet and sour. So you may opt for cucumber, radish and ginger sorbet with summer berries, or elderflower jelly and chocolate mint.

A popular new festive drinks menu features amongst other things, a Trompie cocktail, named after the farm’s beloved newborn donkey. This concoction of vodka, grapefuit and vanilla is perfect for summer as is the watermelon and blackpepper gin & tonic.

‘It’s an immense privilege to have such an incredible crop of fresh produce available to us here at Babel,’ says Maranda. ‘It’s also an endlessly fascinating journey for me to chronicle how flowers grow into the fruit and vegetables that make their way onto our table.’