Jewells — Restaurant in Drakenstein Local Municipality

Neil Jewell- still the best chef in my books. On a rather chilly winter afternoon we were shown to our table for 2 perfectly positioned with a roaring fire place behind us, and a large window looking across the Simonsberg mountains. We spent 3 hours being delited by each course that was presented and paired perfectly with wines selected by Tina Jewel. Our menu comprised of grilled octopus with black garlic tahini, lentils and fennel, this should be a signature dish and was our first experience of octopus and was absolutely delicious. Next was a Jerusalem artichoke risotto with parmesan shards, spek boom and toasted hazelnut. This is the kind of dish you want a large bowl of. It's creamy, crunchy, full of umami hits and then the supprising sour bursts of spekboom. For main course we ordered the springbok loin which was perfectly cooked, served with celeriac and a blueberry ketchup that was just so darn delicious. My wife had the aged fairview sirloin which was both tender and succulent, paired with a glass of spice route chakalaka. We ended our lunch with a Neil's eclair and playful plate of sweets: truffles, wine gums, marshmallows and Madeline's. Neil's menu offers ingredients that are served in their truest form, in the most delightful combinations. We will be back soon to enjoy the rest...

Today after 5 years being out of the country we visited our favorite place in Capetown and tagging along our Polish guest, we were utterly disappointed in the way we were being treated and refused entry into the restaurant.

I cannot begin to express my disappointment when we were turned away from the restaurant and had to put our head in shame infront of oir guest.

Firstly we were told there were no place available and yet there were more than 10 tables available, where we wanted to sit in the first place. Secondly, we were told the reason we could not sit outside was because it could become windy and the food could get cold, and as much as we said we preferred to sit outside, the Manager still tefused. We tried for a 3rd time after a few minutes and this time the reason was, the staff are new and they will not be able to cope with more patrons.

We decided to leave because clearly we would not be accommodated.

To the management of Jewells restaurant, I am utterly shocked in the way my family and I and all our friends were being treated. I will never ever take anybody and recommend anybody to this place evee...

Been traveling around SA for four months and this was not a pleasant experience. Used to warm hospitality but when arriving at Jewells without a reservation we were placed at the back of the terrace even though there were plenty of empty tables at the front without a reserved sign. Asked if we could have one of those instead, but no. We couldn’t. By the time we left, all but one was still empty. They didn’t have a kiddies chair, so we collected ours from our car. It’s one of those you hang on the table, the hostess came and said we have to put a chair underneath, in case it would fall. I find it incredibly insulting undermining us as parents - we would never put our child at any risk. So places in the back, having to spend our lunch looking at the other tables instead of the nice view at the front just left us with a bitter taste. Food was really good and our personal waitress was very nice. But the lady at the front and the hostess should really learn how to...