The little sister of the La Colombe – worth visiting when in Franschhoek: Restaurant Protégé (4. December 2023)

The Protégé is part of the same group as the La Colombe and, hence, was my choice for dinner in Franschhoek. I started with a drink of “Elderflower, Lavender Gin, Martini” (120 ZAR) and while it was definitely super sweet and sticky, it was also delicious (and strong on the booze side). What I found surprising, and great at the same time, that it still had space at the Chef’s Counter despite only booking about 24 hours before.

To get your stomach filled a bit after all the wine tasting, “spiced edamame” (95 ZAR) was the choice. Given you didn’t get any cutlery or chopsticks to eat it, it was a rather messy experience, but it was a nice one nevertheless.

Given there was a lot of food already involved in the wine tastings earlier this day, I went for the “reduced menu” (895 ZAR) with the respective “Wine Pairing” (445 ZAR), which started with “toasted sourdough, butter, wild garlic oil, olives, …”

“… biltong, and beef tataki”. The beef tataki was a delicious bite and truly enjoyable, and so was the biltong! This dried meat kind of thing is really something I enjoy a lot about South Africa. But on top of that, the butter with the wild garlic oil as well as the bread were great too. So, it was a perfectly “nibbly” starter.

Next in line was the “tuna, miso aubergine, ssamjang”, which was not only tasty, but also interesting from a flavour profile perspective as the ssamjang brought in that kind of Indian note into the dish.

Afterwards, it was springbok time again – “springbok, chicken liver parfait, jalapeño”, to be more precise. And while I actually liked the springbok as a tartare, the chicken liver parfait was almost a bit too dominant in my opinion.

The “Korean fried chicken, prawn, corn, tom yum” was a perfect imitation of a chicken joint, well, that is not true. It was chicken, but there was a prawn stuffed inside, so you had a chicken prawn, which was quite surprising. But not only that, the flavour profile of the dish reminded me of a Tom Kha Gai soup, and it was actually mouth-watering. It looked simple, but had a surprising level of complexity!

Then it was time for the “coal roast lamb chop, smoked tomato, salsa verde”, which was great in its simplicity. I mean, the meat was cooked to perfection, the sauce was delicious – so, a simple, but great dish.

And finally, for a 450 ZAR supplement, you would get the “Purdon Wagyu sirloin (120g), porcini, smoked pomme purée”, which was outstanding. The meat quality was perfect, the flavour intensity was a dream and the sauce just complemented the whole dish perfectly. In this case, definitely worth paying up for it.

Last but not least, I decided to add a dessert and went for the “baked Camembert, garlic, black truffle” (295 ZAR) and while it was tasty, it didn’t match the quality of the one at the La Colombe, but was definitely also an enjoyable plate.

You get to enjoy the live show in the kitchen how they prepare the dishes, which need no grilling or do not cause smoke, when you’re seated at the Chef’s Counter.

But even when you’re seated inside …

… or the small garden, you will still be able to get a glimpse of how the kitchen crew works.

All in all, the Protégé is a nice restaurant and can be considered a little protégé of the La Colombe – good food, lovely atmosphere, great service, super fair prices, and all in all definitely worth visiting. Being lucky to book a table 24 hours before, I would still highly recommend you to book more in advance.

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Contact Details:

Restaurant Protégé

Le Quartier Francais

Huguenot Street 18

7690 Franschhoek (ZA)

Tel.: +27 21 492 4048

Homepage: https://protege.restaurant/home

About the Author: Sven

I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org. Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City.