Bianca Coleman 571 posts 46 comments

LAST time Kelly at Librisa Spa, at Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel, gave me a facial, I fell asleep for a bit. There was no hiding my gentle snoring, but she was far too polite to bring it up again when I returned recently. It’s this level of discretion that sets five-star establishments apart from all…
Read More...

SEEING something in a photograph - even a huge one that takes up most of a wall - and seeing it in real life can be quite surprising. The stunning photos taken by Yonder Hill co-owner Daniel Naudé on display i the tasting room still don't quite prepare you for the herd of Ugandan Ankole cattle…
Read More...

HOW long is it polite to continue wishing people Happy New Year, or variations thereof? I’m asking for myself, and my friends, as we approach the middle of January. Or as some would have it, Dry January. It’s not a concept with which I am personally on board; I do, however, take nonprescriptive…
Read More...

AS a Capetonian who is accustomed to the beauty of our Mother City, I feel it’s good to take a step back now and then and look at it through the eyes of a visitor. The V&A Waterfront is a great place to do that, with its views of the working harbour, yacht basins and Table Mountain. I often…
Read More...

KRONE’S range of four 2018 Cap Classiques offers something for everyone, enchanting any palate whether your preferred bubbly is taut and lean, refreshing and fruit forward, plush and expansive, crisp and dry, or rich and voluminous with a touch of sweetness. KRONE BOREALIS VINTAGE CUVÉE BRUT 2018…
Read More...

THIS is a story about how we travelled around the world without leaving the comfort of our table at Gåte restaurant at Quoin Rock in Stellenbosch. The multiple-course affair is available in a pared-down version for lunch, and an ambitious 14-course dinner, beautifully complemented by the farm’s…
Read More...

THERE is a scene in Goodfellas- one of my favourite movies - where Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) takes Karen (Lorrain Bracco) on a date to the Copacabana. The gangster doesn't do queues, or bookings apparently, as white-jacketed staff whisk up a table right in front of the stage, where there was no table…
Read More...

LUXURY boutique hotel, The Marly, could only go one way, and that’s up. After a five-month renovation and expansion which added 27 suites to the existing 11 - as well as a spa, a rooftop pool area with 360 degree views of Camps Bay and the Twelve Apostles, gift shop, and a state-of-the-art gym - the…
Read More...

COME have a meal at Monneaux, they said. We'll throw in a night's accommodation, but please focus on the restaurant, they said. Very well. This is how it went down. Monneaux Restaurant and Franschhoek Country House & Villas are tucked discreetly behind mustard yellow walls which I've passed a…
Read More...

RESTAURATEUR Ed Saunders is a fun guy. Nothing to do with his eateries, but I promised I would never let an opportunity slip by without mentioning how he ran nude from one end of Hout Bay beach to the other after England lost to South Africa (the rugby) to honour a promise he made to John Maytham on…
Read More...

TO be fair, the invitation to celebrate "the beautifully reinvigorated Haute Cabrière" didn't really convey the extent of it. Nevertheless, I wasn't even mildly embarrassed to accept within seconds. You're a fool if you turn down any opportunity to visit this farm in Franschhoek. It's been 25…
Read More...

DRAG queens are so deliciously confusing, blurring the lines so you don't even know if or when you've crossed them. For me, it's Holly at Gate69. She's never been hotter than she is in this season's very naughty pantomime, The Three Blind Mice. I'm not shy to say I watched slack-jawed as she…
Read More...