A change of seasons should naturally come with a change of menus and this is exactly what Chef Ferreira planned for DW11-13’s compadre The Grazing Room.
How you may ask? By not only redefining its own distinct personality, but also fast positioning itself as the ideal location to indulge in the art of social grazing.
While its roots may be embedded in the same soil as the award-winning dw eleven-13 – The Grazing Room is in fact not the tasting room component of this successful fine-dining establishment. It’s a common misconception explains Chef and owner of the establishment, Chef Marthinus Ferreira. “The concept for the Grazing Room is loosely based on the Spanish concept of tapas, we offer a small but adventurous menu of small sharing plates.”
Smoked gnocchi in a gruyere cream with charred cauliflower sultanas and pinenuts
Crispy squid with chilli lemongrass peanuts coconut with tom yum mayonnaise
The new menu is sure to entice some new foodie explorers to its tables – packed with flavour, colour and texture, it reflects a similar complexity and brilliance to that of its sister restaurant, dw eleven-13.
The new menu has something for everyone – from rich oxtail on steamed buns and prawn ragu, to tom yum calamari and beer battered prawns. For the vegetarians, there is lemon and courgette arancini balls and every-so-cheesy smoked gnocchi. For dessert; a delicate, fresh papaya and orange blossom eton mess.
Wagyu shin braised in red wine onion ketchup and onion rings
And the best way to explore the menu? Just order one of everything, says Marthinus. “There are some great flavours to explore, its best to order one of everything for the table and graze your way through slowly.”
The menu, developed by Marthinus and his Chef de Cuisine at The Grazing Room, Jess McKinnon, is designed to be playful, uses fresh seasonal ingredients and is set to change every three to four months.
Jess originally joined Marthinus’ dw eleven-13 team as a pastry Chef, but moved across to The Grazing Room in 2012 when it opened its doors. She has since been responsible for the development of the small menu.
“We want to keep things challenging for the team, but also fun and different for our customers,” explains Marthinus. “It provides us with the opportunity to give our customers something new almost every time they come back.”
We asked Chef what were the two MUST try dishes, his two favourites? – the prawn ragu and the more-ish eton mess.
The MUST have Prawn ragu
Eton mess: meringues with papaya passionfruit and orange blosson chantilly
