A Classy Girls' Night

This post is a bit overdue, but sitting in bed trying to get rid of a cold left me with a lot of time on my hands.

A few weeks ago my dad decided to stick my mom, sister and me for a great girls night out at Ritrovo restaurant (situated in Waterkloof, Pretoria). Once a year Ritrovo hosts a Women's Only dinner and wine tasting with entertainment and some entertainment. Co-owner and head chef, Chef Mazonne, always makes the tastiest and delicately flavoured food at Ritrovo restaurant.

We were treated to a five course meal with wine pairings from Val de Vie Estate. The food was delicious! We started with baked oysters and melon wrapped in parma ham.

That was followed by a lightly seasoned Prawn and Rice dish served, interestingly enough, with a red wine.

Then we were served a delicious pasta (I received the vegetarian option which consisted of a mild tomato-chili sauce) served with a very tasty Shiraz (which is, unfortunately the only bottle of Val de Vie wine I will ever buy on my own).

This was followed by a delightful Tuna steak seared in an asparagus sauce. The subtle taste of the asparagus rolled over your tongue with every aerated bite of tuna.

The tuna was followed by a miniature oxtail potjie (or oxtail prepared in an iron pot), or in my case, being a pescatarian, a perfectly prepared salmon steak.

Dessert was a very interesting lemongrass mascapone cheese cake (which I found very refreshing but my sister and mother found too rich) with a rooibos and coriander ice cream.

We were entertained with a fashion parade (or should I say hair parade) hosted by Palladium Hair Company, known for their extremely hip and fashionable hair salon, as well as a great cabaret performance by the owner and head chef of Ritrovo, Chef Mazonne's wife. There were also several goodies handed out throughout the evening (my favourite being the Moroccan Hair Oil). But the main attraction for most women was probably the meet and greet with Olympic Gold Medallist, Ryk Neethling. Cameron van der Burgh (who is one of South Africa's most recent swimming Gold Medallist) also made a surprise appearance to the delight of many of the women at the event!

My sister (right) and me with Ryk Neethling

The night was filled with delicious food and fond memories. What is your favourite restaurant?