PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIABouzy Rouge sounds like a good joke name for a pub, but it’s a French red wine. Truly. Bouzy is a little place in the Champagne area of France, and in good years they make a half-way decent red. The Richmond pub, which used to be the Dover Castle, is more than half-way decent and is much more like a restaurant with an adjoining bar than vice versa. It’s the fifth pub for Jose and Sandra de Oliveira; this one is easy going, smart and sexy all at once. There’s a good front bar that leads into a carpeted dining room, its walls painted in a satiny coffee colours. Someone had lots of fun with the decor – there are big cooking pots suspended from one wall and an assortment of chandeliers from the ceiling. The tables have white cloths covered with paper, and there are upholstered chairs and banquettes to rest on.
The food owes much to Spain and Portugal. Many of the entrees are like tapas: white anchovies on witlof leaves, fried whitebait, red peppers with goat cheese. Others, like the brilliant mussels in a tomato-chilli broth, are substantial. Main courses range from salads – try the duck confit with rocket, oranges, walnuts and couscous – to more conventional steak. Prices are very reasonable. The drinks list includes a good range of beer, as well as a broad selection of Australian, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian wines, and a generous selection by the glass. Try the Pedro Ximenes after dessert – it’s a gorgeously rich Spanish sherry, and might even make a good name for a pub. Check out the upstairs cocktail bar and lounge for a drink.
Rita Erlich, January 2008
