The Deanery

PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIA
There are plenty of restaurants in the city that will have you seated and nursing a drink in a flash. At the Deanery, however, you can stop by with some of your most prized drops and hand them over to the staff to be cared for within their private wine storage facilities. This attractive two-storey venue is tucked away at the end of an alley, in what was once, surprisingly, a car park. The bar is spacious, with interesting lighting, its own menu, and room to sit at tables or at the bar. As the evening wears on your tummy might start to rumble, so take the stairs up to the mezzanine level where the restaurant awaits your party with comfortable antique wooden tables and high back leather chairs. Take a peek into the climate-controlled wine cellar as you pass; the secure screens are a cautious reminder that you can look, but not touch.

There’s a glowing selection of global wines beaming from a list which is big enough to be interesting but not so extensive as to be overwhelming. The knowledgeable staff will help you arrange an interesting dining experience where your wine will work with your meal. The Middle Eastern and Mediterranean accents throughout the menu with flavours like za’atar, cardamom, mint, chermoula and harissa provide a fascinating base for wine pairing. A glass of Western Australian Riesling, for example, marries perfectly with the herbed snapper fillets wrapped in a vine leaf and served on steamed green broccolini, asparagus and beans. Sink you teeth into the lamb tagine with buttered couscous while you quaff a Cab Sauv, or try the porterhouse with onion jam as you sip on a Shiraz. With an equal focus on wine and food The Deanery is sure to impress with its sophisticated charm and inspired taste sensations.

Rita Erlich