The 12 Apostles Hotel & Spa is nestled on the slopes of the 12 Apostles Mountain range in Cape Town, at the edge of the ocean and therefore boosts magnificent views over the bay.This 5 star awarded hotel has always been known for its prime location and luxurious accommodation in the Mother City. But it’s not only the accommodation that draws visitors to this stunning property.The 12 Apostles Hotel’s very own “Azure Restaurant” should be added onto your ‘restaurants to visit list’ when staying in Cape Town. The restaurant reflects deep blue colour schemes, just like the ocean you look at from the terrace. Azure Restaurant recently launched a vegan tasting menu.This means you can have a fine dining experience whilst enjoying the most beautiful views of the bay. It really doesn’t get more romantic than that.

The vegan tasting menu “Taste of Nature” is more than just eating vegan food. It’s an experience and explosion of the senses. Executive chef Christo and his kitchen brigade have created a menu that will satisfy your palate and will make you come back for more plant-based treats.The menu is priced at R 475.00 (subject to change) and is good value for money.

To start off, we were greeted by the chef with a mushroom amuse bouche which was a hint of what amazing food creations were still awaiting us in course of the evening. Following that we enjoyed a roast cauliflower and Malay salad, confit apple, burnt apple puree, curried apple and walnut chutney, oat granola and pickled sultanas. I really enjoyed the first course, especially the chutney.

The second course was a popcorn “Mielie Pap”. A charred corn salad, puffed corn, coconut & corn custard, coconut cream mielie meal, green onion oil and toasted coconut flakes.This was absolutely delicious and full of surprises.

Since the first two courses were mind blowing already we couldn’t wait for what the main dish would have in store for us.The chef and his team definitely know how to please a vegan and we were plated a roast butternut tofu. Looking at the beautifully presented dish, we enjoyed a roast butternut puree, compressed butternut, raw butternut salad, baby leeks, wilted spinach, chunky herb oil and pearl barley puffs. Like all other courses, this one didn’t disappoint.

The grand finale to top it all was dessert of course, a caramelised pineapple dish. I won’t go into much detail here as you should definitely enjoy this mouth-watering surprise.

My verdict: the vegan tasting menu is definitely a must-do in Cape Town. If you are coming along with a non vegan friend/partner, they are welcome to choose any of the other tasting menus at Azure (has to be a tasting menu). All dishes were beautifully presented and very delicious. Not forgetting the superb service we received from our waiter. He was very friendly, knowledgeable and made the experience even better. If I say ‘we’ I mean my omnivore friend and me. My friend isn’t vegan whatsoever, but was open to the idea to try a vegan tasting menu (that’s real friendship 😉). She was quite impressed with the plant-based fine dining experience and didn’t feel like missing out on anything that night.

I feel it’s great that the 12 Apostles Hotel & Spa is making an effort to accommodate vegan visitors. In addition to the vegan tasting menu they are also launching a vegan high tea option. Just imagine sitting on their terrace, overlooking the ocean whilst enjoying sweet and savoury vegan delights for high tea?

It’s highly recommended to make a booking for Azure Restaurant. Follow this link for more details: https://www.12apostleshotel.com/food-and-drink/azure-restaurant

Disclaimer: I’ve been hosted (including a partner) for the vegan tasting menu by the 12 Apostles Hotel & Spa. All opinions in this article are my own. Images are my own and photo credits also go to the 12 Apostles Hotel & Spa. I would like to thank the 12 Apostles Hotel & Spa for the friendly invitation.