SEPTEMBER 2019 WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS 55
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THE MEDINA OF FEZ, or Fez El-Bali,
is a maze of hidden delights, ornate
thousand-year-old palaces and
mosques, and homes that only reveal
their intricate beauty once you’ve
stepped in through doors off narrow
alleyways. Right near the center of
the oldest part of the walled city is
The Ruined Garden.
There’s an enchanted feeling as
soon as you step into the courtyard
that houses the restaurant. Lush
greenery drapes over the worn tile
floor and mismatched tables; lights
strung through the foliage twinkle
above. The scent of saffron, cinna-
mon, and stewing meats wafts from
the open kitchen.
That saffron is front and center in
a vegetable tagine that mixes flavors
and textures beautifully. Smoked
eggplant comes with a creamy cheese
pâté and a swoop of local honey. Make
sure you order the house specialty of
fragrant, slow-cooked, spit-roasted
lamb mechoui in advance.
Fez is home to luxe hotels, modern
restaurants, and rooftop bars where
you can sit and take in the incred-
ible scenery while listening to the
evening prayers drift across the city
at sunset. But eating at The Ruined
Garden was like being welcomed into
someone’s home and being treated—
and fed—like a valued family friend.
SOME RESTAURANTS exude magic,
an enigmatic mixture of excitement,
hospitality, and very good things
on the plate and in the glass. That’s
the feeling at Le Wine Chambre in
Johannesburg. Jazz wafts from the
speakers, the crowd murmurs and
exclaims over cocktails and wine
glasses, and the gregarious host drifts
from table to table chatting and rec-
ommending things to taste and sip.
There are many places where you can
explore the exciting world of South
African wines, but I’m not sure there
are any that deliver as much magic as
this place.
Opened in 2017 by engineer and
oenophile Walter Melato, a black
wine professional in an industry long
dominated by white South Africans,
Le Wine Chambre is a joyous celebra-
tion of the vinous bounty of this
country. The space is a temple to
LE WINE CHAMBRE
THE RUINED
GARDEN
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
wine: There’s a glassed-in room with
bottles stretching to the ceiling, and
around 25 wines are available by the
glass on any given day.
Zimbabwean chef Harold Saidi
cooks a tapas menu that is interna-
tional in its scope, and one of the
most exciting things about Le Wine
Chambre is seeing South African
wines paired with African dishes.
Chicken livers sautéed in piri piri
sauce are bright and spicy and
fantastic with the recommended
Riesling, and a Chardonnay from
Stellenbosch was thrilling with a
grilled kingklip with lemon butter.
For all the wealth of restaurants
and wineries in South Africa, there
actually aren’t that many places that
find a way to match the food of the
region with the wines now being
produced there. Le Wine Chambre
does that and so much more: It
provides a place where wine, food,
and culture bloom into a specifically
South African experience.
FEZ, MOROCCO
The glassed-in wine
room at Le Wine
Chambre gives diners
plenty of bottles to ogle
at over their dinner.
The court-
yard at The
Ruined
Garden
PHOTOGRAPHY (FROM LEFT): FRANCESCO LASTRUCCI, ADRIAAN LOUW
