Nothing beats a hearty meal at a great restaurant on a cold winter night, and nothing adds a more welcome component to a dining-out experience during the chilly winter months than a cosy spot.
This season, there is still plenty of time and cold days to whet your appetite – and warm your heart, hands, and feet! – at any of these notable restaurants in Cape Town.
Beyond, Buitenverwachting Wine Farm
Beyond the bustle of city life, Buitenverwachting wine farm is host to award-winning chef Peter Tempelhoff’s creation: beyond.
With views across Constantia Valley, the restaurant encapsulates the traditions of the farm through pared-back architecture and honest food.
With a particular focus on supporting local and buying seasonal, all ingredients are sourced from the best community producers and surrounding farms, many from Buitenverwachting farm itself.
Served fireside, this year’s winter menu is defined by both comfort and elegance and heroes ingredients like chestnuts, artichokes, and mushrooms – all at the very peak of their growth.
Expect honest, feel-good dishes elevated to fine dining standards like the Springbok with estate raisins, cocoa, and celeriac pap as well as Iberico pork with a Malay spiced crayfish bisque, heirloom carrots, and lentil bhaji.
Visit: www.beyondrestaurant.co.za.
Deux Lions, La Bourgogne Farm
Tucked away off one of Franschhoek Valley’s most seductively picturesque roads, Deux Lions at La Bourgogne Farm encapsulates the best of what the region has to offer: jaw-dropping natural beauty and sought-after cuisine.
Opened earlier this year, this newcomer channels barefoot luxury through its menu, marrying comfort and honesty.
Head chef Nanda Cardosa is passionate about locally sourced ingredients and seasonality, allowing each ingredient to speak for itself.
Tuck into their lamb rump with caper and sultana crumb or their pea risotto at a table under the old oak trees in a patch of winter sun or beside their fireplace.
Visit: www.deuxlions.za.com.
Clara’s Barn, Vergenoegd Löw The Wine Estate
A modern farm kitchen rooted in South African heritage food – that’s what awaits at Clara’s Barn.
Number 7 in renowned restaurateur Bertus Basson’s stable of establishments, Clara’s Barn brings staggering history (it’s the oldest barn in the Western Cape), character, and soul to Basson’s famously local focus.
Picture a refined, fine-dining venue with two roaring fireplaces, farm-style recipes featuring the likes of Chalmar sirloin, braised Hoek kraaltjie goat shoulder, or yellowfin tuna, all expressed in Chef Drikus Brink’s contemporary way.
Visit their website here: www.bertusbasson.com.
Faber, Avondale Wine
Faber is a farm-to-fork establishment that reveres mother nature’s bounty. True to Avondale wine’s philosophy of sustainable, biodynamic farming, Faber follows suit, creating wholesome, nourishing fare that’s as good for you as it is for the earth.
With Avondale’s proprietor Johnathan Grieve and chef Dale Stevens aligning their belief systems, the farm produces its own organic produce and sources extras from a strict set of sustainability principles.
Here, fresher-than-fresh organic ingredients and creative flare pair with an outstanding location fronted by views across the vineyards toward Table Mountain and the Simonsberg Range.
Visit: www.avondalewine.co.za.
Farro, Gabriëlskloof
Fans who have followed this long-time pop-up restaurant around the country are licking their lips at the return of Farro – this time for good.
Husband and wife duo Alex and Eloise Windebank bring their mix of comfort classics to the Overberg, now calling wine farm Gabriëlskloof home.
The pair are renowned for their seasonally inspired menu of small plates cued by big global flavours and their love for indulgent ingredients.
With dishes like the crispy lamb shoulder scrumpet and the truffled cappelletti, pumpkin, and parmesan, their current offering is all about wintery goodness.
That they’ve settled on one of the Cape’s best-loved wine farms makes the full package pretty spectacular.
Visit: www.farrofoodandwine.com.