A visit to Stellenbosch is one experience you shouldn’t miss. Award-winning wines and delicious food paired with spectacular surroundings, you are sure to have a fantastic time.
On a journey of the senses in one of South Africa’s most highly acclaimed wine producing regions, we’ve curated the top 10 best wine farms for lunch in Stellenbosch. From modern to rustic, original to classic, these places have been carefully selected by the Explore Sideways team to make your lunch in the winelands an unforgettable culinary experience.
Here are 10 of the best wine farm lunch spots in Stellenbosch…
1. Postcard Cafe at Stark-Condé
Jonkershoek Valley is one of the most picturesque settings in the Cape Winelands; it’s also where you’ll find Stark-Condé Wine Farm. The Postcard Cafe is a laid-back restaurant with delightful food and fabulous wines, perfect for a relaxed family lunch. They are open for lunch from Wednesday to Sunday.
2. Overture at Hidden Valley
Overture restaurant is located on the foothills of the Helderberg Mountains. This scenic winelands restaurant frequently places top ten in the Eat Out Awards with owner chef, Bertus Basson, awarded Chef of the Year at the Eat Out Awards in 2019. They draw inspiration from sentimental memories involving food as well as recipes from Bertus’s mom. Overture has certainly become a fine dining foodie destination known for elegant food, excellent service and delicious wines. Lunch is served seven days a week.
3. The Restaurant at Jordan
The restaurant at Jordan features a peaceful terrace with remarkable views overlooking the winery’s vineyards and lake. It is evident from the kitchen of chef George Jardine, the vegetable and herb garden, wine barrel fish smoker as well as the wood-fired oven that they focus on flavours of seasonal and locally sourced produce. You can look forward to smoky, country flavours in simplistic combinations on a modern plate. Lunch is served daily.
4. Cavalli Restaurant at Cavalli Estate
Cavalli’s menu is all about celebrating real food that nourishes and excites. Putting a contemporary, inventive spin on classic dishes, they grow their own herbs and have several vegetable varieties grown from seeds and cuttings. Having scooped the prestigious Eat Out Style Award and being the first Green Star rated restaurant in South Africa, they treasure the beauty of natural heritage and simply believe in eating delicious, fresh, whole foods prepared in a way that honours the seasons. The restaurant serves lunch Wednesday through Sunday.
5. Tokara Restaurant
The restaurant offers its diners terroir focused modern cuisine, top quality wines and extraordinary views over Stellenbosch and False Bay. Chef Carolize Coetzee leads the kitchen team in making unique fine dining dishes. Each plate of food offers the diner a sense of the natural environment where the restaurant is situated and also the current season through the ingredients used. The à la carte menu changes every season, while daily specials offer something new and exciting to returning guests. Tokara restaurant is open for lunch every day of the week, except Mondays.
6. Indochine at Delaire Graff
Overlooking olive groves and vineyards planted on the Simonsberg mountain, views from the veranda extend all the way into the Banhoek Valley. Indochine boasts Asian inspired cuisine served with the finest South African touches. Head chef Virgil Khan is committed to local and beautiful food, which necessitates the menus to change along with the seasons. Lunch is served every day of the week.
7. Terroir at Kleine Zalze Estate
The Kleine Zalze Estate is breathtakingly beautiful, cooled by old oak trees with astonishing views of the Helderberg Mountains. Home to the incredible Terroir Restaurant guests can expect to leave impressed. This award-winning restaurant offers simple, “less is more” dishes that evolve with the seasons. They are open for lunch every day except for Mondays.
8. The Table at De Meye
Set on the De Meye wine farm in Stellenbosch, The Table hosts delightful meals using produce grown and gathered in their garden, along with other ingredients acquired locally like pasture-raised meat, goat cheese, farm eggs, and organic olive oil. In summer tables are spread out on the lawn and in winter dining takes place inside a historic farm building. Make sure to book in advance since they are only open for lunch on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
9. Gate at Quoin Rock
A true gastronomical experience. Situated on the slopes of the Simonsberg Mountain, guests will be taken on a journey around the world as they taste dishes inspired by destinations like Italy, South Africa and Namibia. From bread sticks resembling cigars to creations that look too good to eat, a lunch at Gate is a bucket list item for the ultimate foodie. Lunch is served daily.
10. Idiom Wine Estate
Settled at the foot of majestic granite mountains, Idiom has been founded by the Bottega family. Proud of their Italian heritage, they decided in 1990 to plant Italian grapes, which they call the “Da Capo” vineyards, meaning “from the Cape” in Italian. You’ll find an Italian influence in the cuisine too with dishes that infuse South African culinary traditions with Italian heritage. One of our favorite examples is a pizza with a chutney base, smoked ostrich carpaccio, mushrooms and prickly pear syrup. Furthermore, this modern architectural restaurant offers spectacular views of the ‘Helderberg basin’ mountains and the Cape Peninsula from Table Mountain to Cape Point. They are open for lunch from Tuesday to Sunday between 11 am to 5 pm.