8 Best Restaurants in The Western Cape and Winelands, South Africa

For the true flavor of West Coast life, come to this open-air seafood restaurant on the beach south of Lambert's Bay. You'll watch fish cooked over blazing fires, snoek smoked in an old drum covered with burlap, and bread baked in a clay oven. Prepare to eat as much as you can of the fixed-price meal, using your hands or mussel shells as spoons. Be sure to try some of the local specialties like bokkoms (pungent dried fish) and waterblommetjiebredie (water-flower stew). Crayfish cost extra, but don't order them unless you have an enormous appetite. The restaurant consists of nothing more than a circular boma (enclosure) of packed muisbos (a local shrub whose name means "mouse bush") and haphazardly arranged benches and tables.

At the Tulbagh Hotel, the Olive Terrace Bistro serves local wines and tasty food on a pretty terrace shaded by white karee trees. In winter there's a cozy indoor dining area with a roaring fire and a view of the snow-covered mountains. The à la carte menu features South African dishes made with locally sourced produce and homemade breads, jams, and chutneys. The menu is fairly broad and has a decent selection for vegetarians and vegans. 

Hidden in the center of town, Spek & Bone is a cozy restaurant with a lush courtyard sheltered by a canopy of vines. The menu focuses on a South African interpretation of tapas, featuring ingredients like biltong, warthog, and kudu. An excellent wine menu accompanies the hearty dishes, featuring award-winners produced at nearby vineyards. This is one of seven restaurants from South African celebrity chef and pioneering foodie, Bertus Basson, lovingly named after his pets, a pig and a puppy.

Set on the De Meye Wine Estate, between Stellenbosch and Paarl, The Table is run by a husband-and-wife team tirelessly churning out hearty, family-style dishes with what’s available from local producers that day. Delicious meals—think slow-cooked free-range Karoo lamb, garden kale salad, and wood-fired sourdough loaf—are served family-style. They will accommodate individual dietary needs, but the dishes are served on large platters, so if you don't like what's on the menu, tough luck. Snagging a seat at one of the sought-after tables is not easy, so book in advance.

Set in the manor house of one of the country's oldest vineyards, The Werf does an excellent job serving refined farm-to-table meals. Try to book a table in the conservatory that overlooks the lush vegetable garden. The menu is uncomplicated, featuring rustic dishes that use ingredients sourced directly from the farm (fish from the dam, vegetables from the garden, Angus beef from the farm). Pair your meal with wines from Boschendal's Elgin range, made from grapes grown in Elgin (where it's cooler and a better climate for wines like Pinot Noir). 

Reserve well in advance for the buffet lunch here at one of the Cape's most beautiful and historic wineries. A wide selection of soups, quiches, and pâtés prefaces a bewildering array of cold and hot main dishes, including pickled fish, roasts, and imaginative salads; traditional Cape dishes are well prepared. End with an excellent sampling of South African cheeses and preserves or a quintessentially Cape dessert such as malva pudding. Unobtrusive, professional, but friendly service complements the bounty, priced at R260 a head.

La Borie Wine Estate is nestled in the Paarl valley, with Paarl rock as its backdrop. Harvest, the on-site restaurant, offers elegant, relaxed dining for the whole family. You know you're in luck when you go to a restaurant headed up by Matthew Gordon, a fine chef who knows the business inside out. Enjoy an eclectic mix of South African cuisine on the oak-shaded terrace. Ingredients are sourced locally or grown in the restaurant's own garden. Look for free-range organic lamb, mussels, and fresh line fish. The menu also features scrumptious vegetarian options such as grilled large black mushrooms with a parsley crust and brown herb butter. The wine list includes wines from La Borie's own cellars and from KWV Wine Estate. Harvest is the winner of a Klink Award for best restaurant on a wine farm and has been voted among the top-10 most child-friendly restaurants, with a fabulous kids' menu that manages to avoid the tedious and overprocessed options so many other restaurants dish up.

If you're looking for a day trip, Waverley Hills Estate is a 20-minute drive from Tulbagh. This 320-acre estate is known for its organic wines with robust fynbos characteristics. As you drive onto the farm, keep a lookout for the ducks that do "snail patrol" through the vineyards. Waverley Hills also produces a range of organic olive products, which can be sampled in the tasting room. The restaurant, with panoramic views of the valley, serves South African–inspired cuisine such as smoked snoek pâte, olive tapenade, black mussels, and pork belly with sweet chili jam. They also offer chicken, hot dogs, and pizza for the little ones. A five-course organic food-and-wine pairing experience costs about R300 per person for either lunch or dinner (reservations essential). The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (twice a week), and picnic baskets can be ordered in advance. Given the dining options on site, this makes for a great day.