Off the beaten track restaurants in Western Cape

Spontaneity, in Cape Town, is something you plan long in advance … which drives me spare about the otherwise magical town in which I’ve spent more than half my 60 years.

Unfortunately, spontaneity decay also afflicts non-Capetonians (those who didn’t go to Bishops or haven’t lived in the Mother City for seven generations). It’s a terrible thing to see newbies steadily succumb to the malaise.

The Western Cape aversion to surprises – residents get panicky if they experience fewer than three seasons in a single day and subscribe immediately to ridiculous conspiracy theories – manifests itself in unexpected ways.

Weirdest is their reluctance to try new bars and restaurants, which is diametrically opposed to the avidity with which they follow coffee or craft-brewing fads.

Jewells at Spice Route.

The fact locals don’t frequent the plethora of fine restaurants in the Western Cape makes it strange that you can almost never get a booking at the best of them.

You can certainly forget about securing a table at La Colombe (Constantia), The Test Kitchen or Pot Luck Club (both Woodstock), Salsify (Gardens) or even Wolfgat in Paternoster by just arriving.

Check out the top 20 restaurants ranked during last weekend’s 2019 Eat Out awards: all but two are in the Western Cape but you’ve little chance of sampling their fare unless you book within the next few days.

However, just because you won’t be hobnobbing with the flashest (and flushest) bastards who descend on Cape Town with their exotic currencies at this time of year, doesn’t mean you have to slum it.

La Belle Bistro and Bakery.

Here’s a quick list of exceptional culinary establishments where you are reasonably certain of getting a table at reasonably short notice.

The only assumption I’m making on your behalf is that you want a view to go with your meal and tipple of preference. This tends to mean heading for one of the wine-producing regions. The restaurants can be deemed to be either somewhat off the beaten track, new or newly refurbished.

My current favourites in Constantia are the three restaurants (one a delightful little deli-patisserie called La Belle) at the Alphen Hotel as well as the two at Steenberg wine estate.

Head to Paarl and you’re talking Jewells in the Spice Route lifestyle centre, Viande at the Grande Roche Hotel, Noop or FABER on Avondale wine estate.

Northern Stellenbosch has a very family-friendly venue that serves bistro-style food at Klein Joostenberg while not far away is the more elegant Cuvee at Simonsig. Other recommendations include chef Michael Deg’s establishment at Cavalli, Bertus Basson’s Overture and Michael Broughton’s Terroir at Kleine Zalze.

Roca Restaurant at Dieu Donne Vineyards.

Helshoogte brags with superb a la carte restaurants at Delaire Graff and Tokara but, for a more relaxed lunch with family, Tokara’s delicatessen is hard to beat.

Franschhoek is SA’s culinary capital and you could eat out in style three times a day for a month without touching bases twice.

Dieu Donne possesses a real eagle’s-eye view, Moreson and the Hey Joe Brewing Company are far more earthy and Orangerie at Le Lude offers exquisite gastronomic pairings with some of the region’s finest bubblies.

If there is one place you must visit during your vacation it’s Haute Cabriere which has undergone a spectacular makeover. The view, the venue, the wine and food make for magnificent memories.

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