From excellent Italian restaurants to vibey sushi bars and country-style eateries with sweeping vistas, Bloemfontein has plenty to offer in the culinary department. These nine eateries made it into the 2017 Eat Out magazine, a guide to the top 500 restaurants in the country as rated by our panel of professional critics.

Avanti La Mia Famiglia
This new offshoot of Avanti caters for the whole family with wood-fired pizzas (think topping combos like anchovy, chilli flakes, olives and capers or slow-roasted lamb with minted yoghurt), and favourites like calamari and affogato with cashew-nut brittle. Kids can play outside with child minders and create their own pizzas.

Avanti is a great child-friendly dining option in Bloem. Photo supplied.

Bella Casa Trattoria
This warm, homey restaurant is a good option for a relaxed meal. Tuck into fantastic pastas (the chicken-and-chorizo fettucini comes highly recommended) and succulent fillet steaks. The wood-fired pizzas are also popular. Try the one topped with bacon, blue cheese, poached pear, rocket and pecan-nut brittle.

A salad at Bella Casa. Photo supplied.

De Oude Kraal Restaurant
Just outside Bloem, off the N1, this grand old dame of old dining serves up modern food. A five-course menu is freshly prepared daily based on what’s freshest at the market, but might feature the likes of pork belly with apple sauce, butternut soup with truffle oil, and fillet with shiitake sauce.

A photo posted by De Oude Kraal Country Estate (@de_oude_kraal_country_estate) on Jan 23, 2017 at 11:46am PST

Feast at De Oude Kraal Country Estate and Spa Huge glass panels overlook the dam and surrounding veld at this new-ish restaurant on a working sheep farm. Understandably, lamb is the star of the menu, appearing in dishes like lamb salad with pecorino and salted nuts, and pizza with lamb, caramelised onion, camembert and rocket. Finish with the famous milk tart.

A photo posted by De Oude Kraal Country Estate (@de_oude_kraal_country_estate) on Dec 3, 2016 at 7:12am PST

Full House at Preller
Low lighting and sushi make this a very popular spot on weekends and after work. In addition to the great salmon rolls and tuna roses, there’s good sweet-and-sour pork, and deep-fried ice cream for pud.

Lovely sushi platter for 2

A photo posted by Management (@fullhousepreller) on May 23, 2016 at 10:11am PDT

Jack & Jill Food Co.
An upbeat vibe attracts a great mix of people for breakfast and lunch. Café-style food includes oven-roasted toasties of cheese and djion mustard, the Kitchen Sink salad and the beef burger. Also on offer is a variety of cupcakes and bakes, including New-York-style baked cheesecake.

A photo posted by Jill Nowers (@jackandjillfoodco) on Dec 14, 2016 at 2:01am PST

New York
The food at this longstanding restaurant is tasty and helpings are generous. Try the Hudson River kingklip flambéed in white wine with shrimp and mushrooms, and the fillet steak Diane. Décor-wise, think art deco meets the eighties, with carpeted floors and romantic cubicles.

New York has been around since 1989, and is still going strong. Photo supplied.

Picnic
The restaurant will sadly be closing at the end of February 2017, but until then, head here for views over Loch Logan and great French toast. Try it with bacon, mushrooms, tomato and avo, or with berries and cream. For lunch, the brandy-flambéed fillet with mushroom sauce and chips is a highlight.

Seven on Kellner
Chef-patron Kim Brackenridge has handed over the reigns to Francois Koekemoer, but this remains a great spot for a quality lunch or dinner. Offering everything from fresh oysters and caramelised brie with preserves to wood-fired pizzas, the menu never disappoints. In summer, there’s outside seating in a beautiful garden, and in winter, crackling fires inside the beautiful old house.

A photo posted by Sheena Edwards (@sheena_bobeena) on Mar 5, 2016 at 3:29am PST

These eateries made it into the 2017 Eat Out magazine, a guide to the top 500 restaurants in the country as rated by our panel of professional critics. Tell us about your favourite spots in the City of Roses in the comments below.