This delightful restaurant has country ambience in spades with great views, very good food, and friendly country service. Greg Landman reviews Avontuur Estate Restaurant.

Fast Facts

Serves: country fare
Best for: a lazy breakfast or lunch with a view
Cost: Average main meal is R125
Star Ratings: Food and drinks: 3, Ambience: 5, Service: 4

The lovely terrace. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

Food

This is country fare at its best, with generously plated dishes that look great and taste even better. None of that precious so-called haute stuff — everything here is as fresh as can be, with high flavour impact and reasonable prices. Breakfasts are very popular with locals, with dishes like griddle cakes with Franschhoek salmon trout taking pride of place, and a Mediterranean option with spanakopita and basil pesto a quirky idea.

The wild mushroom starter. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

Lunch sees great platters like the irresistible Var with smoked ham, springbok carpaccio and excellent duck liver paté accompanied by Avontuur’s fabulous homemade bread. Another platter, the Oratorio, has smoked salmon, snoek paté, grilled prawns and potato salad with a delicious dressing. Mains include great roast duck with Van Der Hum sauce and Kassler chops with grappa honey apples and whole grain mustard. The beef fillet is done well and comes with a creamy mushroom sauce.

The interior seating. Photo by Greg Landman.

The knockout dessert is deep-fried ice cream with butterscotch sauce. Other options include white chocolate panna cotta with fresh fruit, toasted coconut and strawberry sauce, and a dark chocolate ganache slice with brandied maraschino cherries and hand-crafted vanilla bean ice cream.

Drinks

Only Avontuur wines are available, at a mark-up from tasting room prices. No BYO.

Ambience

Horses graze tranquilly in the meadows with their foals lying lazily on the verdant grasses and the mountains form a majestic backdrop while the view stretches all the way to the sea. What’s not to like? This is comfortable country ambience, with a terrace from which to take it all in.

Avontuur Estate’s horses. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

Service

Everyone is delightfully charming and the expert staff are consistently knowledgeable.

Avontuur’s gorgeous mountainous backdrop. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

And…

Bookings are absolutely essential on the weekends.

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