These Durban restaurants are more than ready to host your big day with minimal effort and fantastic food.

Abingdon Wine Estate (Lions River)

This family-run estate celebrates a South African lifestyle filled with good wine and food. They accommodate just a few select weddings a year of up to 72 guests, and is each is uniquely different. Their menu is small and fresh, offering harvest boards and tapas-style dishes served in the al fresco dining area at wooden tables.

Abingdon all set up for a wedding. Photo supplied.

Bellevue Café (Kloof)

Tailor-make a wedding celebration at this Kloof restaurant where your imagination can run wild – the venue is yours to decorate with fairy lights, flowers and bunting. With seating for up to 130 guests, or cocktail service for up to 180 guests, Bellevue Café offers a variety of menus and space for a string quartet or band and a dancefloor. Menus can be designed from scratch to suit your palate, or altered to suit guest dietary requirements. There’s a great selection of wine and bubbles, or you can bring in your own at a R50 corkage fee per bottle. Ceremonies can be accommodated in the gardens at an additional cost of R2 800. There’s a minimum spend of R45 000, which includes food and drinks. Included in the cost is the setup and breakdown of your wedding by the Bellevue team, as well as storage facilities should you want to drop off décor prior to the wedding.

Prepare for the beauty of Bellevue Cafe. Photo by Colin Browne.

Butler’s Restaurant (Hillcrest)

The three different venues at this Hillcrest restaurant can all be tailored to suit the size of the party. The Gallery overlooks a courtyard and is suited to small, intimate weddings, holding up to 40 seated or 60 standing guests in a cocktail set up. An exclusive-use larger function room can seat up to 100 guests, or accommodate 150 guests cocktail-style. It leads onto a private courtyard where drinks and canapés can be served. Or hire them both together and have exclusive use of the entire Butler’s Restaurant. With floor-to-ceiling windows and stack-back doors that lead on to the courtyard, this configuration can seat up to 200 guests. Menus can be tailored to suit the couple, but canapés, buffet, plated and snack platter options are available. The venue is fully licensed and no alcohol may be brought on to the premises, except for champagne at R45 per bottle. Venue hire fees range from R2 500 to R15 000.

Wedding set-ups at Butler’s. Photo supplied.

Café 1999 (Musgrave)

The dining experience here is designed around sharing, so event menus follow the same vein, with canapés or sharing plates available and priced from R130 to R280 per person. Seating can accommodate 55 people inside and 40 people outside. Lunchtime events need to end by 5pm, but guests can move next door to Unity Bar, which has the same owners. A minimum spend of R30 000 is required, which includes food and drinks, and a 12.5% service fee will be charged on the final bill.

Canelands Beach Club (Salt Rock)

You’ll smell the sea breeze while celebrating at the Canelands Beach Club. The in-house team can assist with planning from start to finish, including décor and flowers. Ceremonies may take place on the beach or in the garden overlooking the sea. There’s also an on-site spa available that offers an exclusive bridal package. Menus can be tailored and cost between R250 to R590 per person. Though Canelands is fully licensed, you’re allowed you to bring in your own wine for R60 per bottle. The R75 500 exclusive venue hire includes accommodation in all 20 guest rooms for two overnight stays, including breakfast. It also includes standard set-up of the restaurant with white linen, glassware, crockery and cutlery, as well as staff.

Smell the sea breeze while celebrating at the Canelands Beach Club. Photo by Andy Szerdi.

Ciao Bella Restaurant (Waterfront)

This quaint authentic Italian restaurant is tucked away in an old building on Durban’s Mahatma Gandhi Road. Accommodating up to 44 people inside, it opens up onto a large courtyard that used to be an old prison in the 1800s, increasing the number of guests that can be hosted to around 120. Its understated beauty will appeal to couples looking for an offbeat, uniquely rustic celebration where they can either leave the architecture to speak for itself or decorate it in their own unique way. The menu includes freshly made pasta, bread, gnocchi and cakes, all of which is baked on site daily.

Outside seating at Ciao Bella. Photo by Kelly Daniels Photography.

Glenwood Bakery (Glenwood)

This bakery produces some of Durban’s best bread and pastries under the watchful eye of Adam Robinson and his team, but can also host small, informal celebrations on Saturday nights. Delicious handmade pizzas are served on boards at a variety of small tables or at one long table set up on the pavement, which can accommodate up to 30 people. Tables and chairs are mismatched; you provide any decorations; and a small dancefloor could be set up alongside the bakery counter, with your own DJ and sound equipment.

Champagne awaiting a toast at Glenwood Bakery. Photo by Amoret Botha.

Havana Grill (Suncoast Casino)

Havana Grill offers two private dining rooms seating between 18 and 30 guests, as well as a glass-enclosed deck that can seat up to 120 guests. All areas offer exclusivity and may be booked as smoking or non-smoking venues. Though you’re welcome to arrange additional décor and entertainment, there isn’t much more needed. There are Cuban cigars, a temperature-controlled wine cellar, tables set with white linen, silver cutlery and white flatware. Two set menus are available (priced from R285 to R330 per person), featuring a great selection of Havana’s signature grills, seafood, pasta and a variety of desserts. There’s a minimum spend of R4 500 for the smaller private dining room required; a minimum spend of R7500 for the bigger private dining room and a minimum spend of R30 000 for the glass-enclosed deck. (Minimum spend amounts include food and drinks, but excludes a service charge of 10%.)

Intaba View (Drummond)

Intaba View offers a panoramic view over the majestic valley, making this a great choice for an unforgettable wedding experience. Menus can be tailor-made to suit your celebration and include both plated and buffet options, as well as high tea. They’re fully licensed, and you can bring in your own décor or choose from a selection of items available at no extra charge. There’s a venue hire fee of R12 000 for 80 to 100 adult guests, with an additional minimum price per head for either a three-course plated meal or buffet menu of R420 per person (minimum of 80 people) and you’ll have exclusive use of the venue and gardens. An additional service fee of 12% is added to cover the cost of staff. The venue hire fee includes chairs and tables, coordination and set-up for the day, standard crockery, cutlery, glassware and linen, plus one night’s accommodation for the bridal couple. There’s a chapel or outdoor pergola available for the ceremony, for an additional fee of R4 800 for 80 to 100 guests, which includes chairs or benches.

The view truly is extraordinary at Intaba View. Photo suppplied.

Little Havana (Umhlanga)

This award-winning restaurant is located in Umhlanga Village and offers both a private dining room seating for up to 16 people and the entire restaurant for weddings. It’s a contemporary space set with white linen and silver cutlery, which provides a stylish setting with seating for up to 220 people. Options to book just the inside or the outside deck are also available. The menu showcases meat and seafood dishes, with set menu options priced from R285 per person. A DJ and dancefloor can be accommodated if you’re seating less than 180 guests, but music is not permitted on the outside deck due to the proximity of residents. Minimum spends range between R4 000 and R89 000, depending on the venue, A 10% service fee will be added to the final bill.

S43 Home to That Brewing Co. (Berea)

Set in Durban’s vibey Station Drive Precinct, S43 Restaurant offers an industrial but beautiful urban environment, in which to host a unique wedding for up to 250 people. Exposed brick, metal, street art, hanging plants and concrete juxtapose in this hip urban space, plus there’s a working brewery on the premises. Large enough to host the ceremony too, S43 is perfect for the couple looking for something different. Chef Marcelle Roberts is available to design a menu specific to the couple’s request, or you can choose from a variety of set menu options starting at R165 per person. Tapas and street food from around the world, as well as gourmet burgers with some crazy twists, are on offer. There’s space for up to 150 guest seated or 250 standing. A minimum bill of R40 000 is required, which includes food and drinks but excludes a service charge of 12.5%.

The magical setting at S43. Photo by Andy Szerdi.

Village Table (Umhlanga)

This stylish restaurant may be tucked away in The Pearl’s Mall in Umhlanga, but it packs a delightful punch, with exquisite décor and a whimsical ambience thanks to hanging lights, luscious greenery and large-scale tile murals. Geared for intimate gatherings and larger events alike, the fusion of design, cuisine and cocktails makes for a festive setting, along with a menu offering a selection of Afro-Portuguese, Mediterranean and continental dishes. Plated meals are available for parties of less than 60 people, with a harvest table or harvest boards available for larger parties. Venue hire fees range from R15 000 to R20 000 depending on the day and time of the event, and includes exclusive use of the venue for a maximum of 120 guests; use of their standard tables, chairs, glassware, crockery and cutlery; and event coordination and venue set-up.

Village Table’s whimsical ambience. Photo supplied.

Did we miss a Durban restaurant serving great food and hosting even better weddings? Let us know in the comments section below.