Before you even take your seat at Oevermeer Bistro, you’ll be bowled over by the incredible view that greets you, says Eat Out critic Toni Muir. The country bistro overlooks a dam and a mountain range, thanks to its being situated within the manicured grounds of Kloofzicht Lodge in Muldersdrift.

The Oevermeer deck is the place to be on sunny days. Photo supplied.

Fast facts

Cost: Average main course is R90
Serves: Easy-eating breakfast and lunch
Best for: A relaxed meal shared with friends or family, or a special occasion
Parking: Plenty of parking on site
Star rating: Food and drinks 5, service 4, ambience 5

Burgers are exceptional at Oevermeer. Photo supplied.

Food

The restaurant offers a fairly small menu, though it is a well thought-out one. The chef favours home-made stocks, freshly baked breads and micro-greens, and his passion for food can be seen and tasted in the bistro’s fare.

Although the breakfast menu is fairly lean, limited to four dishes, with a choice of extras on the side, the lunch menu offers salads, wraps, pizza, pasta, burgers and platters. The beef salad is a generous portion of micro-greens topped with grilled sirloin, roasted peppers, broccoli and baby figs, finished off with a horseradish dressing. The pizzas are made in a wood-fired oven, their thin and crispy bases well balanced with a perfect proportion of toppings.

One of the glorious burgers. Photo by Toni Muir.

Burgers here are exceptional, available on either home-made poppyseed or sesame seed buns. The melt-in-your-mouth-tender beef patty comes topped with chorizo, mature cheddar and condensed-milk mustard (creamy and smooth, slightly sticky and just delicious), and is served with hand-cut potato wedges and a side salad. Vegetarians will enjoy the open baby-marrow burger, a dish that includes grilled mushrooms, chickpeas, as well as wedges and salad. The pasta selection includes an osso bucco penne: braised beef shin in a red-wine-and-herb sauce with parmesan cheese.

Little people have not been forgotten, and can choose from options such as a boerewors roll with wedges and salad, fish or chicken goujons with wedges and salad, meatballs and spaghetti, or a kids’ burger with wedges and salad.

Also on offer: wraps. Photo by Toni Muir.

Be sure you leave space for dessert, as Oevermeer Bistro offers a choice of four: warm chocolate-chip brownie with salted-caramel ganache and vanilla ice cream; vanilla crème brûlée with biscotti; baked cheesecake with fruit coulis and vanilla ice cream; and cake of the day – coconut and lemon when we visit. Of course, you could also dive headfirst into one of the four giant freakshakes on offer: banana and peanut with salted caramel peanut brittle; Oreo chocolate, with jelly beans and jelly tots; bubbly gum, with jelly beans and jelly tots; or strawberry, with wild berry compote and fresh cream.

Also on offer: freakshakes. Photo supplied.

The restaurant is open 9am to 5pm from Tuesday to Sunday.

Drinks

The drinks menu includes the usual suspects, as well as a small selection of craft beers and classic cocktails. The wine list, however, is extraordinary, and spans 16 pages. It is particularly well thought-out, with wines available by the glass (R50 for 250 ml) and the bottle (R135 upwards). You really won’t need to BYO here.

A fireplace keeps things cosy on icy, winter days. Photo supplied.

Service

The service is friendly and efficient, with the waiters responding promptly to requests and happily agreeing to a couple of menu deviations. The manager might pop by a few times to check in. The food doesn’t arrive overly quickly, but is worth the wait, and you have the view to enjoy while you do so.

Ambience

The restaurant’s interior is warm (literally, thanks to a large fireplace, wonderful on a brisk winter’s day), its plush, upholstered Chesterfield benches beckoning and copper décor touches glinting. The tones are rich browns and beiges, with wood used throughout. There is also a large harvest table for bigger groups.

The view from the deck. Photo by Toni Muir.

If the weather’s fine, the deck is where you’ll want to be. The crowd is mixed: couples holding hands over bottles of champagne, friends and families laughing and sharing a meal.

And…

Oevermeer Bistro offers an enjoyable dining experience overall, made ever more memorable by the incredible view.

Eat Out critics dine anonymously and pay for their meals in full. Read our editorial policy here.

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The interior is cosy in winter. Photo supplied.