11 Best Restaurants in The Western Cape and Winelands, South Africa

Set on the grounds of one of the Cape's oldest farms, Babel is a vision in white surrounded by lush fruit and vegetable gardens and a gorgeous backdrop of mountains. Everything about this farm is stylish: the restaurant is in a converted cow shed, and the menu includes inventive dishes influenced by whatever is bountiful in the garden that day. Expect bold flavors and unusual combinations. 

For a no-frills lunch on the beach, book a table at Die Strandloper. Bring your own drinks and games and expect to linger for the afternoon. The focus is on the rustic outdoor braai (barbecue), where a 10-course feast is served over a couple of hours. If you're keen on seafood, this is the place. Dishes include grilled snoek, smoked angelfish, crayfish, mussels, and bokkoms (dried salted fish). For dessert, there's koeksisters (braided pastries) and strong coffee.

As is the case for Avondale, the vineyard where the restaurant is based, Faber places a heavy focus on being sustainable. The menu changes often but always features carefully composed dishes using ethically sourced meat and fish, plus herbs and vegetables harvested from the estate garden. If the whole roasted cauliflower is on the menu, give it a try—you won't even miss eating meat. You can order à la carte or opt for a six-course feast with wine pairings from the farm.

This popular restaurant and bar boasts a truly incomparable setting, right on the rocks on the edge of a natural rock pool in the Atlantic Ocean. Dine on the deck and you'll hear the crashing of the waves and maybe spot some whales swimming by. On the menu are classic tapas dishes like spicy lamb meatballs and crispy shrimp, all served with something from the extensive wine list or the superb cocktail selection. It's an absolute must while you're in Hermanus.

In the Coopmanhuijs Boutique Hotel, this small restaurant exudes the elegance of a French bistro with its white tablecloths and pretty wrought iron patio furniture. The menu combines classical French cuisine with uniquely South African ingredients in dishes like twice-baked cheese and biltong soufflé. As well as à la carte dinners, a three-course set menu is available. Bring along that bottle of wine you bought—the staff is happy to cork it for you.

Sister restaurant to Cape Town's fêted La Colombe, the food, ambiance, wine selection and service at La Petite Colombe are simply impeccable. The decor is sleek and understated because the true work of art is the food—an 11-course banquet showcasing French cooking techniques and the finest ingredients. Also on-site is the tasting room for Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines, whose red wines in particular are revered. Reservations are essential.

Mariana and Peter Esterhuizen started out selling organic vegetables at the Hermanus farmers' market before converting a house in the little village of Stanford, just 25 minutes away, into a restaurant. Produce from the garden dictates the menu, and ingredients are sourced from local producers, with dishes that lean toward a Mediterranean style with a strong element of Cape cooking present. The Gruyère soufflé is a sublimely light, cheesy concoction served in a pool of tomato cream. Starters like springbok rillettes and fresh broad-bean salad are served in season, and main courses such as the confit duck with preserved clementine and slow-cooked falling-off-the-bone shoulder of Overberg lamb have a firm following. Last orders are taken at 1:30 pm, so don't be late. Capetonians regularly make the trip here for the excellent food, local wines, relaxed setting, friendly hosts, and seasonal organic produce grown behind the restaurant.

Don't be put off by the bumpy dirt road heading up the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley—this restaurant on an orchard at the top of the valley is worth the dusty trip. The seasonal menu is scribbled on a chalkboard, with dishes like caramelized pear, Gorgonzola, avocado, and walnut salad, or smoked trout and sautéed prawns with a lime-wasabi vinaigrette. The converted laborer's cottage is as pretty as a picture in a tumbledown, overgrown kind of way.

For the true flavor of West Coast life, come to this open-air seafood restaurant on the beach south of Lambert's Bay. You'll watch fish cooked over blazing fires, snoek smoked in an old drum covered with burlap, and bread baked in a clay oven. Prepare to eat as much as you can of the fixed-price meal, using your hands or mussel shells as spoons. Be sure to try some of the local specialties like bokkoms (pungent dried fish) and waterblommetjiebredie (water-flower stew). Crayfish cost extra, but don't order them unless you have an enormous appetite. The restaurant consists of nothing more than a circular boma (enclosure) of packed muisbos (a local shrub whose name means "mouse bush") and haphazardly arranged benches and tables.

This restaurant here has big shoes to fill because its predecessor, Bosman's, was highly regarded. Luckily, Chef Kevin Grobler and his team will have no problem continuing to wow guests. In the opulent Grande Roche Hotel, the elegant restaurant serves beautifully presented dishes featuring innovative ingredients. The Madeira-glazed quail with salt-baked beetroot is marvelous. The wine list is similarly impressive. Lunch is a more laidback affair, and there's also a delectable high tea served every afternoon.

When you arrive at this gorgeous old Dutch farmhouse, a staffer greets you and suggests a pre-dinner drink on the rose-trellised terrace. Chef Fabio Daniel serves contemporary French cuisine that also draws on his Brazilian and Italian heritage. For a real splurge, opt for the Estate Experience, with four to five hours of culinary surprises. They won't tell you what's on the menu, but you won't be disappointed. An incredibly knowledgeable sommelier, interesting wine pairings, and surprisingly reasonably priced wine list complete the picture.