The scenic Garden Route, with its culinary attractions, is the perfect road trip for any food lover. From markets to quaint coffee shops, vibey restaurants to refined and fine dining, there’s something for everyone. Jenny Handley headed from Cape Town to Cape St Francis to dine and dream in four fabulous destinations: lakeside, seaside, in a forest, and at a lighthouse.
SERENDIPITY…Local fare, elevated
Tucked away on a secluded lake in the quiet town of Wilderness, sincere hospitality and excellent cuisine lure travellers and locals to this multi-award-winning, one-Plated restaurant. A sleepover in a luxury suite after a sumptuous, wine-paired dinner makes perfect sense.
Over aperitifs in the cosy lounge, owner, Rudolf Stolze welcomes each guest, while his wife Lizelle, the talented chef, crafts in the kitchen. It’s Rudolf’s infectious enthusiasm for describing in detail both the five- and eight-course tasting menus that makes them even more alluring. He disappears once everyone is seated in the intimate dining room with its 11 linen-draped tables, crackling fire and low lighting.
very course demonstrates pride of place. West Coast mussels with crispy chokka tentacles are married in a creamy sauce made with Black Label beer and Cape Malay flavours. Home-grown madumbi chips and coriander-whey pearls add a personal stamp, while hand-picked dune spinach and samphire foraged from the nearby dunes make a statement about local sourcing. Rudolf himself hunts the rock pigeon for the pigeon and porcini dish. “They have beautiful breast meat; we spice and hot smoke it,” he explains. It’s served on a sorghum barley pilaf with porcini picked in the forest nearby, and some home-grown bacon. Their bush pigs are fed on pecans for extra flavour, and the porcini foam adds some froth.
“We love that guests return…we want them to feel like family.”
It’s the root vegetable mille-feuille that shows Lizelle’s light touch and vivid imagination. Think beetroot purée, a little celeriac, sweet potato for crispiness, and pickled carrot for tang. It’s what dreams are made of.Rudolph’s hunting prowess is for the benefit of the guests, and the game is given equal respect in the kitchen, where Lizelle transforms it into innovative dishes. Home-grown pap, a reduced and rich jus, a little cauliflower cheese croquette and numnum chutney combine to create Springbok with a wow. It’s perfectly paired with a goose… Retief Goosen’s The Goose Expression 2014, a Cabernet and Shiraz blend.
After thoughtful wine pairings, we are led towards a choice of pear poached in Muscadel and Blaauwkrantz panna cotta with beskuit and granola, or ‘pumpkin spice’ – roasted pumpkin custard, butternut cake with orange and Rooibos, and a pecan dacquoise as the sweeter option. Hard choice, so we each pick one. It’s pure joy that bed is only a few steps away, and like all guests, we dream of returning.
TSALA TREETOP LODGE…Luxury in green
A quick turn off the N2, and minutes later we found ourselves in the sanctuary of a forest. We’re enveloped in a sense of green, with a private plunge pool and bubbles on ice beckoning. Here, it is easy to hit pause.
Tsala Treetops is a luxurious enclave alongside both Hunters Lodge and Zinzi Restaurant, making a three-day stay the perfect option. Ours was just long enough for the calm to pervade, and for a heart-warming dinner prepared by home-grown chef Ettienne Stander, who grew up in Knysna and trained in Cape Town. In his six years here, he has ensured that the cuisine remains African-inspired.
“Everything is African-inspired. Sometimes we might put a little bit of soya, but the components are still African. Like me, I speak African, so I pull a lot from that heritage. I grew up like that—I like hertzoggies, I like waterblommetjie bredie, ek hou van pap,” he says, smiling with a glint of gold. “A lot of international guests are only here for a short time, and they want to eat local. They want to know exactly how you grew up and what you ate. For me, the cabbage here is the best. And the pumpkins. Local honey too. I love gardening; I grew up with my grandmother, and we don’t use pills or anything. You take from the garden, because over here we’ve got bay leaves, we’ve got fresh coriander growing just everywhere—parsley, sage, the bay tree and lemons.”
“Everything about our menu is African and North African.”
Dinner is a three-course affair. East Coast masala-seared tuna with olive jam, dried tomato, butter bean and tomato hummus, caviar, and cumin foam is as captivating as the spicy Kashmiri calamari. The latter served with mango salsa, tahini emulsion, tapioca crisp, dehydrated citrus, and grilled lemon.Chef Ettienne’s legendary lamb curry lives up to its reputation, and the Mozambican prawns in a creamy peri-peri sauce are equally scrumptious. An evening of romantic fireside dining comes to a close with the Amarula crème brûlée, before we return to our lodge to appreciate the silence and solace of the forest.
THE PLETTENBERG…Seaside sophistication
Next stop: ‘Plett’, a popular coastal resort town heralded for its natural beauty. The Plettenberg holds court on a quiet corner. All-encompassing sea views are matched by impeccable, friendly service and exceptional accommodation. Firmly ensconced in the luxury suite (one of 37 elegant rooms and suites, plus two villas) with his and hers vistas, it was hard to tear ourselves away. Direct access to the pristine beach lured us out for a walk. As the sun set, we sipped on cocktails at the Sandbar, then headed into the recently re-energised restaurant Amelia’s, where bright hues and a frisky seagull catch the eye.
Here, executive chef Ewald Schulenburg highlights the ocean’s bounty. “A majority of our dishes are seafood, due to the setting. All our fish is fresh, and we get it daily.”
Ordering the Dalewood Huguenot cheese soufflé to start is a must. It is a Liz McGrath classic that also appears on the menu at sister hotels Cellars-Hohenort and The Marine. Ewald assures us that his is the best… definitely the finest that we have devoured. My tempura prawns are light and tasty. Both our mains, the battered hand-caught hake with mushy peas and triple-cooked chips, and the pan-seared South Atlantic ocean tuna with soba noodles, wok-fried greens and pickled ginger, bear testament to his skill. Ewald’s advice for cooking fish is simple: “Stick to the basics—pan-seared, some good butter and lemon juice. You don’t really want to over-complicate it and take away from what the actual star of the show is, and that’s the fish.” The apple tarte Tatin with butterscotch, brandy snap and vanilla bean gelato is a fitting end.
“When it comes to our flavours, it’s a mix of Mediterranean with a take on Asian influence, with local ingredients.”
NEVERMIND…Provenance and place
Ending our gourmet tour at Cape St Francis held special meaning for me, a walk down memory lane. My great-great-grandfather was lighthouse keeper at Seal Point Lighthouse until he retired in 1932, so overnighting in the authentically restored keeper’s quarters was poignant, and paging through journals in the room where he would have recorded the weather was surreal. Here, one will never go hungry…freshly baked bread was waiting in the kitchen, then bubbly and their famous potato bread at the top of the lighthouse for sunset…what a welcome.
After notching up an impressive tenure in the Luke Dale Roberts stable of restaurants, chef Wesley Randles moved here in 2020, knowing that it was where he and his wife wanted to raise their son—at the sea, in a community. Nevermind is relaxed and unpretentious, and it belies seasonal and local fare that exceeds expectations. The nearby port and friends who are spearfishermen translate into a wide variety of premium fish, daily.
A quick catch-up with Wes before dinner gives insight into how seriously he takes his sourcing. Passionate about ingredients, it’s no surprise to discover that hunting for him is a journey of discovery with respect, an opportunity to learn how to use the whole animal.
“It’s all like a journey, still trying to figure out the best way to prep it, because it’s not something you learn in chef school. It takes a lot of research and studying and trying to figure out the best way to prep it. Trying to figure out what to do with the whole animal has been quite fun. When you research, it’s all about grandmothers’ recipes—really basic and one-dimensional, like slow-braise the neck and knuckle. Obviously, you have the loins for nice steaks, but then you’re left with the shoulders, legs, and the rest of the animal. It’s been super fun.”
Small plates of audacious flavours pack a punch, from the crispy fried artichokes with gremolata, Parmesan, aioli and za’atar, to the spicy tuna tartare with avo, truffle hot sauce and toasted nori. The tempura squid is dressed in black pepper and lemongrass, with pineapple and cashew nuts. The pork belly with katsu sauce and fried milk bread is reminiscent of Wesley’s days cooking in Cape Town. I think back to my visits to The Commissary…another bite of nostalgia on this trip.
The sambal matah blesbok tartare is a triumph, served with cucumber, Japanese mayo and fried cashew nuts. The evening comes to a close with a ‘popcorn blondie’ dessert of cake and ice cream. Before returning to the keeper’s house, I’m captivated by the lights flashing systematically to warn of danger. Family competes with food as I close my eyes.
Baked goods crafted on site are sold at the kiosk, and locals queue up for sustenance and coffee, with many others sitting inside. It’s a hive of activity, bustling on a Monday morning—proof that locals and visitors love this unique place.
“We knew that we would need to embed the restaurant in the community for it to work, “says Wes. Chatting to those who are lucky enough to live in. St Francis Bay, there’s a level of intense pride when they talk about their restaurant.
Travelling this Gourmet Guide to the Garden Route has been a reminder that great food is inseparable from its setting. Whether lakeside in Wilderness, high in the trees near Knysna, overlooking the ocean in Plett, or beside the lighthouse in St Francis Bay, each experience was shaped by the people behind the plate, their passion for provenance, and a deep connection to place. It’s a route to return to—hungry for more.
“Good food adds to the tapestry of life, at Beyond Experience Cape Tours I not only offer tours of the Garden Route for my clients, but also like to expose them to the best foodie experiences this part of the world offers.”
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