Franschhoek Restaurants

Boschendal Restaurant
Pniel Road, off the R310, Groot Drakenstein; buffet lunch every day; tel 021 870-4274. B

As the earthily hospitable expression goes, "come hungry". The legendary Boschendal lunches haven't shrunk in size or magnificence since the sale of the farm - and all that goes with it - late last year. Resist the temptation to dive into the oysters and smoked salmon trout with too much vigour: plenty more awaits. Crunchy roast potatoes and rare roast beef with startling horseradish; harissa-spiked couscous with a rainbow of smoked vegetables; smoked ham and fresh green asparagus. And, of course, malva pudding, brandy snaps, and Cape cheeses with the last of your wine.

 

Boschendal and Vergelegen wines feature large. No BYO.

French Connection
48 Huguenot Street, Franschhoek; lunch and dinner daily; tel 021 876 4056. B/C

What happens when a Cabrière man descends from on "haute" to the main road? A more relaxed, bistro-ish place, but one that retains the values of the loftier venue. Matthew Gordon has built a legion of new fans with his grilled Toulouse saucisson, grainy mustard and frites, his pâté de campagne and his lemon tart. Menus change for summer and winter; and look out for seasonal and daily specials. If you don't book, you're unlikely to get in.

Valley-loyal winelist leavened with a few French wines. Corkage R20.

Haute Cabrière
Franschhoek Pass Road, Franschhoek; dinner Fri-Mon Oct-May, Fri & Sat only June-Sept; tel 021 876 3638. B

Hunker down in the bunker. In summer, the coolth and the sprawling roses provide an elegant environment from which to gaze at framed views of the Franschhoek valley; by night and in winter, an enormous fireplace warms the place and makes you feel you're cosying in a cave. Chef Matthew Gordon works closely with larger-than-life cellarmaster Achim von Arnim to produce outstanding food in the most unstuffy of vibes. Order your dishes half-size (starter), full size (mains), or - best of all - on as many platters as will fit on the table, to share. Think warm new potatoes and chorizo sausage with sweet chilli relish; ginger/soy-marinated fillet with grilled oyster mushrooms and black pepper sauce; chocolate cheesecake with butternut and raisin anglaise.

Winelist combined with menu; suggestions (mostly) available by the glass; no BYO. Try and work the Ratafia and the Fine de Jourdan potstill brandy into your meal.

La Couronne
Dassenberg Road, Franschhoek; breakfast, lunch and dinner daily; tel 021 876 2770. B

The food is living up to the best views in Franschhoek, to a tinkly piano accompaniment. Swiss-trained executive chef Roger Clements (most recently of Bosman's and Au Jardin) has a passion for the best: his rocket is wild, his tomatoes are bursting with sweetness, his cheeses are intensely satisfying. Roger's style is classic and laidback, with nods to Mediterranean and Asian influences (which is, after all, the new classic).

Comprehensive winelist includes descriptions, vintages and suggestions; plenty of by-the-glass options; corkage R25.

La Petite Ferme
Franschhoek Pass; lunch daily; tel 021 876 3016. C

Olivia Mitchell (formerly of Parks) has linked up with the Dendy-Youngs to bring new vigour and passion to this favourite venue. It's also grown somewhat: a convivial bar area added to the all-weather verandah, which means it's now impossible to miss the gorgeousness of the valley view. Order Franschhoek trout straight from the smoker, slow-cooked lamb, or something from a wonderfully original salad and vegetarian line-up. The chocolate mousse, by the way, is a legend.

Winelist intimately connected to the menu; corkage R10.

Le Quartier Français
16 Huguenot Road, Franschhoek; breakfast, lunch and dinner daily; tel 021 876 2151. B

The unassuming Margot Janse is unequivocably queen of the cookoff: WINE magazine's Top 100 and other restaurant guides consistently rate her tops. This casual conservatory-style restaurant is home to some of the finest food in the country. There'd be a riot if she dropped her signature dishes - double baked beetroot/rocket soufflé; indecently light tempura vegetables - but do try and break out. She pulls off amazing things with her smoker; and the spiced miso broth in which mussels poach can stop conversation. The sweet/savoury dishes are a triumph - try the camembert/roasted pear/salad leaves/red wine syrup thing.

Valley wines feature strongly with some vintage reds from further afield; winelist constantly being updated. Corkage R30.

Monneaux
Franschhoek Country House, Main Road, Franschhoek; breakfast, lunch and dinner daily; tel 021 876 3386. B

On a hot summer's day, a table here under the trees, with water gushing in the background, is the best place in this valley. Lizette Crabtree is hugely talented, as innovative as she is sensitive. Imagine salmon trout tartare seared with hot sesame oil and served with wasabi mayonnaise, ginger and sesame seeds; or green banana and chilli polenta to accompany spiced loin of lamb, date jus and cinnamon-roasted butternut. Her desserts and cheese dishes deliver the coup de graçe. Punch this number into your cellphone: you'll need it.

Winelist suggests food matches and favours Valley wines, supplemented with popular wines from elsewhere. Corkage R20.

Topsi & Co
7 Reservoir Street West, Franschhoek; lunch and dinner daily except Tuesday; tel 021 876 2952. C

If Robert Carrier says someone cooks "divinely and instinctively", that's good enough for us. Topsi Venter is both a stalwart of the restaurant scene in the Valley and beyond, and famously eccentric. If you're offered a salad of "weeds from the garden", know that they're edible, unusual and energetically delicious; if you have mushrooms, chances are they've been picked locally, and batter-fried ready for a chilli/soy/honey dip. Work chilli jam into your meal: it made Carrier's Great Dishes of the World. Her smoked trout fishcakes are legendary; and the desserts, focused on seasonal fruit, are a delight.
BYO.

Anthony's Bistro
14 Huguenot Street, Franschhoek; Open Tues-Sat 8:30am till late; Sun/Mon 8:30am - 5:30pm; tel 021 876 4714. C

All the usual - breakfasts cover Canadian, English and "health"; lunches of salads and sandwiches look to lightly toasted rye and trout pâté, lemon and herb chicken to lift them. But what makes this special is the local feeling - a great friendliness and inclusiveness. The sunken courtyard shaded with giant canvas umbrellas and fringed with roses is perfectly placed for people watching.

Short list, does the job. Corkage R12.

Ballon Rouge
7 Reservoir Street, Franschhoek; breakfast, lunch and dinner daily; tel 021 876 2651. B

A comfortably homely feel about the bar and dining room, and excellent staff. You'll find things on the menu like chive and fennel fish cakes with a sweet chilli and soy sauce; lamb cutlets gremolata served with Moroccan couscous and chilli mint harissa; and dark chocolate panna cotta with berry coulis.

Short list with reasonable mark-ups; some wines available by the glass; corkage R15.

Bijoux
56/8 Huguenot Street, Franschhoek; lunch & dinner Tues - Sun; tel 021 876 3474/6. B

Altogether more low-key since Richard Carstens headed off to KZN, but still with a promising menu: prawn and papaya salad with black pepper and vanilla vinaigrette; duck breast pan-fried with fig syrup; and spiced orange tart with white chocolate ice-cream.

Valley wines feature big. Corkage R10.

Klein Oliphantshoek
14 Akademie St, Franschhoek; lunch for groups only, and dinner by demand; closed Wednesday and Sunday evenings; tel 021 876 2566. B

Guests get priority, so if you're getting frustrated in your efforts to eat here, book in for the night. Husband-and-wife team Camil and Ingrid treat the six-course evening as a food-and-wine adventure. Everything, from the breads to the chocolates, is homemade, mostly on a woodstove. Enjoy sashimi of fresh local trout with wasabi; gemsbok with berry and buchu sauce; grilled silver fish with curry sauce. The line-up includes a cheese tasting and a sweets selection.

Local labels, and menu recommendations by the glass or bottle, available as a "wine package" (R125) or a tasting package (R85); BYO discouraged.

Le Bon Vivant
c/o Reservoir Road and Dirk Uys Street, Fransch-hoek; open for lunch and dinner Thursday to Tuesday; tel 021 876 2717. B

You'll get five-star presentation and service from owners Jessica Bos and Pierre Hendricks in this rather unassuming restaurant, masses of originality, and modernity. Pierre, the chef, uses only the best ingredients, and then trusts them to speak for themselves. Crispy herb sandwich of carpaccio and mushroom crème served with roast beef salad and cucumber tagliatelle; poached trout stuffed with a soufflé of smoked trout, served with zucchini and tomato sabayon.

Winelist has a good selection of Franschhoek wines, updated seasonally. BYO R15.

Polfyntjies
Main Road, Franschhoek; open Wednesday to Monday for breakfast; lunch and dinner, but closed Sun nights; tel 021 876 3217. C

Shame about the plastic chairs; but a great garden, and perfect for families - there's a kids' menu. Breakfasts are standard; lunches offer a good variety of salads and traditional dishes like smoorsnoek, Malay curry, babotie, and malva and brandy puddings.

Crowd-pleaser winelist; BYO R12.

Bread & Wine
Môreson Wine Farm, Happy Valley Rd, La Motte, Franschhoek; Lunch Wed - Sun in season; tel 021 876 3692. B

Hugely popular lunchtime venue - eat indoors or, more prettily, in the courtyard. You'll be feasting on grilled radicchio with shaved fennel, asiago and balsamic onion salad; pumpkin, ricotto and almond tortellini with sage butter; salmon pastrami with sheet bread, avocado and sorrel cream; and finish with a plate of sweet tastes - citrus confit, fudge, choc biscuits. If you fall in love with anything from the charcuterie, make inquiries: you may be able to take some away.

The winelist features the farm's labels (Soleil du Matin, Môreson, Pinehurst). No BYO.

Chamonix
Uitkyk Street, Franschhoek; lunch Tues - Sun, dinner Fri night only; tel 021 876 2393. B

Proprietor Don Newton is offering something so obvious we wonder why it's not more widely practised: complimentary wine tasting for diners. This way, you're never disappointed. Son Dane is in the kitchen: he's Silwood-trained and has designed a deeply inventive menu. Think mushroom and gorgonzola ravioli with poached pear, roasted walnut and rocket salad, and a verjuice and mustard seed dressing; salmon trout glazed with soya, and served with coconut sushi rice and sesame balls, grilled fresh asparagus and a saffron buerre blanc; and a mixed berry mille-feuille with blanc de noir jelly, pink peppercorn ice cream and mint syrup.

Only estate wines available; very modest mark-ups. Corkage R20.

La Fromagerie at La Grange
13 Daniel Hugo Street, Franschhoek; light lunches and teas daily (closes at 5pm); tel 021 876 2155. B

Simply charming - a covetable collection of antiques out the back, and a delicious summer venue in the front, overlooking the vines. You'll feast on ricotta and rocket gnocchi in a sauce of pecorino, mascarpone and truffle oil; or a double-baked cheese souffle with red pepper sabayon; or three-cheese lasagne. Spot the theme? You can get away from it, if you like, with poached salmon trout "in a jade green herb sauce" or seared carpaccio and bearnaise with cauliflower mousse. Or you could just watch the sunlight on leaves, and think about wine.

Some good deals, and a cheese-friendly line-up. No corkage for special bottles; otherwise not allowed.

Cotage Fromage
on the R45 at Simon-dium; open every day until afternoon tea; tel 021 874 1611/3991. C

If it's rose season, you'll be stopped by the wanton display of white and red roses. Inside, shelves are groaning with jams and interesting preserves, eight local olive oils, verjuice, beautifully packaged mustards and curry pastes, several flavours of honey. But the deli selection is what really enchants: olives the size of quail eggs, stuffed chilli peppers, herbed artichokes, a droolingly delicious selection of cheeses, and wonderfully lopsided, home-made cakes. If you're eating in, memorable breakfasts are served until noon, and lunches can be giant ciabatta laden with the likes of crumbed deep-fried gorgonzola with lettuce, biltong and a berry/balsamic dressing; or a trout fillet with toasted almond sauce; or lamb shanks marinated in lees of shiraz with mash. Book or, as we suggest, fill your basket.

Good selection of local wines, many available by the glass, modest mark-ups. BYO R10.

Delicious!
Huguenot Street, Franschhoek; breakfast & lunch daily; dinner Wed; tel 021 876 4004.

A bright and fresh deli on the Main Road that's hugely popular, mainly as it's supplied on a daily basis by Le Quartier and Môreson. We're talking wonderful cheeses and pies, pastries and marinated goodies, charcuterie and breads. You can eat in, if you like.

Môreson wines, by the glass or bottle; corkage R10.

La Cotte Inn Wine Sales & Fromage de France
35 Main Road, Franschhoek; Open Mon-Fri 9:00am-6:00pm; Sat 9:00am-1:00pm; tel 021 876 3775.

Ludwig and Lodine Maske have crammed an incredible collection of local and foreign wines into this wonderful old shop on Main Road. They are vastly well-informed and happily advise on wines and cheeses, merrily opening bottles for tasting. (They once opened the shop at around midnight for a few friends to sample some select bottles that Ludwig felt just could not wait until morning.) A delightful experience even if you're only browsing.

La Chanelle
On the main road on your way in: great views, but a plastic-coated menu offers toasted sandwiches, chips and pizza, and the staff are terrifyingly bored.

La Cotte Restaurant
Also on the way into town, this is a coach trap. We saw a group of French tourists putting away plates of what looked like bain-marie-special grey sliced lamb in gravy.

La Brasserie at Grande Provence
Just before you enter the town, child-friendly, with possibly one of the best views in the area and a real pizza oven - seems promising for relaxed Saturday lunches. But we got processed luncheon meat and so-old-it-fizzes roasted pepper salad as part of an antipasto platter.