De Grendel, which is Afrikaans for “lock”, is a working farm that raises sheep, cattle, grain, and most importantly, wine grapes. The restaurant and cellar is a stunning large complex that incorporates modern elements with classic architecture. The hallway through the building to the restaurant passes huge windows that look on to the wine fermentation tanks on one side and a beautiful store room of wooden casks of wine on the other. The farm is located about twenty minutes out of downtown Cape Town in the northern suburbs. It has a magnificent view back to Devil’s Peak, Table Mountain, Lion’s Head, and the Atlantic Ocean. Guests can enjoy sipping wine on the veranda to take in the sunset.

Dinner is served in a beautifully decorated, earthy room with classic blue floral accents. The fine-dining menu focuses on modern South African food and fresh local ingredients. The restaurant is open for an a la carte lunch and a more formal two or three course dinner. I visited for a busy weeknight dinner and was really impressed with the food. I had a starter of prawn, squid, almond, chorizo, red cabbage, onion, tomato, and goat cheese. For the main course, I tried the pork belly and fillet served with broccolini, cranberry, chorizo, cabbage, rooibos, and apple. Dessert was a lemon custard with basil ice cream, black pepper biscuits, berries, and orange. All of the dishes were really delicious and very generous portions. Of course, the wine list is very good as well.

If I have to fault De Grendel on one thing, the service could have been more attentive. We had to wait quite a while to get someone’s attention for drink refills on multiple occasions. Our server was, however, also taking care of a table of 16. De Grendel is definitely worth a visit for excellent food in a very beautiful and relaxing setting. Make sure to get a reservation before making the drive out.