The Greenhouse is the premiere restaurant at the Cellars-Hohenort hotel complex, which sprawls over nine acres of award-winning gardens.

It’s consistently listed among the top restaurants in South Africa, and it’s easy to see why. A meal at The Greenhouse is a unique and extravagant experience. Diners choose between two tasting menus: the signature nine-course African Origins menu, or the slightly less extravagant five-course seasonal menu. Both also come with elaborate presentations of bread, canapés, and after-dinner sweets. I opted for the seasonal spring menu and found it to be more than enough. You can also add wine pairings, which is a great way to sample some excellent wines.

The cuisine is inspired by local produce and the diversity of South Africa’s culture. Highlights for me included the venison, nyala and oryx, which was among the best I’ve had. I also had a nice seafood dish of dusky kob, west coast rock lobster, and urchin. The food is very unique, nicely presented, and prepared using cutting-edge techniques. That said, the desserts lost me a little; they were too focused on molecular gastronomy for my tastes. Either that, or I was already too full to enjoy them. I had a strawberry and wasabi float and a sweet potato fritter served with various gels and a berry mousse frozen with liquid nitrogen.

The dining room itself is elegant and formal but still quite boisterous rather than stiff. Service was excellent—knowledgeable and attentive—as you would expect for the price.

Reservations are essential, and the restaurant is only open for dinner. Try for an early reservation to take in some of the scenery before sunset. Arriving after dark via the winding roads of Constantia Valley, as I did, can be a little disorienting. Also, make sure to get a taxi if you plan to opt for the wine pairing. With so many courses, it ends up being a lot of wine!