The Woodlands Eatery is one of those places that you won’t hear about until you stumble across it and are pleasantly surprised by this gem hidden in a rustic hole in the wall. On the Vredehoek slopes leading up to Deer Park is where you’ll find the restaurant. From the outside it looks like an old house in a small fishing village, but on closer inspection I found one of the hippest, most impressive places to eat in Cape Town. The Woodlands Eatery opens at 5PM on weekdays and serves food that will blow you away. Their regulars keep coming back for their wonderful rustic pizzas but that’s not all they’re good at here. From burgers to pizzas and fantastic dessert, this is one place you have to check out in 2015!

For starters, I ordered the porcini arancini, which was three porcini mushroom risotto balls coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried, served in a creamy pea sauce. I must admit that I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I ordered this but I was head over heels once I saw the incredible presentation of the dish and smelt its aroma. When I tasted the risotto balls I immediately wanted to order more because it was just that good. The pea sauce was wonderful and the risotto balls were perfectly cooked and just simply delicious! I definitely recommend you order these the next time you visit The Woodlands Eatery.

For mains, I ordered Larry’s Cheeseburger with Frankie Fenner 180g pasture reared beef, a dollop of crème fraiche, a slice of mature cheddar, pickles, crispy onion rings and roasted baby potatoes on the side. What a stellar cheeseburger and the baby potatoes on the side were absolutely delicious and a great break from fries. I did find a hair in the cheese of my burger that was off-putting, but even that’s not enough to keep me away from The Woodlands Eatery.

The chocolate fondant dessert, served with ice cream, was decadent and very rich. A small portion of a rich dessert is the perfect way to end a meal and I’m a big fan of this restaurant now!