Wine Farms
There are many wine farms in the area, a lot of which serve amazing lunches – always check the websites to see when they are open and if you need to book in advance, particularly in summer and for food.
Very popular option for wine tastings. There are several options for routes, depending on how many farms you want to visit. Hop on hop off approach on a combination of road and rail based trams. Simple and easy way to get to all the main, well known vineyards around Franschhoek. Avoids having to drive. Can be booked from the Wine Tram kiosk in the centre of Franschhoek.
Pre-booked tastings
You will need to book but Black Elephant, Franschhoek Pass, Stoney Brook wine farms do very personalised tastings – very much about the history of their farms and how they became wine growers in addition to the wines. Because of that, we would recommend those.
Boekenhoutskloof – just outside of Franschhoek, also needs to be pre-booked. Known for Chocolate Block and Porcupine Ridge wines. Worth a visit, with good views over the valley.
Others that we like, but are “walk in and taste” are:
- La Motte*– old wine farm, great setting
- Moreson – opposite La Motte, family run wine farm. Good for lunch, lovely setting beneath the trees
- Lynx* – lovely wines (especially the Blanc de Noir), nice setting
- Thelema – good for red wines, top of the Stellenbosch pass, so excellent views. Next to Tokara
- Tokara – top of the Stellenbosch pass, so excellent views. Next to Thelema
- DeLair Graff* (Graff as in Graff diamonds) – great views from the top of the pass.
- Grand Provence – very old farm so lovely setting and another great spot for dining in amongst the trees. It also has a good art installation..
- Meerlust – nearer Stellenbosch, but one of the oldest wine estates, so good to look at. Meerlust Rubicon is a great red. Very much a taste and buy farm, rather than a destination farm
- Rickety Bridge* – just on the edge of Franschhoek village
- Spier – Wine Farm village. Quite commercial, large wine estate, with picnics, deli, crafts etc. Good, easy drinking wines
- Boschendal – also good for lunch/dinner/picnics and coffee and cake (as below)
- Babylorenstoren – good food too (as below)
* All have restaurants and are recommended but we have not managed to get to these yet!
Restaurants in Franschhoek
There are lots of restaurants in the village. Most require pre-booking, particularly in high season, with some requiring booking several weeks in advance.
The ones that we go back to are:
Foliage – amazing local flavours and friendly staff. Chris Erasmus is one of the top chefs in SA. Booking is a must and well in advance.
Reubens – well known SA chef, who is from Franschhoek originally. Very popular.
La Coin Francais – tasting menu only, but still quite relaxed.
La Petite Colombe – tasting menu only and more of an occasion place. Is the sister restaurant to La Colombe, in Cape Town which has consistently been one of the best restaurants in the Western Cape.
Marigold – high end Indian food. Check before you go, but there should be a BYO option on wine.
French Connection Bistro – very relaxed and quite a locals place. Seating outside if pre-booked.
Alloro – is the pasta place in town – simple, but good Italian food in a relaxed atmosphere. Does do gluten free options.
Col’Cacchios – great simple pizza place (good for an early dinner or takeaway, when you are just off a plane). Offers gluten free pizza and pasta.
Good Food Company – good for a light lunch or breakfast with lots of gluten free options.
Le Lude – one of the best lunch places in Franschhoek, serves its own MCC/wines, so you get to taste at the same time as eating.
Short drive/edge of Franschhoek
There are several wine farm that have excellent restaurants which are a short drive from Franschhoek. Easy to pre-book taxis.
Roca– restaurant in Dieu Donne high above Franschhoek, so about a 5 minute drive from our house next to Chamonix Vineyard, with fabulous views. Would recommend an early evening booking so that you have a sundowner before dinner with a view over the valley before dinner as the sun sets.
Chefs Warehouse at Maison (just outside of the village, on the main road). Is the sister restaurant to the Chefs Warehouse in Cape Town which again has consistently been one of the best restaurants in the Western Cape.
The Village Grill – just outside of the village, but for steaks and similar.
Moreson – “bread and wine” is the restaurant. Does more informal charcuterie plates as well as more formal dining. Good place for tastings.
Grand Provence – old wine farm, plus art gallery. Simple restaurant with the option of eating outside in the shaded courtyard in summer.
Slightly further afield
Babylorenstoren – stunning gardens with Babel as its signature restaurant (which is consistently in the top ten restaurants in the world). Booking (usually several weeks in advance) is essential for Babel. The Garden restaurant is a simple, first come, first served restaurant in the garden, serving light salads, sandwiches etc.
Boschendal – consistently good and the best picnic in the area (choice of two – we recommend the Rhone picnic which is served from baskets at tables under the trees). The other picnic is great for families as served in an area with bean bags, hammocks and rugs). Werf Restaurant is the more formal restaurant (but not formal in the UK sense) with a terrace over looking the market garden. Plus there is a café for light meals and coffee.
Tokara, which is at the top of the pass between Stellenbosch and Paarl, has great views and a deli style cafe in addition to a formal restaurant. You need to book for both, but there is also a sculpture garden amongst the vines.
Glenelley – great Bistro, just outside of Stellenbosch (makes excellent chardonnay too).
The Lanserac – one of the oldest wine estates. The deli serves simple breakfasts and lunches. Just outside of Stellenbosch.
