12 Stanford restaurants and wine farms worth visiting

By Roxanne Reid
Everyone who visits the village of Stanford just a two-hour drive from Cape Town, South Africa, should arrive hungry. There are so many good places to eat and to enjoy wine tasting that the town is becoming a serious contender for foodie capital of the Cape; Franschhoek had better watch out. Here are 12 Stanford restaurants and wine farms worth visiting.

​Stanford restaurants
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1. The Manor House

You’ll find the excellent Manor House restaurant at Stanford Valley Guest Farm about 10km from Stanford on the R326 to Napier. And it’s definitely worth the trip. The 150-year-old building looks out over a pond and rolling lawns towards the mountains. Options on the locally sourced menu the day we visited included pork belly, lamb and fillet, but we were seduced by the line fish with a subtle caper cream and lemon peel curd. Dessert of moskonfyt crème brûlée was an excellent marriage of creamy custard and brûlée that had the perfect crackle factor. It was probably the best meal I’ve ever had on all my visits to Stanford. You don’t have to stay at Stanford Valley to eat in the restaurant but you do need to prebook.
Open Thurs to Sat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, for dinner from 17:00 on Wed and for breakfast and lunch on Sundays

2. Havercrofts 
If you like good food that’s well cooked and served in a rustic farmhouse with views of the mountains, you have to visit Havercrofts. Highly recommended by locals for Sunday lunch, it’s owned and run ‘with heart and humour’ by husband and wife team, Innes and Brydon Havercroft – also known at the weekly Saturday morning market as the ‘good-looking husband and rude wife’. Brydon mostly busies himself in the kitchen while Innes takes the orders and entertains guests with her banter. A blackboard menu of treats might include items like duck liver parfait, mushroom risotto, kudu fillet, pork belly, blue cheese pannacotta, churros or lemon tart.
Open for lunch Thurs to Sun 12.30-2:00

3. Madre

Regular visitors to Stanford may remember Madre Smit Bester from her Madre’s Kitchen country-style restaurant surrounded by vineyards and dams. If you’re one who mourned its loss some years back, you’ll be thrilled to know she’s back, this time with a restaurant simply called Madre. Find it in Du Toit Street, in the spot where Mariana’s used to be before Mariana retired. We sat at one of the four tables on the verandah overlooking the garden and enjoyed every minute of our lunch here. A blackboard menu announced the freshly prepared dishes, leaning heavily on locally sourced produce. We shared delicious zucchini flowers stuffed with olives and feta as a starter. I had braised lamb wrapped in vine leaves that was rich and tasty. My husband loved his pork belly with the perfect crackling, just the right balance of meat and fat, served with a piquant rhubarb and ginger relish.
Open Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun 12:00-17:00, Thurs 12:00-21:30

4. Springfontein Eats

Photo: Springfontein

Are you a locavore? If you visit Springfontein Eats on the Springfontein wine estate just west of Stanford village, you’ll discover that this means using home grown and foraged fresh herbs, veggies and fruits and locally sourced meat and fish. The chefs aim to create a fine food destination with just a hint of molecular gastronomy. Expect a taste adventure with ingredients like prawns, calamari, duck, veal, goat’s cheese, truffles, Pinotage, pears or gooseberries. Booking is essential.
Open Wed 18:00-22:30, Thurs to Sat 12:30-15:30 and 18:00-22:30, Sun 12:30-15:30

5. Graze Slow Food Café 

Graze Café in the heart of Stanford village isn’t open every day but has proved extremely popular with locals and visitors alike when it is. Chef Tabby does wonders in the kitchen with fresh produce sourced locally – some of which she grows herself – while husband Alex is the friendly face out front. Try breakfast on a Wednesday or Saturday. The Saturday lunch or Friday dinner menus might include a steak sandwich on ciabatta, rabbit risotto, bruschetta, granadilla cheesecake or rose geranium pannacotta.
Open Wed 9:00-12:00pm, Fri 6pm-11pm, Sat 9:00-16:00

6. Mosaic Lagoon Cafe

Mosaic Lagoon Café at Mosaic Private Sanctuary & Spa on the edge of the Hermanus Lagoon is about 8km from Stanford village. The Spookhuis that houses the café was built of stacked limestone blocks in 1892 and is rumoured to have a resident ghost. Here you can find salads, sandwiches, cheese platters, pastries and cured meats. Or order a picnic basket to enjoy under the milkwood trees next to the water’s edge. It’s also a gorgeous wedding and event venue, so it’s best to check beforehand in case it’s booked out.
Open Wed to Sun 11-5pm (except if there’s a private function)

7. Ou Meul Bakkery
You can see the farm stall underpinnings of the lovely Ou Meul Bakkery, which still offers puff pastry pies and tasty sourdough and other breads but it offers a full breakfast and lunch menu too. Sit down or take away if you’re in a rush. I had a good flat white (they use Bootlegger coffee) but next time I’ll ask for a double shot for extra kick. My roast vegetable open sandwich with beetroot hummus on toasted sourdough had me smacking my lips in appreciation, and my husband enjoyed his bacon and avo sandwich on ciabatta.
Open daily from 7:00-17:00

8. Yum Eat Café 

By the time we made it to Yum Eat Café in Victoria Street on our last day in Stanford, we were no longer really hungry. But it was our last chance to sample Stanford’s food, so we popped in to this clean and bright grey-and-white corner café for brunch. My toasted sarmie was tasty, as was hubby’s scrambled egg on a croissant, with bacon on the side. But best of all were the flat whites, strong and flavoursome the way we like them. Owner Jack Uys is passionate about his coffee, sourcing his custom blend from around the world. ‘When you make a cup of coffee, you need to pay homage to the bean and its long journey,’ he insists. Other options on the menu include salads, omelettes, quiches, wraps, pasta, burgers and a range of cakes for those with a sweet tooth.
Open Wed to Sun 9:00-16:00

Stanford wine farms

9. Stanford Hills

With an old manor house dating back to 1855, Stanford Hills is more than just a winery. It also produces indigenous flowers (proteas and pincushions) and olives. In fact, they have only 12ha of vines, 8ha of those pinotage. Don’t miss at least a taste of the flagship Jacksons Pinotage, though the entry level Veldfire pinotage is even easier on the pocket. I enjoyed the Cape Blend, an unusual combination of 65% shiraz and 35% pinotage. They also make a Méthode Cap Classique, but that wasn’t available for tasting when we visited. Also on the farm are self-catering cottages and The Tasting Room restaurant (pictured above) overlooking a dam, where you can enjoy the view over the valley and order light meals like salads and burgers.
Open for tastings daily from 8:30-17:00

10. Springfontein
Zimbabwean winemaker Tariro Masayiti is a biochemist who later studied winemaking at Stellenbosch and worked at Nederburg before coming to the Springfontein boutique winery. Visit the winery to taste their estate wines, or buy a glass or two at the sunset market that takes place in the village square on the last Friday of the month. The main varietals produced at Springfontein are the South African staples of chenin blanc and pinotage, and since 2019 all their products have been certified organic. There’s also a restaurant (see 4 above) and accommodation on the estate.
Open for tastings daily from 11:00-21:00

11. Raka 

You’ll find Raka wine farm about 17 kilometres from Stanford on the R326 to Napier. Owner Piet Dreyer is so obsessed with the sea that he named the farm after his fishing boat. But that doesn’t mean his wines are fishy; Raka boasts a number of four- or four-and-a-half-star wines in Platter’s wine guide. Relax under a shade umbrella on the verandah overlooking the vineyards to enjoy your tasting of six (or more) wines, or venture into the cool overlooking the barrel maturation cellar. The wines we tasted included sauvignon blanc, shiraz, cabernet franc, and a five-cultivar Bordeaux blend called Quinary. You can choose from a small deli selection of cheeses, olives and cold meats to enjoy with your tasting.
Open Mon to Fri 9:00-17:00, Sat/public holidays 10:00-15.00

12. Creation Wines

Chances are if you’re driving to Stanford you may go through Hermanus and it’s certainly worth taking a detour to visit Creation Wines in the beautiful Hemel en Aarde Valley. Their wines have won multiple awards. They offer food and wine pairings, including a six-course lunch pairing, wine and chocolate, wine and gelato, vegan pairing, even non-alcoholic pairing. Views across the vineyards from the glass-fronted tasting room and restaurant or the verandah are epic.
Open for tastings daily (except Christmas and New Year’s Day) from 10:00-17:00, booking essential

Other wine farms
Other Stanford wine farms include Walker Bay next to the Birkenhead Brewery, Sir Robert Stanford Estate, Boschrivier and Brunia (both known for their shiraz), and Vaalvlei (also known for fly-fishing and owner/winemaker Naas Terblanche’s passion for the conservation of frogs and toads).

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