By Roxanne Reid
You’re spoiled for choice when it comes to eating out in Swellendam in the Overberg, about 200km east of Cape Town. The town has more than 20 restaurants where you can get anything from a pastry to a pizza, a toasted sarmie to bobotie, a plate of pasta to a fine dining experience. Here are some ideas about where to eat out in Swellendam.
You’re spoiled for choice when it comes to eating out in Swellendam in the Overberg, about 200km east of Cape Town. The town has more than 20 restaurants where you can get anything from a pastry to a pizza, a toasted sarmie to bobotie, a plate of pasta to a fine dining experience. Here are some ideas about where to eat out in Swellendam.
1. Pennantwing
I’m mentioning this first because it was by far my favourite foodie stop in Swellendam. All the other choices are in random order. [Update 2016: This restaurant has been sold since our visit and now trades under a different name.]
I’m mentioning this first because it was by far my favourite foodie stop in Swellendam. All the other choices are in random order. [Update 2016: This restaurant has been sold since our visit and now trades under a different name.]
Pennantwing's sesame chicken wrap may seem huge, but you'll finish every morsel
Pennantwing in Swellengrebel Street styles itself as a coffee shop. Sure, the coffee and pastries are excellent – just see if you can resist something from the delectable display – but the lunches are of a quality that suggest so much more than just a coffee shop. Louie busies himself turning out great tasting food like soups, breads, wraps and quiches, while Geoff chats to the customers and makes sure they’re happy. He’s also a baker of note, producing desserts and pastries that change from day to day, but might include apple strudel, baklava and chocolate orange cake with ganache.
I gobbled up a delicious vegetable soup with a slice of homemade bread that was so yummy I could have scoffed the whole loaf. Hubby had a sesame chicken wrap that was declared delicious and enormous enough to satisfy his appetite. For dessert we shared a portion of apple strudel in phyllo pastry and a gluten-free pear tart, the appearance and taste of which belied the ‘healthy’ moniker. They were so artistically presented it was no surprise to discover that Geoff and Louie have a past that includes stints in both function co-ordination and interior design.
I gobbled up a delicious vegetable soup with a slice of homemade bread that was so yummy I could have scoffed the whole loaf. Hubby had a sesame chicken wrap that was declared delicious and enormous enough to satisfy his appetite. For dessert we shared a portion of apple strudel in phyllo pastry and a gluten-free pear tart, the appearance and taste of which belied the ‘healthy’ moniker. They were so artistically presented it was no surprise to discover that Geoff and Louie have a past that includes stints in both function co-ordination and interior design.
These glistening pear tarts were among five pastry choices the day we visited Pennantwing
Take time to browse the eclectic collection of handmade gifts and soft furnishings too. The talented owners make about 75% of the soft furnishings you’ll see. They’re also painters and are the brains behind the 4x4 Art Challenge 500 held in February each year. Each participant gets a 40x40 canvas to work on in whatever style he or she chooses, and these are sold for R500 each to raise money for charity. This year they raised R18,000.
Geoff is vibrant, colourful and outspoken, a hoot when you get him going, and Louie lets him do most of the talking. But they both know food and their love of sharing it with customers is obvious. Drop in sometime and let them share it with you.
Geoff is vibrant, colourful and outspoken, a hoot when you get him going, and Louie lets him do most of the talking. But they both know food and their love of sharing it with customers is obvious. Drop in sometime and let them share it with you.
2. The Conservatory at Schoone Oordt
The Conservatory is a light, open space where you can enjoy fine dining in a relaxed atmosphere
The five-star Schoone Oordt Country House, built in 1853 and lovingly restored, has a conservatory restaurant that’s elegant but relaxed rather than stuffily formal. The menu was definitely in the fine dining category with items like risotto, crème of cauliflower soup with cumin, Kudu loin with roasted winter vegetables, and honey panacotta with ginger sorbet and poached pear.
If you’re lucky enough to be staying at the hotel, you’ll find that the kitchen staff continue the gourmet theme at breakfast, with a spread that includes fresh fruit salad, creamy yoghurt, home-made granola, muffins, scones, cheeses – and that's just the first course. Second course might be flapjacks with berry coulis, followed by a delicious tower of mushroom, tomato, bacon and egg – a novel and attractive twist on the same-old, same-old hot breakfast.
Note that the Conservatory is only open for dinner in summer (closed from May to September).
If you’re lucky enough to be staying at the hotel, you’ll find that the kitchen staff continue the gourmet theme at breakfast, with a spread that includes fresh fruit salad, creamy yoghurt, home-made granola, muffins, scones, cheeses – and that's just the first course. Second course might be flapjacks with berry coulis, followed by a delicious tower of mushroom, tomato, bacon and egg – a novel and attractive twist on the same-old, same-old hot breakfast.
Note that the Conservatory is only open for dinner in summer (closed from May to September).
3. The Old Gaol on Church Square
At the Old Gaol there's a fire inside for cold days or you can sit under the trees when the weather is fine
The day we lunched at the Old Gaol on Church Square was cold and everyone else had scuttled inside where a fire was burning. We sat outside on the wooden deck under the trees to enjoy the view of the Dutch Reformed church opposite and the Langeberg mountains in the distance.
Service got off to a slow start; turned out there was a computer crisis that threw things for a loop, especially orders and payments. When our food did arrive, though, it was good. I’d been disappointed that the signature bobotie wasn’t on the menu that day, but hubby’s chicken wrap and lemon meringue pie were tasty, as was my spicy butternut soup which came with freshly made roosterkoek. These traditional breads are baked daily in a wood-burning oven behind the restaurant and it may be the first time I’ve had such a perfect one, light and airy. Kudos to the roosterkoek baker.
Regulars on the menu include Cape curry, lamb shank, oxtail and traditional melktert. The Old Gaol is one of few restaurants in Swellendam open for lunch on Sundays and makes a perfect place to take the family because there’s a play area out back and a special kiddies menu.
Service got off to a slow start; turned out there was a computer crisis that threw things for a loop, especially orders and payments. When our food did arrive, though, it was good. I’d been disappointed that the signature bobotie wasn’t on the menu that day, but hubby’s chicken wrap and lemon meringue pie were tasty, as was my spicy butternut soup which came with freshly made roosterkoek. These traditional breads are baked daily in a wood-burning oven behind the restaurant and it may be the first time I’ve had such a perfect one, light and airy. Kudos to the roosterkoek baker.
Regulars on the menu include Cape curry, lamb shank, oxtail and traditional melktert. The Old Gaol is one of few restaurants in Swellendam open for lunch on Sundays and makes a perfect place to take the family because there’s a play area out back and a special kiddies menu.
4. Tredici
You can see Tredici from the N2 between Cape Town and Knysna; it's worth making a stop, either for a meal or some high-class padkos
Tredici’s architecture would seem more at home in Florence than Swellendam, but it’s a welcome addition to the foodie scene here nonetheless. It’s a deli, patisserie, bakery and restaurant rolled into one, and it’s full of savoury and sweet treats. We enjoyed a sophisticated breakfast of mushrooms on wholewheat ciabatta with oven-roasted baby tomatoes and rocket, and bacon and scrambled egg on ciabatta. For a light lunch, there are salads and sandwiches with ingredients like Gruyere, caramelised onions and ricotta – yum.
For more about our visit, see Tredici in Swellendam: a taste of Europe.
For more about our visit, see Tredici in Swellendam: a taste of Europe.
5. La Belle Alliance
Picturesquely situated on the banks of the Koornlands River, La Belle Alliance family restaurant is very popular for outdoor eating on the patio and deck – especially for Sunday lunch when few other eateries in Swellendam are open. The setting is perfect: a canopy of stinkwood trees for dappled shade and a view overlooking the river if you’re lucky enough to get one of the tables on the deck extension.
The building that houses the restaurant used to be a Masonic Lodge and you can still see the Masonic symbol on the gable.
The menu is a mix of traditional dishes like bobotie and lasagne with lighter options like sandwiches, as well as hearty breakfasts. I enjoyed a toasted chicken sarmie, while hubby had a burger and a yummy lemon meringue pie. Service was prompt and friendly, but we didn’t feel rushed. We’d have liked to linger longer, but there was too much still to do in Swellendam (more about that later)!
The building that houses the restaurant used to be a Masonic Lodge and you can still see the Masonic symbol on the gable.
The menu is a mix of traditional dishes like bobotie and lasagne with lighter options like sandwiches, as well as hearty breakfasts. I enjoyed a toasted chicken sarmie, while hubby had a burger and a yummy lemon meringue pie. Service was prompt and friendly, but we didn’t feel rushed. We’d have liked to linger longer, but there was too much still to do in Swellendam (more about that later)!
Other Swellendam restaurants we didn’t get to experience for ourselves, but were recommended by locals include: La Sosta (closed from 1 May to 31 August 2014), Field and Fork, Roosje van de Kaap, and Koornlands.
We were also sorely tempted by the Café Oppi Stoep, a pretty pink-and-white coffee shop near the Drostdy museum where you can sit under the oak trees and umbrellas and watch the world go by. But you can only eat so much in three days!
Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za
We were also sorely tempted by the Café Oppi Stoep, a pretty pink-and-white coffee shop near the Drostdy museum where you can sit under the oak trees and umbrellas and watch the world go by. But you can only eat so much in three days!
Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za
