10 Eateries with a View for Lunch (or Sundowners)

10 Eateries with a View for Lunch (or Sundowners) this Summer — Some things you need to take upon your­self to change, but the beauty of life is that with most things it’s a given. After the cold, will come the warmth and after winter will come spring and with it, the all gor­geous sum­mer sun, allow­ing us golden oppor­tun­it­ies to sit back and sip in the beauty that sur­rounds us. So dust off the winter cob­webs, get out­side and breathe in the splend­our of our South African sum­mers, which is: spec­tac­u­lar views, fresh open air, gor­geous wines and suc­cu­lent foods.

We have high­lighted some of the loc­a­tions where you and your fam­ily and friends can treat yourselves to top class din­ing with breath­tak­ing views — the beach­front, vine­yard and moun­tain sur­round­ings of South Africa were our inspir­a­tion palette. We hope to inspire you to enjoy an after­noon lunch in one of these idyllic set­tings, while sip­ping on your favour­ite wine and soak­ing up the fresh air and warm after­noon sun. All you need to do is take the time to make the time, because you deserve it!

10 Eateries with a View for Lunch or Sundowners this Summer (in no par­tic­u­lar order):

1. Salt Restaurant & Bar (Bantry Bay, Cape Town)
2. The Twelve Apostles (near Camps Bay, Cape Town)
3. La Vierge Restaurant & Champagne Verandah (near Hermanus, Western Cape)
4. Grande Provence (Franschhoek, Cape Winelands)
5. Bel Punto Restaurant (Umdloti, KwaZulu Natal)
6. Casalinga Ristorante (Johannesburg, Gauteng)
7. The Goatshed at Fairview (Paarl, Cape Winelands)
8. Zachary's at Pezula (Knysna, Garden Route)
9. Granny Mouse Country House (KwaZulu Natal Midlands)
10. Harbour House Restaurant (Kalk Bay, Cape Town)

Please bare in mind that this is a sub­ject­ive list, not a defin­it­ive list – there are hun­dreds of out­stand­ing res­taur­ants in South Africa. It is not my inten­tion to offend other res­taur­ant own­ers, but rather to inspire trav­el­lers with the beauty of our coun­try. All tele­phone num­bers were cor­rect at time of publishing.

1. Salt Restaurant & Bar

An open can­vas of end­less ocean views posi­tioned in the pop­u­lar Bantry Bay, this is a clas­sic Cape Town exper­i­ence. Head Chef Jacques De Jager brings "award win­ning exper­i­ence and tal­ent to the Atlantic Seaboard". With its impec­cable ser­vice and clas­sic, con­tem­por­ary décor, floor to ceil­ing glass win­dows stretch­ing the length of the res­taur­ant, this is the per­fect loc­a­tion to take in the fresh sea breeze and the views, let the staff take care of you and just unwind. As an added bonus, from 15 September to 15 December 2010, enjoy a "gastro-economic" (trans­la­tion: great food, great price) lunch menu — two or three courses at prices you'll adore.

Open daily for lunch from 12h30 till 15h00.
Tel: +27 (0)21 439 7258

2. The Twelve Apostles

As if nature were hold­ing it in its strong grip, The Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa boasts a back­drop of the pic­tur­esque 12 Apostles moun­tain range and a pan­or­amic view of the Atlantic Ocean. With award-winning 5 star cuisine on offer at Azure Restaurant (what bet­ter way to catch up with the girls than a sea­food plat­ter on the ter­race with a bottle of bub­bly and the Cape Town sun warm­ing your shoulders and the ocean below) or sun­down­ers, a light snack, cock­tails or the clas­sic “Tea by the Sea” at the Leopard Room Bar. We are tak­ing this moment to acknow­ledge the seat with a view ... this is an exper­i­ence you deserve to enjoy before the sun goes down.

Azure Restaurant is open daily for lunch from 12h30 till 15h30.
Tel: +27 (0)21 437 9029

Leopard Room Bar is open daily. Snack plat­ters served from 12h00 till 22h30 and "Tea by the Sea" served from 14h00 till 18h00.

3. La Vierge Restaurant & Champagne Verandah

There is some­thing so pure and majestic about stand­ing in the pres­ence of the breath­tak­ing Hemel en Aarde (Heaven & Earth) Valley, situ­ated in Walker Bay (close to Hermanus) and home to La Vierge Winery. Capturing this essence and cre­at­ing the scene to sip it all in – lit­er­ally – is the trendy La Vierge Restaurant & Champagne Verandah. Allowing you the oppor­tun­ity to cel­eb­rate out­stand­ing wines, sip on French Champagne or even treat your­self to the relaxed food style of the Restaurant with an old-school delight of Banana and Caramel pan­cakes! Yummy!

Open daily for lunch from 12h00 till 15h00. Closed on Tuesdays, but cheese­boards are served out­side on the deck.
Tel: +27 (0)28 313 0130

4. Grande Provence

Grandeur and opu­lence are the words I would use to describe the feel of Grande Provence in Franschhoek. Every bit a part of its name, this 18^th cen­tury Manor House and The Owners Cottage reflect their Huguenot her­it­age while the res­taur­ant and wine tast­ing area “pro­ject a chic indus­trial pres­ence”. A won­der­ful way to exper­i­ence what Franschhoek has to offer. So take a moment to absorb the views and enjoy culin­ary excel­lence “pre­pared from local fare and flavored with global influ­ence both mod­ern and classical.”

Open daily for lunch and din­ner.
Tel: +27 (0)21 876 8600

5. Bel Punto Restaurant

Situated on South Beach Road in Umdloti, Bel Punto — with its dark wood interi­ors, glassed in kit­chen and large ter­race with unin­ter­rup­ted views of the ocean — is an authen­tic Italian res­taur­ant (owned by Italians) offer­ing out­stand­ing sea­food and steaks hot off the grill. To top it all off they have now opened a bar where you can sip on your favour­ite cock­tail while you take in the fresh ocean air and admire the sea views. It’s like the best of all worlds under one roof!  A must-experience this summer!

Open for lunch Wednesday to Sunday, from 12h00 till 15h00.
Tel: +27 (0)31 568 2407

6. Casalinga Ristorante

A renowned Italian-style res­taur­ant with breath­tak­ing views, is the ever-popular Casalinga Ristorante loc­ated in Muldersdrift. With its roses and man­i­cured gar­dens, sum­mer breezes and coun­try ambi­ence off­set by the rolling hills of the Magaliesberg, this res­taur­ant is an ideal sum­mer lunch spot. A selec­tion of good local wines as well as some Italian wines are offered. The beauty of the food is the ele­ment of the organic veget­ables grown in their own garden, adding that per­sonal touch and rich­ness to their res­taur­ant. They also offer a Sunday Lunch which your taste buds will celebrate!

Open for lunch Wednesday to Sunday, from 12h00.
Tel: +27 (0)11 957 2612/3311

7. The Goatshed at Fairview

Fairview boast an array of spe­cial­ties all encap­su­lated in the beauty that is this Paarl loc­a­tion. An informal Mediterranean style eat­ery offer­ing light meals and lunches, you can also enjoy a wide selec­tion of Fairview’s finest cheeses, com­pli­men­ted by their deli­cious range of freshly baked bread avail­able daily. Together with the renowned and gor­geous Fairview wines they have also incor­por­ated wines from The Spice Route Winery and The Goats do Roam Wine Company, their sis­ter brands. A full sens­ory exper­i­ence leav­ing a fresh, sweet taste in your mouth. More about this exper­i­ence at Lunch with Goats.

Open daily for lunch from 11h00 till 16h00.
Tel: +27 (0)21 863 3609

8. Zachary's at Pezula

A part of the Pezula Golf Estate in Knysna, need I say more about the set­ting and its views — simply spec­tac­u­lar! With a global-style res­taur­ant, it offers exquis­ite foods from local, sea­sonal and organic veget­ables pre­pared by top exec­ut­ive chef, Geoffrey Murray. An award-winning wine list offer­ing over 400 wines with a “com­fort­able eleg­ance sur­roun­ded by rich fab­rics and nat­ural tex­tures” says Charlotte Pregnolato for Eat Out Magazine. The ter­race, next to the pool area, or the lounge, with its floor to ceil­ing win­dows, are per­fect loc­a­tions at which to dine in the sum­mer sun. Then spoil yourselves with spa treat­ments after­wards ... need we say more?

Open daily for lunch from 11h00.
Tel: +27 (0)44 302 3410

9. Granny Mouse Country House

With a gor­geous com­bin­a­tion and twist in style, Granny Mouse Country House offers eleg­ance with a warm slice of coun­try charm. Located in the KwaZulu Natal Midlands, the res­taur­ant deck offers rolling val­ley views with an extens­ive wine list and exotic local ingredi­ents com­ing together in a contemporary-style culin­ary exper­i­ence. It is well worth tak­ing the time out to indulge and treat your­self to this magic experience!

Tel: +27 (0)33 234 4071

10. Harbour House Restaurant

Overlooking Kalk Bay's work­ing fish­ing har­bour, Harbour House is one of my favour­ite lunch spots for a summer's day. With an eleg­ant, yet simple interior, fant­astic ser­vice and simply sub­lime food (start with oysters and Champagne and you'll set the tone for a dec­ad­ent after­noon). Floor to ceil­ing win­dows offer views of the har­bour and its col­our­ful occu­pants on one side and the ocean on the other. During whale sea­son, Humpback and Southern Right whales can be spot­ted in the bay below. Be pre­pared to exper­i­ence a visual and culin­ary feast.

Open for lunch Monday to Sunday, from 12h00 till 16h00.
Tel: +27 (0)21 788 4133

These are our ten picks ... What are your favourites?

Tell us about your "Favourite Restaurant with a View" by leav­ing a com­ment below ...