Fresh. Local. Exceptional.

Fine Dining

Maybe it was the vivid yellow of an egg yolk. Or the way the fresh mushrooms in the ravioli melted in your mouth. Or, perhaps it was the unique taste of Grootbos honey in your homemade ice cream. Whatever stands out to you: you’ll leave us with more than delighted tastebuds – you’ll leave us with rich culinary memories.

“Expansive views from every angle and friendly attentive staff add to the experience.”

Dining Experience

Every plate of food served up at our tables is a perfect, colourful piece of art. We use only the very freshest ingredients, sourced as close to Grootbos as possible, with many coming from our own organic farm on the reserve. This means that as you’re swooning over that home made linguini or Thai spiced soup, you’re also contributing to our food production and social upliftment projects. And the best part? All meals are included in your rate.

Organic Food

  • We can cater for a variety of dietary requirements.
  • Enjoy buffet breakfasts, 3-course lunches and 5-course dinners.
  • Our chefs incorporate current food trends with seasonal produce.
  • Everything is freshly made, from the mayonnaise to the pasta to the bread rolls.
Bursting with flavour and freshness

We believe that nothing tastes better than organic, freshly picked vegetables and herbs. Which is why we have our own farm from which we harvest and get these ingredients to our kitchen and onto your plate as fresh as possible. At the same time, we are supporting our local community by training and employing them through our Growing the Futures Project.

Mountain Spring Water

There are a few obvious benefits to providing our guests with water that comes from a sandstone aquifer on the reserve. It’s clean, delicious and full of healthy mineral content. The less obvious benefits are that it helps us reduce our carbon footprint, by only using recycled glass bottles we have eliminated plastic bottles. The business is run by locals which helps support our community.

Honey

A rare flower. A buzzing bee. A collective effort. And when all of these combine? You get our distinctive Grootbos honey. Our reserve plays host to the endangered Erica Irregularis plant, which occurs nowhere else in the world. Once a year it bursts into flower, turning the hills into a shimmer of pink. Our endemic swarms of bees then get to work, after which our beekeeper and his team harvest the honey, selling it back to the Reserve and supporting local families in the process. So our honey is not just a glaze on your salmon, it’s part of our vision for a sustainable future.

Pork

Our hand-reared pigs on the reserve enjoy leftover food from our kitchens, ensuring we minimise waste and maximise flavour. From the tasty sausage you eat at breakfast to the crispy bacon in your Caesar salad, every pork element served at Grootbos comes from our very own farm on the reserve.

Eggs & Chickens

Our 300 happy free-range chickens on the Siyakula farm produce about 4000 organic eggs a month. And you can taste this freshness in the dishes you eat, from our popular Eggs Benedict to fresh breakfast pastries to our dense and delicious chocolate fondant.

Vegetables and Herbs

We plan our menu around what’s in season and what we’re growing on our organic farm. Here in summer? Expect fresh berries with your breakfast. 70% of all the herbs and 100% of the micro herbs we use are cultivated by our Grow the Future team, providing employment to local families.

Seafood

Being situated so close to the marine bounty of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, it’s no wonder that our seafood dishes are so popular. Fresh fish gets delivered daily from the boats at Gansbaai Harbour, but if weather conditions mean there is no fish available, you’ll get to sample rainbow trout from the Langkloof Trout Farm nearby.

Other local ingredients

We’re proud to support other local producers who are just around the corner from us, such as Kaliba Dairy with their fresh butter, cheese, yoghurt, as well as Kleinriver Cheese Farm and Stone House Cheese Farm, who produce a variety of soft white & semi-hard cheeses. Try our cheese plate with home made compote and chutneys to taste this mouth-watering produce.

Mountain Spring Water
Honey
Pork
Eggs & Chickens
Vegetables and Herbs
Seafood
Other local ingredients

Our Culinary Creatives

“Our 5-course dinners are constantly reinvented to both delight and surprise you.”

Passion and creativity collide

Our culinary team meets regularly to brainstorm and experiment, discussing which ingredients are the best, right now. Whether it’s visiting the harbour to pick up the catch of the day, or heading to our farm to check on the micro herbs, you can be guaranteed that Executive Chef Benjamin Conradie and his knowledgeable team have got your tastebuds covered.

Nibble on a just-baked croissant from one of our pastry chefs. Sample the freshness of an octopus salad, and you’ll quickly realise that you’re tasting food from a culinary team who’ve been extensively trained, many with international experience in the world’s most luxurious hotels

Benjamin Conradie

Executive Head Chef

Fresh homemade Pasta (Basically everything that is fresh and hand made)

Sox Sokhela

Sous Chef

Botanical Tasting Menu featuring Snow Bush, Buchu, and Mountain Sage

Jurie Swart

Executive Sous Chef

Duo of pork, roast Parisian potatoes, honey-glazed baby carrots and cardamom purée

Clarissa Bulewan

Head Pastry Chef

My favourite desserts are rooibos bavarois and citrus caramel

Devon Jansen van Vuuren

Villa Sous Chef

Buchu-cured trout, coconut espuma and wild garlic oil

Almie Leimecke

Tournant Chef

Wood-fired crayfish basted with passion fruit vanilla chili butter. 

Siza Jacob

Senior Chef De Partie

Botanical Tasting Menu featuring Mushroom Tortellini

Xavier Ramsami

Chef De Partie

Mexican taco with salsa and guacamole

Ruben Harmse

Demi Chef De Partie

Gerisole pasta with tarragon beurre blanc

Neziswa Mgubo

Junior Chef De Partie

Beef and mushroom tataki

Juan Fourie

Chef De Partie

Tonkutsu ramen

Cynthia Mbakeja

Demi Chef

Traditional breakfast

Lindeka Thethleni

Breakfast Chef

Croque Madame

Nwabisa Masela

Commi Chef

French toast with chakalaka

Anelisa Dukani

Breakfast Chef

Japanese omelette

Tamsen Koert

Pastry Chef

I love baking bread and do magic with a piece of dough

Leighshe Harker

Chef De Partie (Pastry)

Peppermint tart over everything

Jasmine Jourd

Demi-Chef de Partie (Pastry)

Honey Ice-cream made with fynbos honey

Carolyn Cowley

Junior Sous Chef (Pastry)

Cupcakes are life

Benjamin  Conradie

Executive Head Chef

Fresh homemade Pasta (Basically everything that is fresh and hand made)

Sox  Sokhela

Sous Chef

Botanical Tasting Menu featuring Snow Bush, Buchu, and Mountain Sage

Jurie  Swart

Executive Sous Chef

Duo of pork, roast Parisian potatoes, honey-glazed baby carrots and cardamom purée

Clarissa  Bulewan

Head Pastry Chef

My favourite desserts are rooibos bavarois and citrus caramel

Devon  Jansen van Vuuren

Villa Sous Chef

Buchu-cured trout, coconut espuma and wild garlic oil

Almie  Leimecke

Tournant Chef

Wood-fired crayfish basted with passion fruit vanilla chili butter. 

Siza  Jacob

Senior Chef De Partie

Botanical Tasting Menu featuring Mushroom Tortellini

Xavier  Ramsami

Chef De Partie

Mexican taco with salsa and guacamole

Ruben  Harmse

Demi Chef De Partie

Gerisole pasta with tarragon beurre blanc

Neziswa  Mgubo

Junior Chef De Partie

Beef and mushroom tataki

Juan  Fourie

Chef De Partie

Tonkutsu ramen

Cynthia  Mbakeja

Demi Chef

Traditional breakfast

Lindeka  Thethleni

Breakfast Chef

Croque Madame

Nwabisa  Masela

Commi Chef

French toast with chakalaka

Anelisa  Dukani

Breakfast Chef

Japanese omelette

Tamsen  Koert

Pastry Chef

I love baking bread and do magic with a piece of dough

Leighshe  Harker

Chef De Partie (Pastry)

Peppermint tart over everything

Jasmine  Jourd

Demi-Chef de Partie (Pastry)

Honey Ice-cream made with fynbos honey

Carolyn  Cowley

Junior Sous Chef (Pastry)

Cupcakes are life

Restaurants

It’s not food – it’s an occasion.

We believe that food is about more than feeding your body. It’s about connecting with others. Taking time to savour each mouthful. And tasting the freshness and wildness of this unique place. Enjoy these culinary experiences at one of our two distinctive lodge restaurants, each with their own character and atmosphere.

The Garden Lodge dining area, which is spacious and yet perfectly cosy, is the ideal space to enjoy meals together with your loved ones. Floor-to-ceiling windows bring you ever closer to the outdoors in the elegant dining room. The outdoor deck has expansive views over Walker Bay and provides the perfect setting to enjoy our world-class cuisine.  

Please Note: Our restaurants are only for resident guests of Grootbos, and not open to the public.

Sample Menus

Read what your daily menus could look like. Please note that these vary according to seasons and availability.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner Tasting

Destination Dining

"Our culinary experiences are not restricted to our fine dining restaurants"

Go on a culinary adventure

We love getting out into nature which is why our culinary experiences are not restricted to our fine dining restaurants. Enjoy an al fresco picnic with your toes in the beach sand, sip on cocktails as you see the sun set or enjoy a uniquely South African meal in our boma as you watch the fire embers burning low.

The Boma
Picnics on Beach
Cellar Dinners
Picnics on the Reserve

Wine

Authentic and Extraordinary

At Grootbos we know a lot about wine. But we’re not pretentious about it. We believe that everyone will enjoy discovering and experiencing the award winning wines of this region, whether they’re sampling a food and wine pairing, hearing from one of our sommeliers on what makes this vintage particularly special or going on a guided tour to the wine farm itself.

Explore Wine Experience
Enjoy the warmth of our hospitality

Grootbos Foundation and global recognition

Grootbos is a world leader in sustainable tourism and has been awarded some of the highest international accolades possible, making us one of only a handful of lodges to achieve this.

See Specials
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A UNIQUE SOUTH AFRICAN EXPERIENCE

Grootbos invites you to experience our country's most precious floral biome and marine wilderness like never before. Enjoy unique guided experiences while being treated to five-star luxury at our lodges and villas. We offer South African residents an exclusive discounted rate and additional benefits. 

What's new at Grootbos - New Garden Lodge and Florilegium

The last year has been a busy one at Grootbos. We rebuilt our beloved Garden Lodge entirely and re-opened it in April 2022. We also officially launched the Grootbos Florilegium - Africa's first contemporary florilegium - which is a collection of botanical illustrations created by local and international artists, depicting the charismatic plants found on our reserve and the surrounding regions.

Click below to learn more about these exciting developments.

See New Garden Lodge See Florilegium