Tag Archives: Grande Provence

Franschhoek Restaurants during Lockdown: which are open, closed, and opening soon!

September 28, 2020

Last week I spent two days in Franschhoek for a catch-up visit, after not having been to this lovely village known for its eateries and good wines in eight months. From having heard that the village was so quiet, and that many restaurants had closed down, I was pleasantly surprised to find the village bursting with excitement about new restaurants about to open in October, and later this year. I could not resist eating at Orangerie at Le Lude, what to me is one of Franschhoek’s best restaurants. Continue reading →

Corona Virus: Lockdown Journey Journal, Day 2 of Level 1, 22 September 2020.

September 23, 2020

Tuesday 22 September 2020, Day 2 of Level 1, Day 180 of Lockdown 😷

Corona Gratitude 🙏

#Grateful for a change of scenery, my first visit to Franschhoek in almost two years; for a number of stops in Stellenbosch, dropping off a bottle of ADHARA extra virgin olive oil to Avontuur Restaurant co-owner Zunia Boucher-Myerson, and for tea at Java with sisters Lisel Fourie Burger and Janine at Java, bringing Lisel my SwitchBitch Book 3; for reconnecting with Jade pearl shop on Church Street, so happy to see them open again; for a fabulous relaxed lunch at Boschendal Deli with Linda-Louise Roosenschoon, having struggled to find a restaurant open on a Tuesday on a wine estate; for a first introduction to Franschhoek in visiting Grande Provence, also having set up a Deli; for a quick shop at Woolies; and for finding my home at Maison Montagne, a brand new boutique guest house on Dieu Donne wine estate, seeing my Bestie Llewellyn Lambert for the first time in 18 months 🍎; for a beautiful sunny 23C day; and for being happy and healthy. 🙏💙 Venishree Mayer Continue reading →

Gorgeous George Hotel and its GiGi Rooftop Restaurant & Bar simply…Gorgeous, bowled over by the design, differentness!

May 23, 2019

How does one summarise Cape Town’s newest trendy hotspot that is a 32 bedroom Hotel, a rooftop bar with a resident mixologist, and a restaurant with Chef Guy Bennett at the helm, located in an area in which such an offering is not expected, that is simply gorgeous? The Gorgeous George Hotel, and with it the GiGi Rooftop Restaurant and Bar, will bring the Cape Town city centre alive again, an area that has not seen any innovation in quite a while. Continue reading →

Is a winter Restaurant bloodbath lying ahead for Cape Town and Winelands, after very tough summer? Restaurant Update March 2019

March 4, 2019

I am hearing about the current tough summer season in the local restaurant industry, with a depressed local as well as international economy, and one can therefore only be concerned about restaurant closures lying ahead in winter. There are no new restaurant openings that I am aware of. The closing down of Primal Eatery is a surprise, and of Open Kitchen in McGregor too.