As the swells rocked the boat, I attempted to balance while holding my camera steady enough to focus on the southern right whales in the far distance. It turns out I am a terrible photographer at sea and after experimenting with what I could get I followed the advice I often give others, I put my camera down and enjoyed the moment. I opted for whale watching in the Western Cape on a marine big 5 boat safari in the hopes of seeing whales, as well as penguins, seals, sharks, and dolphins.
The Test Kitchen is the most difficult reservation to secure in South Africa and deservedly so since this restaurant is consistently named the best restaurant in South Africa and recently named amongst the 50 best restaurants in the world. If you want to eat here on a weekend, advance planning is required. I selected a weekend five months in advance, bought a plane ticket, and made plans to travel to Cape Town for a solo lunch date at the best restaurant in South Africa.
La Colombe consistently appears amongst the Top 10 Best Restaurants in South Africa. Despite its proximity to Cape Town and my goal to eat my way through the best restaurants in South Africa, I had yet to dine there. Cape Town in July is ordinarily rainy and cold, so I had planned a quiet weekend in Constantia (a suburb of Cape Town) comprised of indoor activities – wine farm visits, reading, a massage, roaming Kirstenbosch gardens, and a long leisurely lunch at La Colombe.
Sundays in Cape Town are generally quiet with most shops and restaurants closed so that their staff can maintain a work life balance that Capetonians pride themselves on. Visitors should follow the lead of locals and head to the wine lands for a seriously delicious Sunday lunch. On my latest foray to Cape Town, I chose to spend my Sunday wining and dining at Waterkloof Wine Estate in Somerset West.
One of the best views in the Stellenbosch winelands has to be from the Jordan Restaurant dining room, but when the dishes start coming out of the kitchen, all attention turns to the magnificent food. This is not a restaurant where the view is meant to distract from middling food, but one where the views of wine farms and farmland convey the provenance of what you are eating.
Since moving to South Africa eighteen months ago this week, there have been countless moments where I have to stop and marvel that I am lucky enough to spend a few years here. Cape Town is an easy city to be awestruck in – the city is endowed with an incredible natural beauty like no other city I have visited.