A weekend getaway to Vrede en Lust Wine Estate

 24 May 2025

 

VREDE EN LUST WINE ESTATE

Intersection of R45 and Simondium Road, Franschhoek Wine Route

 

Lunch at the Bistro 

 

We had an overnight breakaway stay at Vrede en Lust with the Yorkies and though the intention had been to have lunch at Ou Meul on Simondium Road but extreme roadworks made us turn off to Vrede en Lust where the  Bistro is also happy to accommodate dogs provided one sits outside on the terrace.

 

We were almost on our own at first but other guests joined soon after us and our server also warned us to order quickly. A large group from the wine tasting venue was about to head to the Bistro for lunch.

 

Being hungry and fearing that there might be an agonising  waiting period for our food, I went to the deli to get us the last giant muffin (R28) and the last cruffin (R30) to share with our coffees.

 

The muffin was tasty but stodgy at the bottom (a baking issue) and the cruffin was excellent and properly baked.

 

As it turned out, there was no patience testing wait for our food. Von-Mari had ordered the southern fried chicken burger (R160) and my choice was described as a “caprese steak salad” (R180).

 

The visually handsome chicken burger was okay but “decidedly average” and not a patch on the similar dish at La Belle at the Alphen Hotel. The “McDonalds” fries were excellent.

 

I’d visualised my dish as a proper caprese salad with strips of steak. What I got was a plate of salad leaves, with little or no presence of fresh basil, a few tomato halves, a few small Mozzarella bites and strips of steak saturated in a sauce that brought nothing to the party, and the whole thing was drenched in salad dressing.  The steak was overcooked for my taste, a tad too chewy, though still succulent. The drenched leaves were a chore to eat. This is an ill-conceived, clearly misrepresented dish that’s not worth the price.

 

The entire experience wasn’t exactly a joyous feast of culinary awesomeness.

The bill, inclusive of a draft beer and a Coke, came to R568,00 (well, originally it was R603 before reduction because the server had somehow added a Coke we didn’t have).

 

The terrace of the Bistro is quite pleasant on warm day, the service was cheerful and mostly efficient (the incorrect billing aside) but the food seems to be pedestrian and somewhat overpriced for what you get. 

 

Dinner at Savoye restaurant

 

We ate dinner at Savoye, where we were one of only two couples. There were more than four guests at the accommodation but the others either don’t eat supper or ate elsewhere.

 

Our hostess / server recalled Von-Mari’s name from last year’s stay and we certainly recalled her. Apparently the menu has changed since last year but I couldn’t recall what I’d eaten previously, so the change made no difference.

 

We started with Vrede en Lust’s Sarah bubbly, two glasses for me, and Von-Mari had a glass of Ella shiraz. All excellent and very quaffable. 

The amuse bouche was a tasty savoury warm salad concoction on toasted bruschetta.

We decided on sharing some small plates: patatas bravas (R60), baked Camembert (R125), pan fried calamari (R140) and cauliflower “bang bang” (R90). The latter was my choice. Von-Mari took one bite of the cauliflower and couldn’t wait to never speak of it again. She ordered the Moroccan lamb meatballs (R120) tout suite to round out her meal.

The substantial portion of potatoes was delightful, crisp and creamy; the calamari was perfectly cooked and flavourful; the Camembert was overbaked, served as a gooey, hot mess that was yummy but would have been better as a hot cheese rather than liquid that tended to shatter the thin pieces of crisp bread and the sweet syrupy accompaniment wasn’t to Von-Mari’s taste. I loved the lightly charred cauliflower with Sriracha glaze and almond flakes. It was quite substantive too and though Von-Mari offered to share her lam meatballs, I could manage only one meatball, which was a perfect mouthful of succulent, well spiced lamb.

 

Von-Mari’s dessert was a Kahlua Dom Pedro (80). I had no space or appetite for something sweet and sufficed with an espresso.

 

The bill, also including a bottle of sparkling water, came to R1037,00.

 

The service was friendly and efficient (hardly a tough night for the server), the ambience of the dining room is cosy (there was a fire) and  it was so damn quiet, with the only intrusion being background music of muzak cover versions of popular tunes, and the food was quite good.

 

Breakfast at the Savoye

 

Breakfast was included in the room rate and we ate it at the outside tables of Savoye, on the edge of the sparkling blue swimming pool, rolling lawns, shrubs and trees beyond  and a view of an old Cape Dutch homestead.

 

There is no breakfast buffet, only a small selection of warm breakfasts.

 

Von-Mari ordered the eggs Benedict, which was properly prepared yet a very light breakfast and my choice was a poached egg on mushrooms on toast and with Hollandaise sauce, which had good flavour and was more substantial than the eggs Benedict. We shared a carafe of orange juice and drank cappuccinos. Von-Mari thought her eggs-benny was ok; not earth shattering. I really enjoyed my mushrooms on toast, it was a lovely and flavourful breakfast.

 

All-in-all, our stay and culinary adventures at Vrede and Lust was very enjoyable and the Yorkies certainly loved to be part of the action and happily roamed around in the wonderful great outdoors of the farmyard and vineyards at Vrede en Lust.