Forget the game drives — our kind of safari involves good food, great wine, and plenty of stopping along the way.
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Welcome to the Stellenbosch Food Safari, where the only things we’re hunting for are delicious bites, beautiful wine, and those little places you immediately want to tell your friends about.
As South Africa’s second-oldest town, Stellenbosch has history in abundance — but don’t be fooled into thinking it’s stuck in the past. Wander along streets like Church Street and Dorp Street, and you’ll find a wonderfully vibrant mix of bistros, restaurants, wine bars, coffee shops, ice-cream parlours, galleries, boutiques and artisan stores. It’s beautiful, buzzing, and dangerously easy to spend an entire day wandering around.
So that’s exactly what we did.
So, what is a food safari?
Quite simply, it’s all about exploring, tasting and discovering. All you need is an appetite, an adventurous palate, and a little thyme. (Sorry — couldn’t resist.)
Our route took us to four stops, each with its own personality, flavours, and reasons to linger.
Stop one: Stellenbosch Wine Bar
Our first stop, on Church Street, was the perfect place to kick things off — relaxed, welcoming, and ideal for a catch-up with friends, a casual lunch, or even a business lunch where you want the conversation to feel a little less corporate.
We popped in for pre-dinner drinks and discovered it’s the place to explore the Stellenbosch Wine Collection, including pours from Rust en Vrede, Afrikaans and Stellenbosch Reserve. Then came the food.
Our recommendation: the lamb riblets, paired with Guardian Peak SMG — R150, available exclusively during Taste Stellenbosch. Tender, sticky, savoury, and exactly the sort of dish you order thinking you’ll have “a little something,” only to realise you’ve eaten the whole plate. No regrets.
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Stop two: Meraki by Day, Bertha’s by Night
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Next up, at 43 Church Street: Meraki — and if you have even the slightest sweet tooth, prepare yourself. It’s home to a seriously tempting collection of cakes and pastries. The kind you tell yourself you’ll “just have a look” at, and somehow they end up on your table anyway. A sweet lover’s dream.
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As afternoon turns to evening, Meraki transforms into Bertha’s Wine Bar, where the focus shifts to small-batch wines, small plates and tapas. We opted for a glass of bubbles — obviously — with a delicious bitterballen. But we couldn’t help noticing the bouillabaisse coming out of the kitchen: a fragrant stew of prawns, calamari, mussels and tomato that smelled so good it went straight onto our “must come back and try” list.
One safari is clearly never enough.
Stop three: The Wine Glass
By now we were well and truly in the spirit of things, so it was off to The Wine Glass on Ryneveld Street. A Stellenbosch favourite, it pours more than 100 wines for tasting — a rather dangerous place for anyone who enjoys saying “I’ll just try one.”
It’s also a great stop if you’re after food, from light bites and tapas to a more substantial lunch or dinner. Our highlight was the individual charcuterie board, perfectly suited to grazing and sipping. And then there’s the décor — beautifully styled without feeling stuffy, with an atmosphere that makes you want to settle in. It’s the kind of place where one glass turns into two, the conversation gets louder, and suddenly nobody’s in any hurry to leave. Perfect for an evening of wine, nibbles and plenty of giggles with friends.
Final stop: De Warenmarkt
Every good safari needs a grand finale, and ours ended at De Warenmarkt, also on Ryneveld Street. Housed in a beautiful historic building, it’s a collection of artisan merchants bringing together a wonderfully eclectic selection of food and drink — everything from MCC and oysters to crêpes, waffles and plenty in between.
Arrive hungry, and without a strict plan. Wander, see what catches your eye, and embrace the art of grazing.
Your turn to go on safari
The beauty of a Stellenbosch Food Safari is that there’s no single route to follow. Create your own adventure: start with coffee and cake, move on to a wine tasting, stop for lunch, browse the shops, grab an afternoon ice cream, and finish with tapas and a glass of wine. Best of all, many of these spots sit right in the heart of Stellenbosch, within easy walking distance of one another.
For more inspiration, take a look at the Taste Stellenbosch programme and discover the participating bistros, restaurants, wine farms and experiences happening throughout the town and surrounding Winelands.
The only rule? Come hungry. And perhaps leave a little room for dessert.
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