Dining well in every season
We have always believed that simple, delicious, wholesome food that is homegrown or homemade is one of life’s greatest joys, nurturing body and soul. Whether it’s the crunch and creaminess of a fresh pasteis de nata from Vadas Bakery or the full Picknickery experience, we are constantly working on perfecting the art of dining well on Spier Wine Farm.
Since the reopening of our hotel, good food and our time-crafted wines have been brought to life in new and inspiring ways. Whether enjoying lunch in the light-filled Garden Room or feasting at dinner-only Veld, our menus are rooted in the rhythms of the earth. Ingredients are grown in our food garden, raised in our pastures or sourced from those who share our commitment to regenerative farming.
The journey to good food begins in the soil
The journey to good food begins long before our guests sit down to enjoy a delicious meal. It starts in the soil, which is at the heart of our regenerative farming philosophy.
Everything produced under our farm’s Farmer Angus label, from eggs and beef to charcuterie and wine, is free of antibiotics, hormones, or pesticides. Farmer Angus embraces biodynamic farming, a holistic approach that treats the farm as a self-sustaining ecosystem, focusing on nurturing the soil and leaving it in a better state for future generations.
The farm’s food garden, which was started by resident agroecologist Megan McCarthy in a repurposed horse paddock, delivers seasonal vegetables, salad leaves, and herbs to the kitchen daily.
Ingredients that cannot be produced or grown on the farm are sourced from trusted local partners who farm regeneratively and share our love for seasonal, nutrient-dense food.
In both Veld and Garden Room, the menus honour South Africa’s richly layered, multicultural food heritage. The style is simple and generous with a depth of flavour that comes from seasonal goodness, deftly cooked – the best of each season made to be enjoyed with our time-crafted wines.
Garden Room
The plant-filled, light-saturated Garden Room spills outdoors onto a terrace and pool and the wild Cape gardens that inspired its design. Everyone is welcome for lunch, while breakfast is available to hotel guests only. The lunch menu includes seasonal salads, soups, handmade pasta, grilled line fish, and Farmer Angus’s famous grass-fed beef burger served on a brioche bun.
All our seafood is sourced from Abalobi, a sustainable fishing company that partners with local fishermen to supply only non-endangered ocean species, ensuring responsible and ethical fishing methods that support both marine conservation and the local community.
For breakfast, hotel guests can look forward to a seasonal Morning Harvest table, including fresh fruits and vegetables from our food garden, thick Greek-style yoghurt, cheeses and charcuterie, freshly baked slow-ferment breads and pastries from Vadas Bakery (including those justifiably famous pasteis de natas), and homemade preserves and jams. Hot breakfast highlights include buttermilk pancakes with Farm Angus pancetta and rooibos syrup made from tea grown on the farm, or Eggs Benedict featuring eggs from free-grazing, pasture-reared hens.
Veld
In the evening, the focus shifts to Veld where staghorn ferns and indigenous orchids cascade from elevated, handcrafted Madwa baskets, contemporary South African art takes pride of place on the walls, and the room’s grand proportions are made intimate by an open fire and simply laid marble or bare wood tables and statement banquette seating in saffron velvet.
Veld’s menu reads like a love letter to South African terroir. Generous and full of integrity, dishes are respectful of South African flavours and the ingredients that make them shine.
The chefs in the sleek open kitchen make everything from scratch: the salsa verde accompanying Karoo lamb cutlets, the piccalilli served with Farmer Angus charcuterie, and the brioche served with ‘mushrooms on toast’, a starter featuring farm-grown king oyster and pickled shimeji mushrooms. A roasted beetroot starter with feta, spekboom and roasted hazelnuts is drizzled with a maple dressing made with Rozendal Farm vinegar. Smoked snoek fish cakes are served with pickled West Coast mussels, fennel and bokkom tartare sauce.
The main courses are deceptively simple: springbok loin with rainbow carrots and citrus jus; masala-roasted cauliflower steak with hummus, almonds, coriander yoghurt and curry leaves; and the steak cut of the day served with triple-fried, hand-cut chips and salad. Desserts include local gems, like rooibos ice cream with honeycomb, chocolate fondant with white chocolate ice cream and dulcey crémeux, and Amarula crème brûlée with shortbread.
Dining with us is always connected to the delightful ritual of enjoying a well-chosen glass of wine from the menu or choosing a special bottle, perhaps tasted before dinner in the glass wine library between Veld and Garden Room.
Visiting Spier for the day? Come for lunch in the Garden Room or dinner at Veld, open seven days a week. Breakfast at the hotel is exclusively for in-house guests – just one good reason to plan your stay. The Garden Room is open for lunch from 12h00 to 15h30, while dinner at Veld is from 18h00 to 21h30. Please make a reservation via dineplan.com, call 021 809 1100, or email dine@spier.co.za.