La Grotto

Amazyng food and amazyng place.
We love to go there! Everything is prepared with high quality and love.

On the beautiful Uitsig Wine Estate in the Constantia valley just behind Table Mountain and the original wine valley of the Western Cape is La Grotto.. Owned and operated by Tony And Liz Belle, both accomplished chefs is this cozy, warm and unpretentious delightful restaurant..The service was impeccable and Liz spent time at each table welcoming guests and sharing the menu details.. This isn’t a “fine dining” wannabee.. but a delicious uncomplicated restaurant with fresh ingredients especially the Cape Salmon( not at all similar to regular salmon) but a firm white fish with a, clean taste. The black mussel and and squd appetizers were perfect. The Cape Salmon mains were sublime.. Then cassata for dessert. Cassata was a dessert staple many years ago but the ice cream factory closed in the 90’s La Grotto’s version, home made, has the rainbow ice cream infused with nuts and glance’d fruits. An improvement on the original and glad to be once again available here. The prices are reasonable and for foreign visitors with euros or dollars incredibly cheap. Highly recommend this jewel to add to the already “foodie” reputation of the Western Cape.

What was supposed to be a cozy evening with friends turned out to be a massive disappointment.

The owners of this establishment obviously are blinded by their arrogance and lack of understanding the business, or maybe not as they obviously are so well supported by the passing tourist trade that they do not give a damn if they loose local customers. !!!

I will start to say, that the evening started off very promising with drinks and initial starters arriving in good time and waiters friendly and doing a good job. All were in a good mood and orders were taken for the main dishes. The order was a mix of fish dishes and steak. Food came out in reasonable time and presented ok. Most of the table were satisfied with the food (and will say my fish was delicious) BUT.. and now comes the pure arrogance and stupidity of the owners..

Very unfortunately one of the steaks (fillet) sent out with mushroom sauce (which was great) was to say the least RANK.. three other people on the table tasted it and all said the same. The waiter was called over, food was sent back and then this !!

The owners wife (the owner runs the kitchen and wife runs the floor), came out to confront the guest about the steak(fillet) indicating there was absolutely nothing wrong with it and that the guest did not know what they were talking about. (one guest on the table had run a well established steak restaurant himself and knows when meat is rank or not). The owner could not accept that maybe, just maybe it was off. The end of it was they (the Owner) said that they then refused to cook for this one guest and that was it !!!

Night ruined by such arrogant and self opinionated owners, and in my opinion should be banned from running an establishment like this.

I will never recommend this to any people should they ask nor will i promote it in any good way. There are just way to many other great locations to eat at and these owners are hiding behind the fact that they are part of the beautiful Uitsig vineyard and its surroundings.

" The worst kind of arrogance is arrogance from ignorance "

What was intended to be a special celebration for my mom’s birthday ended up being a disappointing experience with the owners. The waitering staff were fantastic and 90% of the food at the table was great. However, no amount of seasoning or culinary expertise could salvage such a disastrous fillet. The sheer negligence displayed by the kitchen staff in serving such subpar and potentially hazardous food is utterly unacceptable. I strongly advise against anyone risking their health and taste buds by dining at this establishment. This experience was related to one item on the menu whereby the owner and head of kitchen were adamant that guests including a former chef were incorrect in their well established review of the meal. 3 patrons ordered the same meal, two of which were acceptable, one which was clearly substandard and food poisoning ensued an hour after the meals were consumed. The disrespect from the owner was unfathomable and the instruction was “we refuse to cook for you” as only one out of 10 meals was returned. The ambience, decor and experience lends itself to a wonder experience, however the interaction with the owners outweighs the benefits of such.

Wonderful service for a table of 20! Fabulous food, large portions. The peppered fillet derserves a specisl mention. Highly recommended.

We live in the neighbourhood and have dined at La Grotto once before - on that occasion our meal was excellent, or though we felt the staff’s service and attitude was below standard. Nonetheless, I phone-booked a table on Tuesday, for Friday evening at 6.30 in the main restaurant. Upon arrival we were told they had no record of our booking, that they were full and unable to help us in any way. My (rightful) protest was met with the accusation that ‘I’m being rude and upsetting her customers’ - good grief, are we not customers?! It was a disgraceful display of arrogance and a shocking attitude from management. We left, never to return, and spent a delightful evening at CARLA’s in Muizenberg, who was more than willing to help.

Great country eating. Casual and classy with fresh ingredients. Very good views of the mountains and an extensive wine collection.