Waterfront buildings in Knysna on South Africa's Garden Route
August 19, 2026

Where and What to Eat Along the Garden Route

Magda Schwaighofer
Travel Designer

The Garden Route isn’t a concentrated food destination in the same way as Cape Town or Franschhoek. But it has exceptional dining experiences if you know where to look. 

Hermanus’s seafood scene punches well above the town’s size. The estate dining culture of the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley spills naturally into the western end of the route. Plettenberg Bay has developed a restaurant scene that reflects its increasingly well-heeled visitor base. And through it all, the Indian Ocean coastline puts fresh linefish, crayfish and shellfish on menus that few landlocked regions can match. 

Following the region’s 300km coast, our guide gives you an overview of some of the top foods to try and restaurant suggestions along the way.

Table of contents

Top Food Experiences on the Garden Route

A dish of Knysna Oysters served with slices of lemons, and a glass of champagne, along the Garden Route, in South Africa

Knysna Oysters

Knysna’s name is synonymous with oysters. And the association is genuine, even if the story behind it is more complicated than most visitors realise. 

Oysters are no longer commercially farmed in the Knysna Lagoon. The farming industry that gave the town its reputation largely collapsed following a series of environmental events, and today the oysters served at Knysna restaurants are sourced from elsewhere in South Africa. That said, this doesn’t diminish the experience: the oysters are excellent, Knysna is a beautiful place to eat them, and the town’s mollusc history has created a culture of serving them well.

Fresh plated crayfish at Birkenhead House in Hermanus

Fresh Linefish and Coastal Seafood

The Garden Route’s Indian Ocean coastline means fresh linefish is available throughout the route. Snoek, yellowtail, red roman, kabeljou all frequent these waters and the daily catch changes accordingly, with coastal restaurants serving up whatever came in that morning. 

Crayfish is available in season (typically November to April along the southern Cape coast) and is worth ordering wherever it appears. Fresh prawns from Mozambique appear on most coastal menus.

Top view of raw Ostrich meat, fresh Game Meat seasoned in a tray on top of a wooden table

Game Meat on the Karoo Edge

Turn north from the Garden Route towards Oudtshoorn and the Klein Karoo and the menu changes register. 

Springbok, kudu and ostrich are common on restaurant menus in towns along the Karoo, prepared in ways that reflect modern South African game cooking: springbok carpaccio, kudu steak, ostrich fillet with Karoo truffle jus. The meat is lean, flavourful and, at this latitude, genuinely local. Worth seeking out if your itinerary takes you north over the Outeniqua or Swartberg Pass.

Traditional South African Boerewors Sausage being grilled on a BBQ

Boerekos – Traditional Afrikaans Farm Cooking

In and around Oudtshoorn, the Afrikaans farm cooking tradition – boerekos – is worth experiencing at least once. Slow-braised lamb, potjiekos (a cast-iron pot stew), vetkoek (deep-fried dough with savoury filling), boerewors and sosaties (spiced skewers).

It’s hearty, historically rooted, and served in generous quantities. Farm stalls and casual restaurants along the R62 through the Klein Karoo are the most authentic settings.

Dessert plated with a glass of rose wine at Creation Wines

Wine and Food Pairings in Hemel-en-Aarde

Creation Wines, 15 minutes from Hermanus in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, has built its entire identity around the intersection of food and wine. The kitchen designs dishes specifically to work alongside the estate’s wine programme and worth planning an afternoon around.

As well as wine, Hamilton Russell Vineyards (another Hemel-en-Aarde favourite), is also known for its estate-grown olive oil, created in the traditional way without irrigation and low yields. The focus is on quality with distinctly aromatic and peppery character. Here you can also pick up some fynbos honey produced on site, where the bees help with the estate’s whole ecology.

Restaurants in Hermanus and Walker Bay

Hermanus is a small town with a food scene that consistently outperforms what you’d expect from its size. The combination of a well-heeled visitor base, proximity to the Hemel-en-Aarde wine estates, and a working harbour creates the conditions for genuinely good eating. Here are a few of our favourite spots:

  • The Marine Hermanus: a clifftop hotel above Walker Bay with terrace views over the whale-watching bay, a kitchen that takes local seafood and Winelands wine pairing seriously, and a cool, unhurried pace.
  • Perlemoen Seafront Restaurant: with a waterfront location and fresh seafood focus, this is an easy choice for a relaxed evening.
  • Char’d Grill & Wine Bar: if you’ve had enough seafood, this a solid steakhouse with a serious wine list that leans into local Walker Bay and Hemel-en-Aarde producers. 

Restaurants in Knysna

Knysna’s food scene is anchored by the lagoon setting. The experience of eating well with the Heads in the distance and the tidal water catching the afternoon light is one of those Garden Route moments that sticks. A couple of spots earn a specific mention.

  • East Head Café: with a coveted spot at the Knysna Heads, here you have direct views across the water to the town and onward to the Indian Ocean. It’s a relaxed, open-air spot: good fresh seafood, casual enough that you don’t feel overdressed after a morning on the water, and busy enough that it’s worth arriving early to secure the right table.
  • île de pain:  an artisan bakery and café on Thesen Island with a reputation well beyond Knysna’s borders. This is the spot for light-filled breakfasts and lunches, or even just a takeaway pastry to enjoy along the waterfront. 

Restaurants in Plettenberg Bay

Plett’s restaurant scene is stronger than its size might suggest, driven by a visitor base that expects quality. It’s the Garden Route town where you’re most likely to find some of the most exciting meals.

  • Barrington’s: the most interesting arrival in recent years: a craft brewery with a 1,000-square-metre kitchen garden, a restaurant, bar, bakery and grocery all on one site. It’s the kind of operation that fits the Garden Route’s farm-and-forest identity – vegetables grown on site, bread baked in-house, beer brewed to pair with the menu.
  • The Fat Fish: this is coastal dining to the max. An underwater-themed interior with tapas-style seafood and sushi, a curated wine list that specifically champions local producers, and views over the estuary. 
  • Emily Moon: a boutique hotel and restaurant on the Bitou River that brings a South African and Southeast Asian fusion to its kitchen – homegrown produce, river views, and a menu that uses the forest and coastal larder. Above the restaurant, Simon’s Bar offers a more casual lookout-style bar with pizzas and cocktails, designed so you don’t need a reservation to enjoy the setting.

Tsitsikamma and the Eastern End

Suspension Bridge in Tsitsikamma National Park on the Garden Route in South Africa

The eastern end of the Garden Route is wilder than the west, which is all part of its appeal. Nature’s Valley, a small settlement at the western edge of Tsitsikamma, has a handful of unpretentious local spots that suit its character: simple, fresh, not trying to be anything other than what they are.

Further east, the dining experience tends to be lodge-based. The properties in and around Tsitsikamma – most of them focused on the forest, the gorge and the outdoor activities – produce thoughtful, locally sourced menus that reflect the landscape surrounding them. Game, coastal fish, forest mushrooms, Karoo lamb from the farms not far to the north.

Planning Your Garden Route Tour

Eating on the Garden Route is best approached town by town. The trail runs from Hemel-en-Aarde wine and food pairings in the west to Emily Moon’s river-and-forest fusion in Plettenberg Bay in the east, with fresh linefish, game meat and serious wine lists along the way. 

We build gastronomic experiences into your Garden Route itinerary, ensuring that every recommendation perfectly fits your preferences so all you have to do is turn up and enjoy.

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Tasting room and restaurant at Creation Wines in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley

FAQs About the Garden Route Foods

What is the Garden Route famous for food?

The Garden Route is most famous for fresh seafood – linefish, crayfish in season, shellfish from the coastal waters – and for its association with Knysna oysters, which have long been considered among the finest in South Africa. Beyond seafood, game meat (springbok, kudu, ostrich) appears on menus near the Karoo edge, and the wine estate dining in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley near Hermanus has elevated the food scene at the western end of the route to a level comparable with the Cape Winelands.

Are Knysna oysters worth trying?

Knysna oysters would be worth trying, but with the caveat that they are no longer farmed in the Knysna Lagoon itself – a common misconception. Commercial oyster farming in the lagoon has ended, and the oysters served in Knysna restaurants are now sourced from other South African farms. They are still excellent oysters, served in a beautiful setting, and Knysna remains the most atmospheric place on the Garden Route to eat them. Just don’t expect a lagoon-to-table story from your server.

What is the best restaurant on the Garden Route?

The best restaurant on the Garden Route by reputation is Creation Wines in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley near Hermanus – a food and wine pairing lunch experience built around the estate’s cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with a kitchen specifically designed around the wine programme. Emily Moon in Plettenberg Bay is the standout in the east. For a simpler, more atmospheric experience, île de pain in Knysna has a following among food travellers that extends well beyond the Garden Route.

Where to eat in Hermanus?

Our favourite spots for the best eating in Hermanus is at The Marine Hermanus for a special occasion with clifftop whale-watching views, Perlemoen Seafront Restaurant for fresh seafood by the water, and Char’d Grill & Wine Bar for a relaxed evening with a serious local wine list. The town is small but the combination of Hemel-en-Aarde proximity and fresh coastal catch means the eating options are consistently good.

What is the food like in Plettenberg Bay?

The food in Plettenberg Bay is stronger than most Garden Route towns, driven by a wealthy local and visitor base and a cluster of luxury properties that have raised the hospitality standard across the town. Barrington’s (brewery, kitchen garden, bakery and restaurant), The Fat Fish (seafood and local wines) and Emily Moon (fusion cooking with river views) are the current highlights. It’s the Garden Route town where you’re most likely to find cooking that could sit comfortably in Cape Town.

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