Unique Underground Tasting Experience at Cavalli Estate

Peter Pretorius

Reviewed on February 25, 2025

The second experience was not as good as the first. Two years after our first amazing experience, we took my parents to Cavalli for a special day. The food was good, but there was nothing that popped. I did expect more from my previous experience. The price with wine paring of their own wines, I found a bit overpriced. I suggest you do their wine tasting separately and buy a bottle if you like, but at the restaurant it is way expensive. It is an experience and a good place to try if you have not, but it did lose some points for me and not as special as it used to be.

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Lauren Laguma

Reviewed on January 18, 2025

This time we had the 6 course meal without wine pairing. 2 starters, 2 mains & 2 desserts. With regards to atmosphere: absolute 10/10. Enough space between tables, quiet enough to not hear everyone's conversations and you actually feel like your table are the only guests there ( the reason for my 4th star) Price range: food is well priced. (When compared to other fine dining spots in Helderberg) Wine & cocktails.... Not so much. Waiters & Sommelier: confident, knew what they were talking about and very helpful. There was one who didn't seem confident and rushed telling us about the dish, but she could have just been tired. Usually the dish is presented then you're told what it is and a little about how it's made, in her case she told us about it while putting it on the table. This left me confused and also a bit underwhelmed by the dish (the first dessert- pear) because it wasn't 'sold' properly. Finally, The Food: Starters: Absolutely beautiful. Tasted amazing. Portion sizes were reasonable. These definitely packed a punch with flavour!! ( Reminded me a lot of Chorus and Benguela styled starters) Definitely something I'd remember for a long time! And so creative! Mains: Here... I was underwhelmed (the reason for my 3 stars) the Wagyu dish was amazing! Flavours were typical of a good beef dish - In a good way, my only complaint: portion size way too small, perhaps even smaller that the starters. Yellowtail: this dish was interesting but felt like it was missing something. The cabbage needed salt or another sauce to bring the dish together. Desserts were average, good average. The pear wasn't my favourite and the berry one felt like I had tasted it before, perhaps not my favourite dessert at Cavalli... When compared to the lemon meringue one I had months back. All in all, loved the experience! And so grateful to have such a gem on my doorstep.

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Denis Danilov

Reviewed on January 12, 2025

Lovely experience close to fine dining, but very Inexpensive (like 2 courses would be around 500-600). The terrace is beautiful, the restaurant is modern and lacks charm a bit. The dishes are complicated enough and well balanced, thought out.

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Lee-Anne Curtis-Cox

Reviewed on December 19, 2024

We reserved a table for lunch on a miserable day in Cape Town and so didn't have the chance to enjoy the beautiful surroundings. 2-course: R525 3-course: R725 (a bit excessive adding R200 for a dessert?) Cavalli is a beautiful venue. The restaurant has high ceilings and plenty of glass windows, allowing lots of natural light in. Customer service was ok. Not overly warm and inviting, but efficient. Our table of 5 had a mixture of starters and mains: Starters - Octopus 5*, Raw Fish 4*, Cured Langoustine 4*. Mains - Angus Beef 4*, Pork Belly 4*, Karoo Lamb 5*, Ribe-eye (separate order not on the menu) 4*. Dessert - not worth the R200 extra. There was confusion regarding the charging for the 600g rib-eye, which is shared between 2 people. We had to call the manager to correct the bill, as our waitress wasn't even sure why it was charged the total it was. We then went down to wine tasting after lunch to try the unique ice-lolly pairing. The female hostess didn't come across inviting at all, even quite miserable, and didn't assist retrieving an extra chair for our table. The male host was much more engaging, and luckily, he served us the wine tasting.

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Chad Marks Photography

Reviewed on December 17, 2024

We had such a beautiful experience at Cavalli Estate. Good wine, incredible views and fantastic food. Coupled with the breathtaking gallery, it's definately a Cape Town must see! We will be back soon!

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