Winter dining treats to warm away the chill

Hibernation may be an option, but there are plenty of restaurants plating up winter warmth and serving some of the most soulful food during these colder months. We have rounded up a few of our favourites with some perks included.

Cape Town: 

The Pot Luck Club, Woodstock: The Sunday Brunch Winter Extravaganza is no light affair. This winter, executive chef Jason Kosmas has cranked up the heat in the kitchen to curate a decadent 10-course set menu of playful-but-refined plates. This menu is served with bottomless Graham Beck Cap Classique or access to a DIY Bloody Mary station complete with house-infused vodkas and bacon swizzle sticks.

“We find this format works so well, and we put a lot of effort into creating new plates and tweaking old favourites,” explains Kosmas.

Of course, the menu starts on a high note with a helping of oysters. It then moves through a luxurious march of flavour with lobster cornbread, a brioche with quail egg and truffle along with a now signature Pot Luck twist on the classic Arnold Bennett smoked haddock omelette. From the signature to the seasonal, a delicious and comforting risotto course follows.

From there, it is on to the main event. A family-style roast lamb with all the winter trimmings anchors the meal followed by a delicate trio of desserts that ends the feast on a sweet, whimsical note. The entire experience is generous, warming, and designed to linger.

As Kosmas puts it: “It is about creating a homely atmosphere with a touch of something special. By this stage, guests should feel like they are enjoying a leisurely Sunday lunch, relaxing, chatting, helping themselves and coming back for seconds. It is laid back.”

The Sunday Brunch menu changes regularly according to seasonality and availability, so your next visit could introduce you to different flavours.

The details: R1,250 per person for 10 courses, bubbles, and Bloody Mary bar. Bookings from 11am-3.30pm. Every Sunday until September 28.

Insider tip: Book well in advance. Seriously.

Chefs Warehouse at Beau Constantia: The drive alone sets the tone. Winding up into Constantia, trees towering as a guard of honour, you arrive at Beau Constantia — a glass-box restaurant cantilevered above the vines. The views are showstoppers, all valley and vineyard, and inside you’ll find yourself seated in a wood-lined, deliberate yet unpretentious dining area. On fair weather days, the terrace opens onto a timber‑decked veranda nestled among fynbos. And for those seeking intimacy, the Protea Pod offers a suspended private dining space a cocooned for a sense of exclusivity.

Given that this is still a Chefs Warehouse production, there are no starters or mains — just a curated succession of small plates made to be shared and savoured. Chef Ivor Jones’ (formerly the Test Kitchen) winter menu hits all the seasonal notes without slipping into cliché, boasting his signature tapas-for-two format that leans into richness with restraint. Patrons can look forward to slow-cooked lamb neck with Jerusalem artichokes or crispy pork with mustard cream and pickled pear. As always, there’s the usual precision — chef Ivor Jones is a Luke Dale-Roberts alum after all — but the flavours still feel playful.

The details: The seasonal 4-course set menu is R995 for two. Wine pairings are optional, but encouraged. Open Tuesday to Saturday for lunch and dinner. 

Insider tip: Pair with estate wines on site (ask for the Pas de Nom MCC).

ëlgr, Kloof Street: Ëlgr (pronounced “el-greh”) hits the rare note of casual elegance without trying too hard, which positions it as an effortlessly stylish nightcap spot after a day of edible excess. Located on buzzy Kloof Street and warmed by a wood-fired oven, this modern European eatery is just the thing when you want dinner to feel like a treat rather than a performance.

The seasonal à la carte menu leans on local produce, featuring dishes that balance comfort and complexity — perhaps roasted celeriac with hazelnuts, or coal-grilled rib-eye with bone marrow butter. Everything is designed to share, but the flavours are so finely tuned that you'll want to guard your favourites. The bread? Worth fighting for.

Design-wise, the restaurant’s minimal, Nordic-influenced design matches the understated excellence of the food. Chef Jesper Nilsson’s Swedish roots show up in subtle flavour pairings and an emphasis on purity of ingredient. Ultimately, this dining experience is as much about balance as it is about indulgence.

The details: À la carte menu with plates ranging from R90 to R280. A 3-course special is currently available for around R495. Walk-ins welcome, but bookings are advised for weekends.

Insider tip: Arrive early and stop next door at AKJP Studio for a drink among racks of local high-end fashion.

Joburg:

Les Creatifs, Bryanston: Chef Wandile Mabaso is steadfast on his promise to innovate with cultural heritage and this season’s winter menu excitingly brims with additional indigenous ingredients. This means more refined discoveries, comfort and nostalgia which goes well with the space’s cosy elegance. What’s delightfully endearing is that he’s considering our pockets in his sustainable approach. “What guided the creation of this season’s winter menu is my current mood and the message that I would like to put out using food as a medium. I have used more indigenous ingredients that I discovered last year. I have also considered the current state of the economy. I’m using less expensive ingredients and keeping the price sustainable for both the restaurant and the guests,” he said.

Highlights include the warming Lesotho trout tartare with chipotle, fried oyster, carviar and coconut turmeric fish jus; and the Nguni beef tongue with madumbe artchar mousse, caramelised onion and potato confit.

But there are surprises within the first course, which accentuate Mabaso’s creative storytelling. Playing with the idea of conception, Mabaso serves wild chicken (hard body) broth inside an empty egg shell, cuts up the chicken infused with flavourful spices and finishes off with a corn velouté. “The egg shell represents the beginning hence it’s the first offering you get as you sit down. We’re also playing on the concept of what came first, the chicken or the egg? Adding corn completes the cycle since the chickens are fed corn,” he said.

The eight-hour Krugersdorp goat is a popular dish in the mains, but the Mozambican kabeljou with pumpkin purée, beluga lentils, umfino and salsa verde wins for its nourishment value.

The details: The four-course meal costs R1,250, R2,050 with wine paring and R1,750 with cocktail pairing. The restaurant is open Tuesday to Saturday evenings. 

Insider tip: The Centurion Vegetable Garden is a pretty-looking vibrant vegetarian dish included in the menu, but if you’re vegan or vegetarian, specify that when making a booking and the chefs will craft a full vegan/vegetarian menu for you.

Pot Luck Club at The Peech Hotel, Melrose: The Pot Luck Club Johannesburg’s move from Rosebank to the serene sophistication of The Peech Hotel in Melrose has been a successful story of reinvention. And it seems Joburg can’t get enough of Luke Dale Roberts’ globally inspired tapas style dishes with an Asian slant, matched by head chef Elbie du Toit’s Cape Malay influences. Together with the Pot Luck Club group executive chef, Kosmas, they curate the seasonally inspired Prix Fixe menus to offer diners a selection of people's favourite dishes across their menu. These include family favourites such as the Pot Luck Club fish sliders, sashimi, the zesty and fully-flavoured tacos as well as the warm and delectable smoked beef fillet. There’s also the flavour brilliance of the peri peri chicken boasting ajo blanco, kale and pepper salad and the marvellous braai vinaigrette.

“Peri peri chicken is firmly rooted in SA culture, a dish which is nostalgic and reminiscent for most of us. I’ve taken that classic dish and elevated it slightly, by adding my own unique touch. The braai vinaigrette is an ode to the way we South Africans love to cook, “Shisa nyama” style, grilling meat over hot coals which adds a beautiful intense smoky “braai” flavour, Du Toit said.

The Prix Fixe concept was originally launched to entice a lunchtime crowd, who may be short on time, or to appeal to those more budget-conscious but keen to experience The Pot Luck Club here in Joburg.

“Due to overwhelming support, we've relaunched our 'Prix Fixe' menus for winter to provide a flavour packed experience highlighting a variety of dishes across our key flavour profiles (sour/salty/bitter/umami/sweet). The Prix Fixe experience can be enjoyed as either “Lite” (six dishes, shared between two) or “Loaded” (eight dishes shared). Both menus begin by introducing more subtle, light flavours before moving through to richer, more robust dishes, and eventually ending on a sweet note,” said Du Toit. 

The Pot Luck Club Johannesburg Prix Fixe menus take the guesswork out of ordering and lets you invite the chef to serve their recommendation. Trust the chef.

The details: For the Prix Fixe Lite sharing menu, you pay R495 per person for the food and R450 per person for wine pairing. The Prix Fixe Loaded sharing menu is R795 per person for the food and R750 per person for wine pairing. Until September 30. The restaurant is open Tuesday to Saturday evenings.

Insider tip: Head on over to our Instagram page for a chance to win a staycation at The Peech Hotel where you can indulge in the hotel and The Pot Luck Club’s winter treats and pamperings.