Cavallis Everyday Gourmet menu is all about celebrating real food that nourishes and excites.
Putting a contemporary, inventive spin on classic dishes, we grow our own seasonal herbs and have many vegetable varieties grown from seed and cuttings. As the first Green-star rated restaurant in South Africa, we treasure the beauty of our natural heritage.
We simply believe in eating delicious, fresh, whole foods prepared in a way that honours the seasons. We want our food to be the kind that people enjoy not just once but again and again, the type of food that people come back for.
'from soil to soul'
'Cavalli' means horses in Italian. In South African culinary terms, it means excellence. Settle yourself in dappled sunshine on the deck with arresting views of the dam, paddocks and Helderberg mountain range. In winter the contemporary, minimalist décor indoors does not compete for eye-time with the seamlessly efficient open kitchen.
Here it is all about the excellent cuisine. It is a joy to witness the team at play, and to meet the fledglings as they take turns to serve and introduce the dishes, proudly and confidently, at your table. Chef Michael Deg has refined his flavours to perfection on this chic equestrian estate. Cavalli Restaurant is the perfect backdrop for a chef of this calibre, and the produce garden on the estate constantly inspires him. His love affair with a simple ingredient is made evident, with style and sophistication, on the plate.
Nature's relationship between the soil of Stellenbosch and the seasons is in obvious harmony. As the first Green-star rated restaurant in South Africa, Cavalli treasures and celebrates the beauty of natural heritage.
Some dishes are simply presented, like the barley and mushroom risotto with a delicate Parmesan custard. Others are infinitely styled with precision, like the seven-hour slow-cooked octopus with fermented black garlic aioli, squid-ink crisps and radish, topped with a fynbos dressing. A main course of confit duck leg with orange, fennel marmalade, mustard pommes mousseline and black kale, will keep the heartiest of appetites sated. Michael excels at creating vegan and vegetarian dishes that the strictest carnivore will swop sides for – his imagination runs riot when his soul connects with the soil. The menu constantly evolves as ingredients present themselves in the garden.
Wander around the immaculately manicured 100-hectare estate to admire the horses, sunken gardens and art, with a last stop to the winery to buy Cavalli wines that the sommelier matched with your memorable dishes.
"It's now all about constantly refining dishes." Chef Michael Deg