Choose a location

Or use your current location

Select

The LivingRoom at Summerhill

Reviewers' Choice 2025 - Top 20 Reviewers' Choice 2024 - Top 20
Vegetarian Friendly South African Fine Dining
Location Pointer 9 Belvedale Rd, Cowies Hill, Pinetown, 3610, South Africa
4.9
(386 reviews)
RR
Favourite

Attributes

  • Romantic
  • WiFi
  • Fireplace
  • Gourmet Guide Plated
  • Reviewers' Choice 2023 - Newcomer
  • Reviewers' Choice 2024 - Top 20
  • Reviewers' Choice 2025 - Top 20

Book a table

Favourite

The LivingRoom’s aim is to showcase our provinces culinary diversity from product to plate.

Additionally, we strive to be one of the country’s flagships regarding sustainability and community development.

Gourmet Guide™ Description

Here’s a refined, immersive dining experience that blends sustainability with fine dining, seamlessly. Situated in the lush surroundings of Cowie’s Hill, this restaurant, helmed by chef Johannes Richter, is celebrated for its deliberate commitment to being environmentally responsible, using seasonal fare sourced from its own garden or nearby farms. Johannes, with his fine French culinary training and passion for Asian techniques, crafts tasting menus that rotate based on the freshest ingredients available, ensuring every visit is a unique gastronomic expedition.

Dining is intimate and personal, with seating for only 30 guests, fostering a curated and interactive encounter where Johannes often presents the dishes himself. Diners can choose between a five- or seven-course tasting menu, paired with wines carefully selected by Johannes’ wife, Johanna. One standout plate is the guava, fermented acacia honey, and bitter green sorbet. Inspired by the chef’s childhood memories of guava roll, this dish brings back those sweet and tangy tastes in a nostalgic, yet sophisticated, way.

The most evocative moment comes with the mabele sour porridge and amasi granita. This clever take on a South African staple whisks one back to childhood while demonstrating the chef’s ability to reinvent traditional flavours within a fine-dining context. It’s followed by another playful reinterpretation of a TV bar, made with amasi and sorghum, leaving guests with indelible epicurean memories, old and new.

Opening Hours

  • Monday CLOSED
  • Tuesday 18h30 - 21h30
  • Wednesday 18h30 - 21h30
  • Thursday 18h30 - 21h30
  • Friday 18h30 - 21h30
  • Saturday 12h00 - 21h30
  • Sunday CLOSED

Reviews (386)

4.9 out of 5.0
Based on the past 12 months
Food 4.9
Value 4.8
Service 4.9
Ambience 4.9
  • Luba S. Dined: 4 days ago
    5
    Food 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0

    Reviewed on: Wed 15 Oct 25
    Another sublime experience at The Livingroom. Our overseas guest was so blown away he has now added the venue as a staple to his visit to Durban.

  • Nichola v. Dined: 2 weeks ago
    5
    Food 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0

    Reviewed on: Sat 04 Oct 25
    Always a stunning experience and culinary delight. Wine pairings were exceptional!

  • Daniel Q. Dined: 3 weeks ago
    5
    Food 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0
  • Meghann P. Dined: 2 weeks ago
    4.8
    Food 5.0
    Value 4.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0
  • Johnathan G. Dined: 3 weeks ago
    5
    Food 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0
  • Adele O. Dined: 3 weeks ago
    5
    Food 5.0
    Value 0.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 0.0

    Reviewed on: Thu 25 Sep 25
    We were a table of 10 guests celebrating two birthdays and we could not have asked for a better meal. We all had the 8 course menu and unanimously gave each course two thumbs up. The cauliflower dish and the fish dish were both beyond incredible with the lamb and the game meat dishes both cooked to perfection. We are fans!!! Thank you to the kitchen team for all the effort that goes into preparing the food and thank you to the front of house team for being attentive and friendly. In my humble opinion what the chef does incredibly well is combine textures and techniques and creativity that results in the most surprising mouthfuls of flavor. We were met by a staff member on arrival who directed to the disabled parking which made the venue more accessible. Kitchen is open to view, bathrooms are clean and smell clean, decor is quaint and we were allowed to bring our own bottles of wine at a corkage fee. Thank you to this chef and wife team

  • Jorge M. Dined: 3 weeks ago
    4
    Food 5.0
    Value 3.0
    Service 4.0
    Ambience 4.0
  • Louise Dined: 1 month ago
    5
    Food 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0

    Reviewed on: Fri 19 Sep 25
    We had the most amazing dinner experience last night at The Living Room. We chose the 8-course menu, which had just been rolled out to celebrate the start of Spring, and were treated to beautifully tasting dishes with exceptional flavours. It is easy to see why The Living Room has been awarded Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant of the Year and holds a Three Star Restaurant rating. Ingredients are freshly foraged on the premises, with each dish inspired by what grows locally or by something of special meaning to Chef Johan and his team. The flavours were perfectly balanced, each course thoughtfully designed, and every dish brought an element of surprise in taste and presentation. This has truly been a top-of-the-list culinary experience, and we would definitely recommend adding The Living Room to anyone’s list of must-visit restaurants.

  • Shannon W. Dined: 1 month ago
    5
    Food 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0

    Reviewed on: Thu 11 Sep 25
    Exceptional experience all around with great value. The team goes above and beyond.

  • Celeste R. Dined: 1 month ago
    5
    Food 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0

    Reviewed on: Mon 08 Sep 25
    Absolutely exquisite from the delicious food to the exceptional service. This is not a restaurant - it is a food experience deserving of 7 stars *******

Show More
Book Now