Wolfgat offers a unique Strandveld dining experience showcasing a selection of indigenous ingredients specific to our coastal location.
The menu is inspired by the weather and the surrounding landscape. The series of dishes presented - predominantly seafood based - is complemented by local seaweeds, seasonal veldkos, venison, and pickings from our garden.
Some elements on the tasting menu take weeks of preparation, while other ingredients are handpicked on the day for the exact number of bookings that we receive.
We only book up to 20 diners per sitting - by keeping it small, we keep it sustainable.
The small seaside village of Paternoster is now drawing adventurous
diners from all over the world. At Wolfgat, perched on a cave
overlooking the sea and picturesque white cottages, chef and owner
Kobus van der Merwe is changing the landscape, literally.
The setting is breath-taking – 20 diners sit on the stoep of a whitewashed
130-year-old fisherman’s cottage overlooking the beach. You can see
the small team of born-and-bred locals preparing the day’s dishes in
an open-plan kitchen, the atmosphere is intimate and never showy.
Expect all audacious dishes to be enticing and unique, served on
custom-designed crockery.
The seasonal, predominantly seafood, seven-course tasting menu
showcases locally sourced ingredients such as mussels from Saldanha
Bay and succulents and wild herbs (think dune spinach, soutslaai, wild
sage and sea lettuce) foraged from the shoreline. Every meal begins
with freshly-baked roosterkoek to dip in hot bokkom (dried fish) butter.
The amuse bouche of Strandveld snacks can include oysters, chopped
poached limpet and a white mussel pate. Yellowtail ceviche comes topped
with a sliver of pickled ginger and a sunflower milk that resembles a
tahini. Tjokka (calamari) is served with pickled mushroom, a silky smooth
cauliflower puree and sea lettuce that tastes like white truffles.
The tasting menu comes with a highly-recommended wine-pairing
option that totally enhances the overall dining experience. Kobus
brilliantly matches each course with small batch, often artisanal wines
from the surrounds.
Wolfgat’s food is a paean to the chef’s beloved Cape West Coast and
certainly challenges the diner and makes them think. It’s a dining
experience that is not easily forgettable in a world of sameness and
instant gratification.