Ernie Els Wines — Attraction in Stellenbosch Local Municipality

A huge Thank you to Ernie Els for inviting us and spoiling us with an experience that won't be forgotten.

From the drive through vineyard to the parking lot - and the walk through the most gorgeous South African scenery.

The luxurious interior including everything - The face brick walls, the warmth of the wooden furniture, and the quality of the carpets and flooring.

Everything is warm and inviting and even though everything is luxurious and expensive, Ernie Els Winery still manages to create a homely and inviting environment.

The dimmed lighting and chandeliers are absolutely breath taking.

The gardens and seating areas outside are extremely well kept and you can't help but experience the love and hard work put in by the owners and the staff.

Being welcomed by friendly staff and professionalism was amazing.

Arriving to a glass of the most gorgeous light pink rose was such a nice, memorable treat.

The tour was educational and exciting and reminded me of how proud I am to be South African.

The bathrooms are immaculate and have given me ideas for my future home 😁

The board room is exceptional and you can see that's where the magic happens.

A company that takes care of their staff, is a company that takes care of themselves.

It's not easy to ignore the quality of the staff and it's clear how well they are treated. The staff are exceptional. Happy smiling faces, hard working and focused on providing the customers with excellent service. I am well impressed.

Food and Wine is where the heart is and I have so much to say.

The presentation of the food was absolutely beautiful!

The different elements and the array of foods, textures and ingredients put on one single plate was an absolute experience on its own.

Well done to the Headchef for his unique combinations, his skill and his risk taking ability.

The food was gorgeous. Thank you.

With regards to the new Winter menu, I do have a few suggestions.

My starter was so delicious and I probably couldn't eat my camembert any other way now. The cheese had a yummy smoked flavor and was paired with the nicest flavors and textures and was just as fun as it was tasty.

I ordered the fillet steak and it was flavourful, juicy and soft. I wish I had more pickled onions because it was for sure a winning combo! Best steak I've ever had.

I was able to taste both deserts and I loved both.

I would recommend crushing the biscuit base that is served underneath the Tonka bean dessert. It's extremely difficult to break the cookie with a spoon.

The chocolate torte has the most stunning flavor and is right up my alley! I do however think that the torte, the pink mousse and the pomegranate are enough for the plate and the torte might have been ever so slightly over baked. However, I would still order it again.

The Wine!!

The Wine is to die for and infact the nicest wine I've ever had.

Thank you for the experience. I will be...

After a nice day in the famous wine region in SA we decided to end our day at Ernie Els. Allegedly one of the top wineries. The first impression was really nice and noble, but what came after was everything but satisfying. Having taken a seat for 15-20 min, we began to wonder if it’s self- service (just kidding- still talking about the allegedly top winery). So I went inside to the reception to ask where we may place our order, response: “what do you want?”. Ok, wow. Didn’t expect that tonality. But ok, nobody is at 100% all the time. When we afterwards asked for some bread and cheese, we were told that the kitchen is closed since 15min. We kindly asked if we can get any alternative and the waiter wanted to check again. So we waited, waited, and waited- but no response. I assume any wine lover would agree that it’s not only about drinking liquid, but about the experience, atmosphere and company you enjoy it with :) Our hopes got up as other guests received their huge platter of cheese and other snacks, but when we kindly asked again, we were- again- told that the kitchen is already closed. To my question from which kitchen the food for other guests was coming from, the “manager N.” told me that it was pre- made. Just to confirm, it was pre- made, not just pre- ordered? To be fair, the other guests wore their white polo, and I have left my dress, sunglasses and hat at home - my bad! Not sure what is worse: Not being able to serve any food (at 4.15pm) or serving pre- made food at a (allegedly) top winery?! Maybe we should have been happy to not having received any food, lol. To sum it up and without going into too much detail, we really FELT being treated VERY differently. And the only difference we noticed from other guests was our rather casual look. But as they say: Never judge a book by its cover. And for those who wonder how the wine tasted: rather average/ mediocre - but as mentioned, it might have been the taste of...

Disappointing Service Despite Beautiful Setting

We recently visited the Ernie Els restaurant and had a mixed experience.

Pros: The wine selection remains outstanding—excellent quality and well-priced. The setting is undeniably beautiful, with breathtaking scenery and a well-designed, impeccably maintained space that adds to the overall ambiance.

Cons: Unfortunately, the food did not meet expectations. While it was decent, it wasn’t as memorable as we recall from previous visits. However, the most disappointing aspect was the service.

Our server was polite and tried his best, but it was evident they lacked proper training, despite being there for eight months. Management didn’t seem interested in assisting, making us feel like any request was an inconvenience. Service was rushed and inconsistent (and management was somewhat rude)- we were pushed to order, yet simple items like oysters and table bread had to be reminded multiple times, taking far too long to arrive.

Adding to the frustration, the 2 PM reservation felt meaningless. We were made to feel hurried despite having booked the slot, which made the experience stressful. Observing servers chatting idly near the bathrooms reinforced that staffing wasn’t the issue—it was the management of service. Even the host/manager appeared undertrained, adding to the decline in service standards we’ve noticed over several visits.

While the venue and wine are still impressive, the drop in food and service quality was a letdown. We hope to see improvements in staff training and management, as it’s a shame for such a beautiful restaurant to falter in...