Le Lude Estate and Orangerie Restaurant — Restaurant in Stellenbosch Local Municipality

This was the worst experience of my life at a vineyard, leaving me in tears. The management is blatantly racist and allows its staff to discriminate. After being seated, we were completely ignored while staff served others who arrived after us. Our waiter walked past our table repeatedly without engaging, even though we tried to order quickly due to time constraints. At 4 PM, a waiter told us the kitchen was closing and asked who our waiter was. We assumed it was the person who seated us but weren’t sure as no one interacted with us. After begging him to take our order, we asked to speak to the manager about being ignored. The floor manager was polite and apologised, but after our food arrived, the disrespect continued. For example, waiter walked passed us and goggled at us instead of offering assistance, and two waitresses standing next to our table loudly laughed at us.

I eventually asked the man who seated us if he was our waiter, but he was rude, asked rhetorical questions, and walked off mid-conversation saying ‘i don't have time for this’, to serve a white family who had arrived after us but he attended to so preciously. Feeling humiliated, I called for the manager again, I was not willing to pay the bill without some sort of explanation for this treatment. While waiting, I asked a male staff member for directions to the bathroom, avoiding the laughing waitress nearby. As he kindly guided me, the waitress blocked our path, gave flippant directions, and when I asked for clarity, she aggressively asked, ‘Do you want to fight?’ I was extremely taken aback and questioned her about her statement. Why is a waiter talking about fighting to a customer?????? Feeling threatened, I looked for the manager again. The floor manager eventually comes and said he has called his manager and I thank him and go to the toilet.

When i come back from the toilet, I waited by my table as I see someone who I assume is the upper manager, talking to the staff. When he came over, I tried to greet him but he immediately barked at me to pay the bill and leave or he’d call the police. I reminded him that I had requested to speak with him, but he repeatedly refused to listen, told me ‘no’ when i asked to speak / if he is going to let me speak, and was just aggressive and intimidating. When i remarked he was racist, he reversed in his tracks and came in my face to deny it. At this point I was in tears of shock - he did not care and left. No customer should be treated this way.

This happened in the space of an hour, and while a few staff members were polite, this establishment clearly promotes racial discrimination from upper management down to staff.

P.s. Dear management - Instead of attempting to lie to save face, feel free to post the cctv footage, which corroborates everything...

Hostile & Rude Owner

Before I begin, I should state that a clear distinction should be made between the service & attitude of the staff and the person who seemed to be the owner.

The service and attentiveness of the staff were amazing throughout our high tea experience, however, the hostility and rudeness of the owners truly ruined the experience.

After we had completed and paid for our late afternoon high tea, my friends and I decided to take some pictures. The restaurant staff were courteous enough to even recommend places we could take look around and take pictures in.

By the time we got back to the restaurant after taking our pictures, we saw that it was already closed, which was odd because the signage clearly states that they close at 6 pm and it was 5 pm at the time, hence I have attached an image with a time stamp of when we left.

We then decide to take our last pictures before leaving, however, just as we were doing this a person, who seemed to be the owner, came over to us with hostility and demanded "what we thought were doing here taking pictures ? Because can't we see the restaurant is closed and we should leave immediately" etc. I then calmly explained to her that we had been here for the high tea and walked around as recommended by her staff, she then started apologizing realising that we were not "random trespassers" but customers . But the damage has already been done because why is that only after hearing that we are paying customers does her attitude change? I think it is truly disappointing that her first reaction was to be hostile, berate & humiliate us as if we were trespassing.

It would have been fine if she explained that there was a reason they had closed earlier and needed us to leave but her rudeness truly ruined the experience. So not only would I not recommend this place, but if you're a person of colour I would recommend that you avoid this place lest you be treated as...

Dear Le Lude Management,

I hope this message finds you well.

I am writing to formally express my disappointment following my recent visit to Le Lude. As a loyal customer who regularly purchases the Le Lude Brut, I decided today to explore your other tasting options and enjoy the full experience your estate offers. My family accompanied me, and we ordered a tasting, an affogato, and a cappuccino.

During our visit, my baby required a nappy change. Our waiter was exceptionally kind and helpful — she personally guided me through the restaurant to the outside restroom facilities. After changing my baby, I returned the same way to my table, only to be stopped by a manager who told me I was “not allowed to just walk in and walk [my] baby through the restaurant.” I was taken aback by this comment and even asked him to repeat himself, as it made little sense given that I had just followed the same route moments earlier with the assistance of your staff.

I found his tone and attitude unnecessarily rude and dismissive, particularly towards a mother managing an infant. This interaction completely overshadowed what had been, up until that point, a pleasant experience.

While I have always enjoyed your Le Lude Brut and appreciated the quality of your wines, such unprofessional behaviour from management has left a very negative impression. It is truly disappointing to be treated in this manner, especially at a venue of Le Lude’s standing.

I sincerely hope you will address this matter appropriately. Although one customer’s experience may seem insignificant, I believe every guest deserves to be treated with respect and courtesy. I would like to commend the waiter who assisted me — her professionalism stood in stark contrast to the...