.: Lunch at The View on Chart Farm

We had thought of going to Klondyke Cherry Farm in Ceres to pick cherries this year, but the huge rise in the petrol price was a major deterrent. Then we remembered that the same family also owns Chart Farm, a rose farm in Constantia and yes, they do sell the Klondyke cherries. So we decided to kill three birds with one stone, do an escape from home, get some cherries and have lunch at The View restaurant on the farm

It was a perfect summer’s day, not too hot and no wind
Owner of The View Sandra Engelen, our friend, had booked us a good table
with perfect views of the rose farm gardens, where you can pick your own roses, and the mountain

We had booked for 1 and it was nicely full

We wanted to celebrate being alive, so took one of our special wines, The 1947 from Kaapzicht wine estate in the Bottelary area of Stellenbosch, the second-oldest Chenin blanc vineyard in South Africa. This bottle is from the first vintage, 2013 and was a birthday gift to Lynne from winemaker Danie Steytler Senior; she is a product of the same year as the farm’s first vintage. It is a classic old vine Chenin Blanc, with good depth and length and such good fruit and it has lasted so well

The menu is concise with something for everyone and will not disappoint

They do good breakfasts and even better afternoon teas,
with scones, cream and jam and a large selection of homemade cakes

John chose the excellent large Wagyu Hamburger, which comes with a good mixed salad and crisps

Lynne decided to try the Prego roll and it is delicious
120g of sliced steak in a good Prego sauce,
and she detected that they use some chicken livers to enrich the spicy sauce
A great lunch with a glass of good Chenin Blanc