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Seating options inside, by the pool or on the lawn beside the estuary
As said in the previous blog about our massages at the Lakeside Lodge & Spa in Sedgefield, Knysna, “if it wasn’t for the fact that we knew that there was a great meal awaiting us, we may have never left that room…”
…and it was important that we did because, on the other side of the building, we stood on a beautiful lawn that offered us a breathtaking view of the Swartvlei Estuary (what many call “lake”or “lagoon”)… so big yet the only activity i saw on it were three ducks bobbing and diving – tranquility.
Woody proved to be a friendly and informative manager. I’m a curious person and he survived my barrage of questions with a smile on his face. We requested a bottle of red wine and he suggested the Matilda Secret Vintage 2013. It was a good choice, an easy-drinking, fruity, mildly spicy wine that we were sure to finish.
Trevor was a great waiter, knowing when to be attentive and when to leave us alone. Rather than choose from the menu, we asked for chef Kelly-Anne Pietersen (we’d deliberately gone on a day when she was there) to choose for us. She went one step further and divided, where possible, some of the dishes into two but on the same plate so that it could still be well presented (my cellphone pics don’t remotely show how tremendous they looked).
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We shared it all, enjoying as many different tastes as possible. The 3 courses became 6, an insanely classy tapas food adventure (that should never be called tapas if i was to give it justice) – veggies, deep fried squid, hake, chicken cordon bleu, fruit sorbet and biscuit with ice-cream; more than a mouthful description and an enjoyable bellyful.
Living on the Garden Route, we can say that we already live in the paradise of South Africa so maybe Lakeside Lodge & Spa and Benguela Brassiere & Restaurant can best be described as a paradise away from paradise. Visitors from Johannesburg will think they’re in heaven.
I recommend you treating yourself or someone you love to this upmarket experience in the midst of a natural wonder.
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