Last Updated: May 19, 2026

The light softens across the vineyards. Smoke from the restaurant fireplaces drifts quietly into the morning air. Glasses of red wine linger a little longer on tables. Lunch becomes less hurried, more intentional — a season for slowing down, settling in, and savouring.

With the launch of the new winter menu at Cavalli Restaurant, Executive Chef Lucas Carstens leans further into this feeling. Not through excess or heaviness, but through warmth, comfort, and ingredients that speak honestly of the season.

For Lucas, winter doesn’t change the philosophy in the kitchen — only the expression of it.

“The approach stays the same,” he says. “To use and respect the available produce and ingredients.”

That respect for seasonality runs quietly through every dish. Richer flavours emerge naturally this time of year. Slow cooking, deeper umami notes, smoke, fire, earthiness and warmth all begin to find their place on the plate.

One dish, in particular, captures winter at Cavalli perfectly.

“Probably the springbok,” Lucas says. “Venison is more of a winter ingredient. We serve it with poached pear and fired cabbage with miso.”

It is a dish that feels unmistakably seasonal — elegant yet grounding. The sweetness of pear against smoky cabbage, the depth of miso, the richness of venison softened by balance and restraint.

And while comfort is central to winter dining, Lucas believes it should never feel overwhelming.

“Umami can bring comfort without heaviness,” he explains. “But winter also calls for something more substantial — the body craves it.”

That balance defines the menu: layered flavours that satisfy deeply without losing refinement.

Beyond the food itself, winter at Cavalli is also about atmosphere. The sounds, smells and quiet moments that become part of the experience.

For Lucas, winter service begins with a familiar ritual:

“The smell of the fire being started in the restaurant in the morning.”

It’s that feeling guests often remember long after the final course — the warmth of the room against cold weather outside, the glow of winter sunlight over the dam on clear afternoons, the comfort of being exactly where you want to be.

Asked what the perfect winter lunch looks like, Lucas doesn’t overcomplicate it.

“Either inside close to a fire if it’s raining, or outside in the warm winter sun on a good day, with a glass of red wine.”

Simple. Unhurried. Present.

Perhaps that is ultimately what this menu is about.

Not just dining, but creating space to pause.

“If this menu were a feeling rather than food,” Lucas says, “it would be a feeling of savouring or slowing down.”

And at the end of service, after the last tables have emptied and the fire begins to settle, the thing that makes him proudest is not a dish or technique.

“When guests leave here with gratitude,” he says. “Happy guests.”

This winter, Cavalli invites guests to settle in a little longer — for slower lunches, warmer moments, and a menu designed for the season we’re in.

BOOK NOW