By DESTINE NDE
For many people, Willowmore is just a petrol stop – the first after the long drive across the vast Camdeboo Plain from Graaff-Reinet and Aberdeen during their annual dash from Gauteng down to the Southern Cape Coast.
By then, the coast is beckoning, so it’s quick pit stop at Zaayman’s Garage, maybe a coke and a packet of chips, and back on the gas for the last leg down to George and Knysna, with little thought for tarrying in this small town. Which is real pity, because Willowmore – winner of Kwela’s Eastern Cape Town of the Year Award in 2023 – has a great deal to offer visitors.
Over the past four or five years, however, at least some travellers have learnt to skip the famous roosterbrood and moerkoffie at the Oppi Vlak Padstal in the Camdeboo and treat themselves to a meal at one of Willowmore’s two exceptional eateries – the Belly-Deli and the Kapoet Restaurant and Farm Stall. Both are on Willowmore’s main street, Knysna Street, so they’re not difficult to find.
Belly-Deli is also easy to find because much of it is painted a bright red. This warm, cozy, and pet-friendly restaurant is owned and managed by Santa van der Merwe, who took it over and revamped it in 2020, and has been running it very successfully ever since.
Everything on the menu is home-made, and include South African delicacies like Karoo Mixed Grill with Pap and Chakalaka, Potjiekos on Rice or Samp or Pap, Samp and Beans topped with biltong, Boerewors with Pap and tomato relish, Katemba (slow-cooked beef in red wine, coke, and tomato, served on Roosterkoek, and topped with sour cream), Bobotie on Yellow Rice served with vegetables, and various freshly made pies.
The restaurant is especially busy during holidays and the hunting season, as well as events like the Trans Baviaans Cycling Race, Bikers Rallies and the like. They also receive tourist buses, as well as trucks with young people on trans-African safaris.
On Fridays, however, the restaurant is mostly patronised by local people, who are treated to a special dining experience — the Belly-Deli experience, served by Santa’s cheerful and efficient assistants, Gerald and Lizone. This consists of serving customers small portions of all the specialities, while explaining the recipe, history, and other peculiarities of each dish – almost like the tasting menus at Michelin-starred restaurants. Let’s just call it the Karoo tasting menu.
Says Santa: ‘They don’t come here just to satisfy their hunger, but for the experience, which is also why they keep on coming back.’
To commemorate the experience, Belly-Deli also sells all sorts of food and other items, from various jams to biltong, droëwors, wine, sweets, and the like, as well as souvenirs and other artefacts. By the way, Belly-Deli is open from 8 – 5 on weekdays, 8 – 9 on Fridays, and 8 – 3 on weekends.
As far as Kapoet Restaurant and Farm Stall is concerned, kindly wait for the sequel …
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