Vanzylsrus Hotel Restaurant

What started in the early 1950s as a modest shop for travellers en route to Botswana has evolved into one of the Northern Cape's most distinctive boutique hotels. Not short on character, the decor of the Vanzylsrus Hotel is a colourful, eclectic reimagining of this starkly beautiful part of the world. Quirky creatures, rendered in mosaic, plaster and ironwork by local artists, greet you as you enter. The restaurant dining room is an equally characterful affair, or take a seat on the large verandah, cooled by gentle misters in the summer, and watch the desert world go by. The menu is inspired by the landscape too, with dishes born of Kalahari ingenuity: skaapstertjies (sheep’s tails), Kalahari saddle chops, whole lamb shank, game fillet and a richly spiced Kalahari curry. A compulsory stop on the road to the Kgalagadi.

Don't leave without trying:
The skaapstertjies or the Kalahari curry – true tastes of the Northern Cape.