OUR BELOWED BOTRIVIER HOTEL IS OPEN AGAIN!
UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
The Bar, Stoep & Wine Tasting areas (old ‘Ladies Bar’) are open after a serious cleanup and revamp.The old-world charm has not changed one bit! Everything received weeks of new plumbing, deep washing, revamping, sanding down, fresh paint and a deep dust-off.
New owner Daphne Neethling, together with her husband Mohseen Moosa (also the owners of
PaardenKloof Estate and Ecology Lifestyle Farm) took over the Hotel in September 2020 and have worked ceaselessly since then.
The Stoepsitters are deeply grateful and impressed and over the moon to finally have their favourite spot back and open for business.!
#Kuier#MooisStorie#happyhour#localislekker#botrivier#n2
Botrivier Hotel
Contact: +27(0)28 284 9640
info@bothot.co.za
Hoof Way, Bot River, Western Cape
www.bothot.co.za
Sunday lunch at the Blaasbalk Restaurant at the Botrivier Hotel is a very authentic and old-world experience. The decor sets the scene for happy reminiscing of days gone by. The food is delicious and unpretentious. The Boerekos flavours which a lot of us have forgotten or have never tasted combined with the excellent local wines of the region will please your palette!
A word of advice: The meal is excellently priced but some of the wines are quite pricey. Make sure you see the cost before ordering. The corkage fee is only R25.
Smaaklike ete! Lekker eet! (“Enjoy!”)
Find interesting updates about the Botrivier area & Live Music & events
Arriving at the Botrivier Hotel we were struck by the earthy quiet of the little countryside town.
People come and go and there is some negligible hustle and bustle at the handful of little shops but nothing hectic or in a hurry.
The Botrivier Hotel.The menu has been extended to include something to tickle almost any fancy. We both decided on the Pork Belly Ribs. I ordered a salad with mine and my friend chose chips and onion-rings to accompany hers.
With our food ordered, the obvious, most important, next step was to choose wine. The Botriver Wine district includes a string of award winning wine farms producing five star wines. Even knowing this, it felt like stumbling into a treasure-box to see that the Blaasbalk Restaurant at the Botrivier Hotel. We were close to gagging for wine. As you might know, 11:30 is very late in the Cape to sit without a glass in hand.
While we settled into the divine wine and waited for our food, a true-sixties, two-tone, round-nosed Volkswagen Combi parked right in front of the Hotel. A gaggle of pretty, young women with flower headbands filed into the pub before they ‘settled’ on the verandah with tequilas and giggly bonhomie chatter. It was someone’s “Big Three Oh!” birthday and they drove all the way from Stellenbosch to celebrate it at the famous Botrivier Hotel.
The hotel seems to be like a mother and a womb to the little town. It creates the perfect space and opportunity to see what the day will give birth to. It is known that dogs, dandies, princes and paupers are all welcome and equal here.
Our food arrived and it was absolutely delicious!
Whether it was the spirit of the beautiful old tree under which we sat or the womb ambience; we remained right there in deep conversation, much laughter and a second bottle of the same lovely wine from 11:30 until 22:30.
It might have been the friendly ghosts, the historic reminders of days gone by, or maybe mostly the wine but I saw something like a time-lapse video. The gaggle of girls giggled back into their combi and departed in the wrong direction, made a wide full-circle U-turn and drove off. Some regulars popped in for an after-work catch-up chat & Botrivier Draft. The sun went down and the lights went up. The pub got busy and quieted down. At some point, a group of local winemakers had a meeting and shared more great wine with us. Life keeps happening on the verandah of this beautiful old building.
We really enjoyed a laid-back, lovely time and will go back to see what the womb gives birth to and unassumingly shares with all visitors as often as I need a break from plastic, glitz or glam.
Contact: +27(0)28 284 9640
info@bothot.co.za
Hoof Way, Bot River, Western Cape
www.bothot.co.za
