Last weekend I drove out to Spier Wine Farm to check out their Light Art Festival which is running until 31 Jan 2019. It’s a beautiful outdoor exhibition showcasing 18 artworks which incorporate light & sound.
Because the lights only go on at 20:30, we sat down for some dinner at their new Vadas Smokehouse before. Named after head chef, PJ Vadas, what used to be the Hog House had a slight decor update & menu change to become the Vadas Smokehouse & Bakery.
The restaurant has lots of indoor & outdoor seating. Outside, the deck is surrounded by beautiful glass panels & indoors they’ve used bright yellow to create a light, fun dining atmosphere.
Let me give you a quick tour:
Where all the smoked goodness happens…
The team at Vadas has partnered with some great brands, like Farmer Angus for their beef, pork, chicken and eggs, Tribe Coffee for their coffees of course & Moro Gelato for some creamy goodness after your meal – so you can expect some really good produce to hit your plates here. (Read more about these & other partners over here)
The ordering process is slightly different in that you tick off which items (and how many of each) you want on an ordering form which you then hand to your waiter:
We decided to try the for steak tartar, sourdough bread & smoked corn and goats cheese arancini as starters:
Of these dishes, the arancini was definitely my favourite. It’s deliciously crisp on the outside & super creamy on the inside. The steak tartar was lovely too.
And then the for mains we had the Farmer Angus steak, 100g brisket, 100g pork belly with some port fat fried chips & garden greens as sides:
That Farmer Angus steak was so good… you almost feel bad for the other meats. It was a definite standout, so much so that unfortunately when we got to the brisket it had already gone cold. My advice would be to definitely order less items at first and then add more if you’re still hungry. 100g may sound like a little, but the pork belly for example is very rich & therefore also super filling.
All ‘n all, a lovely meal which we could then walk off after by exploring the Spier Light Art Fest in the wine farm’s beautiful gardens.
Just some need-to-knows about Vadas before I move onto the more details about the festival:
- They are open Monday to Saturday 12:00 – 15:00 & 18:00 – 21:00, and Sundays 12:00-15:00 (additional seasonal trading hours: Sun 30 Dec – open for lunch & dinner, Mon 31 Dec – open for lunch only)
- For bookings you can contact them on: 021 809 1137
Now let’s get down to the real reason for our visit… the Spier Light Art Fest – which, as mentioned above, is still running until 31 Jan 2019.
Every night at 20:30 the Spier gardens come alive with 18 very different & unique artworks using light & sound. There are maps available on the farm, but we opted to just roam around and see what we stumbled upon. Of all the pieces, I think “Written in the stars” which was created as part of a body of work called the Project for the Blind Astronomer was my favourite piece:
It makes for some really great photos:
I also enjoyed chilling on the grass while enjoying the music of VOX Cape Town which is combined with video, motion graphics & animation which is projected onto bamboo trees:
But here’s a quick look at some of the other cool pieces we found:
If you’ve been looking for something a little different to do – this is definitely it. We really loved it AND the best part is that it’s FREE ENTRY. That means you can bring along the entire family & all of your friends to soak up some creative inspiration.
Here’s a recap of all the important details:
DATE: Until 31 January 2019
TIME: Lights switch on at 20:30
VENUE: Spier Wine Farm in Stellenbosch
COST: FREE
For more info on each of the artworks, also hop on to the Spier Light Art Festival page over here.
xxx