Fire on the Lagoon: Open Fire Dining near Hermanus

Join us for Fire on the Lagoon, the open fire dining experience. A feast of flavour where char, smoke and flame meet vibes, views and award-winning wines. 

The fire is lit at four o’clock. By the time you sit down, the rooikrans has burned down to coals and the light is going soft over Walker Bay.

Dinner on the lagoon, at a glance 

• Fridays and Saturdays, 4 December 2026 to 20 February 2027
• Tables from 17:30, one seating an evening
• The Moody Lagoon terrace, on the water
• À la carte, from oysters eaten standing to whole cuts carved at the table
• Wine made here, on the estate
• Advance booking only 

What is open fire dining? 

Open fire dining means the fire does the cooking, not the decorating. No gas reaches this terrace, and nothing arrives from an indoor kitchen with grill marks added at the pass. Oysters open on the plancha. Cabbage chars whole in the coals. A lamb shoulder sits twelve hours in the embers before it reaches you. Michelin Guide inspectors called char, smoke and flame the defining food trend of 2026. South Africa has cooked this way for generations and calls it a braai. 

What comes off the fire 

The menu runs in six parts, from small things eaten with your hands to whole cuts carved at the table. 

• From the embers. Estate olives warmed on the plancha. Vine-smoked almonds. Cape oysters with charcoal butter and vine-smoke mignonette.
• Small fire. Braaied snoek pâté with burnt apricot. Springbok carpaccio with ember beetroot and Klein River blue. Ember-baked bone marrow.
• The grate. Whole yellowtail off the Struisbaai Banks, glazed with apricot and fynbos honey, for the table. Karoo lamb shoulder, twelve hours in the embers. Hermanus harbour line fish, salt-crusted and broken open at the table.
• The Faith Board. Côte de boeuf, langoustines, marrow and ember onions, carved in front of you, for two.
• Sweet smoke. Vine-grilled figs with honeycomb ice cream. Milk tart, reimagined.
• Little fires. A short menu for under twelves, off the same coals. 

Vegetarian dishes cook over the same coals, not around them. 

SEE THE FULL MENU

The chef 

Christo Hattingh is Head Chef at Benguela Cove. He trained in South Africa, cooked through Munich with Compass Group, then spent years in Scotland as Executive Sous Chef at The Old Mill Inn in Pitlochry and Head Chef at The Angus Hotel. He runs four kitchens on this estate. Fire on the Lagoon is his menu, and it is cooked in the open, in front of the room. 

Where the wood comes from 

We burn rooikrans, an invasive alien we clear off our own fynbos, and prunings from our own vines. The estate sits inside the Kogelberg UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and is a WWF Conservation Champion, so the wood on this fire is the by-product of clearing work rather than a delivery.

Make an evening of it 

Hermanus is twelve minutes away and Cape Town is an hour and ten. Come early, taste in the cellar, walk the lagoon path while the fire builds, and be at the table when the coals are ready. Or stay the night in a villa on the water and drive home after breakfast.

Book your table 

Eighteen evenings, one seating each, and December goes first. 

Book online, call 087 357 0637, or to book for groups email info@benguelacove.co.za.

Fire on the Lagoon Dinner FAQs

How far is Benguela Cove from Hermanus? 
The estate is 15 km from Hermanus town, about 12 minutes on the R43. Cape Town is 95 km away, roughly an hour and ten minutes, and Cape Town International Airport is 88 km. 

Do you serve dinner on other nights? 
No. Fire on the Lagoon runs on Fridays and Saturdays only, from 4 December to 20 February. Moody Lagoon Restaurant serves lunch daily from 12:00, brunch on weekends and public holidays from 09:30, and gourmet picnics from Wednesday – Sunday, 11:00 – 16:00. 

Is there a vegetarian option?
Yes. Ember-roasted cauliflower, fire-roasted aubergine and charred white and red cabbage all come off the coals, alongside the sides from the fire. 

What should I wear?
Come as you are, but bring a layer. You are eating outdoors on the water and the air turns once the sun is down, even in January. 

Can we bring the children?
Yes. Under twelves order from Little Fires, their own short menu cooked on the same fire. They can also enjoy lavish lawns and play areas. 

Do I need to book in advance?
Yes. There is one seating an evening and no walk-ins, so book before you travel.