Magnolia

Magnolia

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What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Magnolia
Review
At a glance
Open until 10:00 PM
See all hours
About
Travellers' Choice
2024
MAGNOLIA RESTAURANT & CAFE A Breath of Fresh Air on the White River and South African Culinary Scene Situated opposite the Casterbridge Hollow Boutique Hotel, Magnolia Restaurant & Cafe is a breath of fresh air on the White River and South African culinary scene. Inspired by rural French charm, it offers a sophisticated yet relaxed taste of the best the region has to offer. Unique in the diversity its multi-dimensional interior provides, it is simultaneously a romantic, intimate experience with inspirational views over the surrounding landscape; a relaxed outdoor venue set in gorgeously manicured gardens, or an upmarket business venue – perfect for large parties or small, informal get-togethers, vibrant cocktail parties, family gatherings or special occasions. The split-level interior and upstairs veranda create an interior with indoor-outdoor flow, a welcome breeze on hot summer’s days and delightful visual interest. The main restaurant is situated upstairs with a mezzanine level, which, with fantastic natural light, makes it ideally suited to private functions. Magnolia’s indulgent menu, created by leading chefs, is inspired by the use of fresh local ingredients – so whatever is in season makes it onto the menu. Meals are accompanied by a superb selection of South African wines, and rounded off with the most decadent desserts. The unique decor is a treat in itself... rustic, yet elegant – with a European twist. The quirky unexpected accents (most of which were made locally) and attention to detail create a pleasing and layered scene to be peeled away and explored bit by bit.
Features
CUISINES
Pizza, International, Sushi
Meal types
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Brunch, After-hours
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options
FEATURES
Accepts Credit Cards
Free Wifi
Full Bar
Highchairs Available
Mastercard
Outdoor Seating
Parking Available
Playgrounds
Private Dining
Reservations
Seating
Serves Alcohol
Table Service
Takeout
Television
Validated Parking
Visa
Wheelchair Accessible
Wine and Beer
Does this restaurant have a playground inside or outside?
Save this restaurant
Open until 10:00 PM
Sunday
7:00 - 22:00
Monday
7:00 - 22:00
Tuesday
7:00 - 22:00
Wednesday
7:00 - 22:00
Thursday
7:00 - 22:00
Friday
7:00 - 22:00
Saturday
7:00 - 22:00
4.6
4.6 of 5 bubbles1,380 reviews
Excellent
971
Good
291
Average
67
Poor
31
Terrible
20

These reviews are machine translated from their original language. Show machine translations?
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Pablo R
4 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 family
The magnólia is a green, cozi, chilled and original place. The service comes with a smile and the food is tasty and stylish. I recommend for couple and family. Casterbridge is an inspiration and relaxing environment. Keep cool and do yoga!
Written 1 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Anri Hayward
Good day Pablo, thank you for your review. We are happy you enjoyed your time with us and we hope to see you again in the future.
Written 1 April 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Rodney Van Dam
3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2022 couples
The food was really outstanding, we had the deep fried olive, and pork belly bites for starters, the olives were brilliant. Then the tomato soup, was very good and then sushi as mains....their Magnolia Rose's, are the best sushi I have ever eaten...topped with prawn and caviar...different and delicious. Lovely setting, and good service. Some of the chairs need recovering and the 013 No on the website does not work, the No that does, but is not shown is 083 412 8839. They were completely booked out from 18h00 on a Saturday evening.
Written 20 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Tracy B
White River47 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2022 none
We spent a weekend at the lovely Casterbridge Hollow Hotel and ate all of our meals at Magnolia. Lucky us! Spoiled for choice at breakfast with a buffet that catered for every possible breakfast combination and unlimited Americano coffee (our morning kick start), The smashed avo on toast was just the ticket to finish off a bowl of fresh pawpaw, seeds and plain yoghurt while my husband tucked into the cooked breakfast and toast. There was no room for even a nibble of the delicious looking pastries, cheese and cold meats, unfortunately. Sindele, Ruru, Douglas and Lorraine made sure we were seated and treated as treasured family, refusing to listen to our pleas of 'we can't eat another morsel' at every meal. They tempted us with bite-sized desserts, kept our glasses topped up and happily shared their favourite dishes with us. One evening after sundowner cocktails in the garden, we ordered pizza which was delivered to the cinema by Lorraine, who'd recommended her favourite pizza, the California, which was a very good choice. The base light and crispy and generously topped. We live locally and after our excellent experience will make sure to visit Magnolia more regularly.
Written 18 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2023 solo
Returning to Magnolia has been another exceptional experience. Client service has remained top notch and the staff continue to maintain a positive vibe tht says: how can we help! The chef really outclassed himself/herself in preparing the food. It's bn decadence upon decadence all round. It is without a doubt another excellent experience for me to be visiting for the week and l will undoubtedly be returning soon. To the management nd staff, Thnk u sooo much! U make visiting Magnolia an exceptional nd worthwhile experience!
Written 19 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Anri Hayward
Good day MJ, Thank you for your lovely review. We absolutely love having you visit. Safe travels until we see you again
Written 21 April 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

René V
Furstenfeldbruck33 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 family
We went to the Magnolia twice during our time in White River. The first time, everything was top notch, from the service to the food! On the second visit, neither the service nor the food reflected the impressions of the first evening. That was a shame, as this was our last evening in White River. The manager then apologized to us and offered us a free dessert as a small compensation.
Google
Written 29 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Anri Hayward
Good day, Hope you are well and enjoyed your travels in the Lowveld. Thank you for your lovely review and we apologise for the subpar experience on your return visit. It has been brought under the attention of the restaurant manager and your review will be used to further training to ensure continuous service standards
Written 1 April 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

PP
Mozambique5 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2024 friends
Here's the translation: We had an extremely bad experience. Horrible food. We ordered meat pizza and sushi. Both are very basic dishes. The pizza was so bad that it came with two layers of dough. The sushi wasn't fresh; the rice was so hard it couldn't be eaten. It was unacceptable to an apparent good rated restaurant.!!. Very very bad, and we will never go there again. The food was returned, and we only paid for the bottle of water.
Written 23 August 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Anri Hayward
Good day Paula, thank you for your review. We appreciate the feedback and discussed your concerns with the chef. Please note that this is not our regular standard and we hope that you will give us another chance.
Written 8 September 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Jenny C
Dullstroom62 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2022 couples
Although the restaurant decor and ambience is pleasant, the food we had was not. We chose calamari for starters which was fried to a frizzle, so over cooked, you couldn't eat it. The 2 tiny pieces of mango it came with were over ripe and beginning to ferment. We sent it back. We ordered a Mediterranean pizza. What a disaster. There was something wrong with the base....possibly a frozen one dug out the back of the freezer. It was like cardboard, with no colour underneath....no woodfired pizza here.. The manager said the pastry was freshly made. I doubt that! We were now starving, so scraped the topping off to eat that. Way too many seeds on top, but we had no choice. We ate the topping of half the pizza and sent it back. Breakfast was underwhelming. Not a buffet, as expected, but a la carte which was fine. My avo on rye toast was more like avo on bread with 1 wrinkled piece of rocket, the hollandaise sauce was curdled. To top it all, a huge cockroach ran up my leg, and there was another tiny one on the table!!! Needless to say, the prospect of having any more meals there are nil.
Written 19 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Fastidi0us
Cape Town Central152 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2022 none
Have the owners been reading the reviews? Take heed! I reviewed Magnolia previously and rated it highly. What has happened? Please don't blame COVID. The prices have gone sky high (catering for visitors no doubt) and the quality has dropped as much - even the garnishing was wilted. I do not review places more than once but thought it necessary, since if I owned the restaurant I would like to know and do something to restore this to what it was. You cannot rest on your (former) laurels,. What a shame and such a waste as the venue is good.
Written 6 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

faunadoc
66 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2022 none
As a guest of the hotel next door I had a complementary breakfast. The staff said it was a buffet. OK, cold cereal, fruit, lunchmeat, muffins. Since it was a drizzly rainy morning I ate my cold muffin and asked if I could get anything hot. The waitress said yes, the hot portion of the buffet was outside on the cold, foggy deck. OK.... They had warmers for meat, tomatoes and mushrooms but the scrambled eggs were sitting in a bowl, cold. The waitress said the hotel had a meeting going on so these were leftovers from their breakfast. Nice. I asked if I could PLEASE get hot eggs. They scrambled two up for me but by then I was ready to call it a day and drive into town for breakfast.
Written 24 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Adi
3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 family
The Restaurant is in a very nice location and not so far away from White River. The food was Delicious, we had Sushi, Meat, Pokebowl and a loot good starter’s. ( hint: don‘t take to much of the Starters they are quite Big.) Our Service from Innocent, was Perfect. He was very friendly, professional, had good advices and was very attentive. I will definitely go again. Thank you very much for the nice Evening.
Written 22 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Anri Hayward
Good day, than you for your lovely review. We are so glad you enjoyed your time with us. We hope to see you again in the future for another visit.
Written 26 December 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

W.Jonker
Apeldoorn139 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2025 family
Been there a number of times and actually always it is just very tasty and freshly prepared. It is located in a small open shopping center so it is not a tourist place. But that's what we like. You can park safely in front of the door and they have a nice terrace and in colder weather you can sit inside. Fine card
Automatically translated
Written 15 January 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Anri Hayward
Good day, thank you for the wonderful review, it is greatly appreciated. We hope to see you again soon.
Written 24 February 2025
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Palma de Mallorca96 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020 friends
Not what you'd expect for white table dining. I booked online via dineplan with rather high expectations. When we asked to move to a different table, there were no other tables available. (Which is understandable) We were impressed with the setting, it was beautiful and romantic.The cocktails were nice but not up to standard. However, that's where it ends. Service is slow (30 minutes for drinks, 70 minutes for food) Our waiter was okay. Plates were very dirty and old. The counter at the bar was full of dirty plates, glasses and crockery. Food looks and tastes unappealing. Steak was ordered as MR, came out rubbery and dry. (Definitely not worth the price and drive) Management was absent and couldn't be less bothered about any complaints or customer service. The menu looked nice. But, instead of having such a wide variety of options and cuisines - rather focus on one cuisine and perfect it. Instead of trying to be something you are not.
Written 13 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Uniquetraveller1
La-Lucia158 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2020 couples
Well located restaurant with indoor and outdoor options. The food was excellent and the service efficient, warm and friendly. We had a salad, the mussels, the Hake and the lamb curry and all dishes were well prepared and presented. Good wine list. Covid protons were good
Written 14 October 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Archie9898
Kruger National Park60 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2020 none
We went there for lunch and had an excellent meal. It is in such a pretty setting. What made it extra special was the waiter. I wish I had got his name. I took a very elderly lady with me and she was struggling with the menu and changing her mind and he was just so so kind to her. He ended up “tailor making” a meal for her which was wonderful.
Written 25 October 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Nomad12300748831
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 solo
Had a wonderful lunch today, the atmosphere and the staff is lovely. I was served by one kind waiter called Lodrick who was friendly made sure I have a wonderful time here. I highly recommend the place
Written 20 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Anri Hayward
Good day, thank you for your lovely review. We are happy you enjoyed your lunch with us and we hope you will visit again soon
Written 21 February 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

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