A trip through Oudtshoorn isn’t complete without a stop at this little gem. The owner has assembled a collection of motorbikes, cars and paraphernalia which is amazing. The service and food were superb and the entire establishment is awesome with a huge outside play area...for the kids and outside beer garden which sets the scene for a wonderfully relaxed day. Just loved itMore

Always a great place for families. In nature and very relaxed. Today I felt sorry for the personnel. They were clearly understaffed. They are so friendly but I could see too much pressure because they really tried their best under the circumstances. If management can...just put full strength personnel on such busy days it will be much better. We had to leave without our food.More

On Friday 13th November, I was part of a two-couple group who decided to eat out at Smitswinkel - at my instigation. I've lived in the area for three years, and have eaten there semi-regularly in that time. The last time I ate there was...exactly one year ago. In that year, a great deal has changed. But almost none of it has changed for the better. I thought hard about what star rating to give. If I'd been there as a first-timer, three stars would have been appropriate. But I know how good the Smitswinkel experience USED to be, and the size of last night's letdown means I can't truthfully award more than one. The other couple had arrived before us. On the road, we got a phone call telling us the kitchen would be closing at 8pm. Are you kidding? What kind of serious restaurant closes its kitchen at 8pm on a Friday night? Walking in, I was informed that the wait staff don't bring drinks to the tables, and I would have to get my own from the fridge at the front of the store. Despite being seated in what looked like a bandstand gazebo, the atmosphere was funereal - no music, with surly, disengaged waiters who looked like they'd rather be anywhere else. We had to put up with a cat begging for food at the table. The toilet area was poor, with watery soap in an old Energade bottle, broken soap dispensers, and a dustbin overflowing with paper towels. All this might have been forgiven if my ribs - which I remembered as excellent a year ago, and had been looking forward to for days - were good. But they were poor, too. Overcooked, tough, and tasteless, with chips that were obvious leftovers from hours before. I know a lot of restaurants have suffered under lockdown. But Smitswinkel can't use that excuse when it's been so completely re-modelled at such obvious expense. It's ownership seem to take a view of "If all this stuff brings in so many customers, let's cram in twice as much stuff." What IS Smitswinkel now? A restaurant? A watering hole? A petting zoo? A general store? A motoring museum? I don't know what it is anymore, and I don't think its owner knows, either. It has all the marks of an absentee-run business whose owner has more interest in compulsive hoarding than serving quality food. The thing is, I remember how good this place used to be. I'd like to offer the owner some frank advice: spend more time at ground level, going back to basics. You may think your customer base is loyal enough to take anything, but there is no shortage of restaurants in Oudtshoorn. And people know they don't have to put up with declining food quality and bad service.More