Year-end function venues in Cape Town fall into four types: wine farms, beach and coastal venues, city rooftops and conference spaces, and private homes or offices. Which one you pick changes your catering bill more than most people expect, because access, power and kitchen facilities decide what a caterer can actually do on site.
The four types of year-end function venues in Cape Town
- Wine farms and Winelands estates. Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek. Space for a spit, usually outdoors, almost always a venue fee plus a minimum spend. Best-suited to on-site cooking of any kind.
- Beach and coastal venues. Blouberg, Camps Bay and the Atlantic Seaboard. Wind is the real constraint — an open spit needs a sheltered corner, and November south-easters are not gentle.
- City rooftops and conference venues. The CBD and Foreshore. Often no open flame allowed at all, which rules out a spit unless the venue has an outdoor terrace.
- Private homes and offices. Cheapest by a distance, because there is no venue fee. Needs about four metres of flat, sheltered ground for the spit and nothing else.
What to check before you book a year-end function venue
- Is open flame or coal permitted? Ask explicitly — many city venues say no.
- Is there a nominated caterer, or an outside-catering fee?
- Can a vehicle get within about 30 metres of where the food is served?
- Is the spit area sheltered from wind?
- What time must you be packed down and out?
Catering for a year-end function venue
An on-site spit braai works at any venue that allows coals and has a bit of sheltered outdoor space. We cater across the Winelands, the Atlantic Seaboard, the West Coast and the rest of greater Cape Town — rates and menus are on year-end function catering, from R165 per person.