Stellenbosch Wine Bar & Bistro, Windhoek, Namibia

Namibia offers a true cornucopia of meat dining options.  In addition to the usual staples of beef, pork and chicken, you can also partake of more exotic options like African antelopes (springbok, kudu and oryx), ostrich and even zebra!  Joe’s Beerhouse is the go to place in Windhoek for the more exotic meats, but sometimes, all you want is a damn good steak.  That is where The Stellenbosch Wine Bar & Bistro comes in.

Located at 320 Sam Nujoma Drive in the Bougain Villas complex (enter off Hebenstreit Street), this is one of the top dining venues in Namibia.  The thing I love about Namibia, though, is that top quality doesn’t mean silly prices.  An entrée and main at Stellenbosch, together a salad and their two most expensive wines available by the glass, altogether costs less than a good steak in an Australian restaurant.

For my entrée, I ordered the Beef Tartare, topped with the traditional egg yolk and accompanied by salsa (finely diced onions and tomatoes) and potato crisps.  The serving size is on the generous side, and the succulent raw meat is nicely seasoned.  Delicious to the last mouthful!  This was washed down by a glass of the Rust en Vrede Estate Vineyards Syrah, which at NAD97 is the most expensive choice available on the menu.

For the main, I ordered the obligatory 350g Namibian Beef Rib Eye, which had the bone carved out before it was plated, to make eating it less work and more pleasure.  Perfectly cooked to medium rare, I love the fact that some flavoursome flame-charred fat was left on the edges so that it wasn’t merely a meal of pure protein.  There is no way to adequately describe the flavour of a perfectly flame grilled rib-eye steak in words without overindulgence in purple prose – you simply have to try it for yourself to understand the ecstasy of taste.  At NAD164, it’s very well priced.  Accompanied by a nice dry glass of Stellenbosch Reserve Ou Hoofgebou Cabernet Sauvignon, I was happy to slowly savour one bite followed by one sip without regard for the time.

This was an excellent meal with very good and attentive service – never did I have to wait to order something, or even to get the bill and pay for it (often my pet peeve).

This is not the top-rated Windhoek restaurant on Tripadvisor by accident and it is not a tourist "trap" by any stretch – it is in fact a local dining establishment.  When you’re in Windhoek and craving a good steak (or even a meat salad featuring smoked game meats), Stellenbosch Wine Bar & Bistro is the place to go!  Just make sure you book a table beforehand to avoid disappointment, because it is always going to be packed.