The newest star on the Western Cape’s fine dining landscape sees two sons of Stellenbosch unite to bring MERTIA back to the second oldest town in South Africa.
Named after owner and founder Marais Kirsten-Uys’ grandmother, she taught him that anything worth doing is worth doing well. Masterminding the seasonal, set menu is Chef Matt van den Berg, whose flair for elevated dining is informed by fresh, local ingredients. Together, Marais and Matt are realising their shared dream of inviting you into an intimate space – right in the heart of Stellenbosch – where there is an open dialogue between guests and the kitchen, and where the experience evolves with you through every course and every detail, right down to the wine pairing.
We now invite you to celebrate the best of Stellenbosch with us.
The menu at MERTIA has deep roots in the tradition of cooking with local flavours and fresh, organic ingredients, with a nod to local heritage. Drawing from their combined experiences, the menu will also be infused with Marais and Matt’s global influences, presented in a relaxed, accessible way, whether dining at our bar or at the table.
The Summer menu features some of the freshest and best produce Chef Matt can source. From Marais’s family farm to vegetables from Feeding the Soil Project in Khayelitsha.
Chef Matt transforms this produce into works of art and it is paired with some of South Africa’s finest wines.
MERTIA will take every guest on a culinary voyage that evolves with them, and where no two experiences are the same.
Please note for dinner- only 12-course tasting menu available.
Watermelon, Black Pepper, Jonkershoek Olive Oil
Curried Green Mango Tart
Caesar Choux, Bread & Klein River Butter
Fish Collar, Minestrone, Leek
Hen’s Egg, Truffle, Soubise
Grass Fed Beef fillet, Baba Ganoush, Cabra Dumpling
Stone Fruit, Yoghurt, Macadamia
End of the Vine
Food Experience R1250 p.p.
Food & Wine Experience R2200 p.p.
Food & Non-Alcoholic Experience R1700 p.p.
A gratuity of 12% is added to your final bill.
This will be shared across the whole MERTIA team.
Corkage of R150 per bottle and limited to one bottle per two guests.
Menu subject to daily change due to seasonality and product availability.
Watermelon, Black Pepper, Jonkershoek Olive Oil
Curried Green Mango Tart
Caesar Choux, Bread & Klein River Butter
Tuna, Beef Fat, Rhubarb
Crayfish, Coconut, Kosho
Fish Collar, Minestrone, Leek
Hen’s Egg, Truffle, Soubise
Karoo Lamb, Baba Ganoush, Cabra Dumpling
Za’atar Duck, Celeriac, Cherry
Sour Plum, Blackberry, Shisho
Stone Fruit, Yoghurt, Macadamia
End of the Vine
Food Experience R1750 p.p.
Food & Wine Experience R3100 p.p.
Food & Non-Alcoholic Experience R2450 p.p.
A gratuity of 12% is added to your final bill.
This will be shared across the whole MERTIA team.
Corkage of R150 per bottle and limited to one bottle per two guests.
Menu subject to daily change due to seasonality and product availability.
In the heart of Stellenbosch, South Africa’s oldest town after Cape Town, two of the town’s sons have joined forces and returned to create MERTIA, an elevated dining experience with a taste for the finer things. MERTIA is the culmination of a lifelong dream. Crossing the antique gracht from De Wet Square is a rite of passage that allows every guest to leave the hustle and bustle of the vibrant town behind, opening yourself up to true South African hospitality elevated to world-class status, and to surrender to the ever-evolving experience of celebrating being together.
Marais remembers dreaming about owning his own restaurant since he was 12. At 16, he jumped right in, working front-of-house at some of the best restaurants in the Cape over the next decade. After completing his BCom studies in Stellenbosch, he hopped across the Atlantic to work at the NoMad Hotel – sister restaurant to the world-renowned Eleven Madison Park – in New York City. Returning to South Africa in 2020, he helped assemble the team at Chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen’s Restaurant Klein JAN in the Kalahari, after which he returned Stateside to work with Chef Dominique Crenn (of Atelier Crenn), the only female three-Michelin-star chef in the US. After creating unforgettable experiences for more than a decade – from the Cape and the Kalahari to New York and San Francisco – Marais knew it was time to return home to Stellenbosch, where his dream would finally become a reality.
Matt was introduced to fine dining by his sister, who is also a chef. Like Marais, Matt studied BCom before pursuing his true passion for hospitality. Since qualifying as a chef, Matt has worked at some of South Africa’s top restaurants, including Waterkloof, Greenhouse, The Test Kitchen and La Colombe, where he refined his culinary vision under mentor, Chef James Gaag, and co-founded the wildly popular, upscale street food eatery How Bao Now at the Timeout Market and OZCF Market in Cape Town in 2020.
As a chef, Matt is intuitive – responsive to every guest’s individual needs – and passionate about local, fresh, organic produce and South African heritage cuisine, but infuses his creations with global sensibilities in a way that is accessible and easy going.
20 Bird Street, Stellenbosch, Western Cape.
Reservations
Your reservation at MERTIA is made via our online booking system (Dineplan) and a deposit is required to confirm the reservation.
Deposit
A deposit of R500 per guest is paid at the time of booking and will secure your reservation. Please be aware that non-payment constitutes a cancellation of the provisional booking. In the event that a reservation is made for a specific number of guests and fewer than the reserved number attend, we reserve the right to retain the deposit for those who do not arrive.
Cancellation
Should you cancel your booking no later than 48 hours beforehand, we will gladly refund the full amount.
In the case of a late cancellation or no notification of modifications by the guest or a no show, the full deposit per cancelled or absent guest will be held.
Please note that all cancellations made within 48 hours of your reservation will result in the loss of the deposit.
Wednesday – Saturday
From 12:00
Tuesday – Saturday
From 17:30
Tuesday – Saturday:
17:30 till late
Reservations
Your reservation at MERTIA is made via our online booking system (Dineplan) and a deposit is required to confirm the booking.
Deposit
A deposit of R500 per guest is paid at the time of booking and will secure your reservation. Please be aware that non-payment constitutes a cancellation of the provisional booking. In the event that a reservation is made for a specific number of guests and fewer than the reserved number attend, we reserve the right to retain the deposit for those who do not arrive.
Cancellation
Should you cancel your booking no later than 48 hours beforehand, we will gladly refund the full amount.
In the case of a late cancellation or no notification of modifications by the guest or a no show, the full deposit per cancelled or absent guest will be held.
Please note that all cancellations made within 48 hours of your reservation will result in the loss of the deposit.
Wednesday – Saturday
From 12:00
Tuesday – Saturday
From 5:30
Tuesday-Saturday:
4pm till late
We can accommodate reasonable dietary requirements indicated at the time of booking.
Regrettably, we are unable to accommodate any dietary requirements or menu adaptations on the day of service.
Photography is welcomed, however no flash photography will be permitted.
If guests would like to bring a photographer to their MERTIA experience, they will need to notify the restaurant atleast 24 Hours in Advance. A photography fee of R2500 will also be charged, if MERTIA approves your request.
Our restaurant and bathroom are wheelchair accessible.
For any inquiries on our private events options or the exclusive booking of MERTIA, kindly send an email to carin@mertia.co.za.
You are welcome to contact us if you have any enquiries about reservations or would like to arrange a special occasion.
For group bookings or functions, please email carin@mertia.co.za
Our office hours are from 10:00 – 16:00 from Tuesdays to Saturdays.
