Imagine my joy at being treated to lunch on the terrace at the well known Saxon Hotel and Spa as a belated birthday treat. Now I love good food, but I am usually price driven in my restaurant selection, dining at this 5 star property would fall way out of budget 

Located in the lush suburb of Saxonwold, the Saxon is impressive just from the street. The entrance features not only some serious looking security, but huge wooden doors, that look like something out of a Saxon castle, to be honest. 

Drive up the winding road to the parking lot, you cannot help but be overawed by the beautiful gardens and perfectly manicured lawns. No need to walk from the parking garage – you are treated like a celeb, and driven the short way to the entrance in a rather fancy Mercedes. 

Staff are friendly, polite and used to dealing with celebrities such as the likes of Maria Carey and Oprah to name but a few, who are known to stay here. Apparently you can tell when celebs are in residence by the amount of security guards around the property.

The terrace by the pool is serene and relaxed, thick wooden tables and chairs face the pool, which appears to almost run straight on to the lawn.

We selected a bottle of wine to share and opted to skip starters, in order to save space for dessert. The service was as you would expect, attentive, very friendly and no attention to detail spared. A basket of home made fresh seed bread arrived, and we munched away merrily, while dithering on what to order.

I selected a calamari and scallop yellow curry, which came served in the cutest little pots, with a side of rice, a piping hot roti and some freshly chopped lemongrass and herbs to drizzle on top. Done to perfection, the scallops literally melted in my mouth. My dining partner choose an amazing, and huge salad comprised of Asian 7 spice salmon, avocado, feta, puffed red rice and sesame dressing, which was divine and fresh.

Other dishes on the menu ranged from toasted sandwiches and burgers, to fresh oysters and sharing plates, to Wagyu rump and Angus beef fillet and tapas menu.

I had to try the Saxon torte for dessert, having heard so much about it – apparently it is Oprah’s favourite dessert when she is in residence. It was amazing – I couldn’t even finish it, dense, chocolatey and garnished so beautifully I didn’t even want to eat it, lol.

Besides the terrace, you can also dine at Eighteen05, Qunu as well as the famed Luke Dale Roberts X The Saxon which is apparently beyond amazing. They also have an olive bar and a cigar lounge as well.

The spa is gorgeous, we did scope a quick look around, before stopping for the obligatory photo by the pool, of course.

The Saxon is available for events and weddings, and the team are helpful and will create your perfect event just for you. Be it an afternoon tea on the terrace, or an intimate dinner for two – this is the place to be!

Check them out here